Fantasy The Five Kingdoms - The Fall of Sarthenfall - Ic

[Xanto]

Clyde Callahan and Baxter Callahan​

Baxter glanced at Angie when she mentioned merging his brother's ideas together. It was always better to gather as much information as possible before crashing a ball . . which never had to happen until now. Across the room, Clyde sleepily looked at his auntie who randomly poked him in the arm. However, by the time his tired eyes landed on her face, she was back to talking with the other adults. She mentioned something about not using her in their plan. Honestly, Clyde couldn't care less. The kid was just a kid! If his auntie didn't want to be a part of the plan, then his father should just agree. Clyde soon furrowed his brows though when Annabel openly mentioned taking the bloodline book from him. They could at least share it. Otherwise, he wouldn't let her take it.

Baxter paced in mere annoyance. They were on a mission to save Sarthenfall. He was giving military orders, not sending out voluntary requests. Meanwhile, the other princess spoke of how the plan could cause even more of an issue. "We require the swiftest process. Do you really think we can handle things in civil, legal manners without getting sent back to the refugee line or simply being dismissed?" The rebel leader questioned in his typical cold manner. Being stranded on the ship seemed to warm him up a bit, but being on the move again snapped his usual freezing walls right back up.

Then James cut in giving more details about their tentative ball plan. Actually, there would be a ball tomorrow night. Bax didn't think it'd be that soon, or even that often. This made all the more reason as to why they should pull through with the whole ball idea. It was the fastest way. Plus, time mattered now more than ever.

The little back and forth between James and Azalea helped answer some of Baxter's questions. Balls were the centerpiece of the game. James made it even sound like a good thing to crash a ball and draw the cabinet's attention to them. Naturally, they all had to be on their best behavior. What did the older man mean by act their roles and put their own masks on though?

"What do you know about the cabinet members?" Baxter quit his pacing before folding his arms across his chest, "Assuming we need to get their's and the king's approval." If anything, this was more of a formal . . kind of social mission. For the first time Aurelie probably had the winning edge beyond most of them on this one. "How do we win each of them over?" He asked glancing at his son to find him snoozing on the ground by a sleeping Raymond, "Ray, wake-."

"I'm up," The younger brother replied with closed lids before turning over to his side.

explosiveKitten Blackrose7 Bakuyoshi Ms. Sparrow NinjaGirlGamer Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

It was certainly annoying to follow what the hell went on. He sat in an inn frustrated at the indecisiveness that radiated through the team, and was all the more annoyed that nobody's suggestion was being considered.

He had spent most of his time doing business with random people- buying and selling or accepting money to fix things. He was a tinkerer still, and was very good at his craft. He had survived his whole life on the road because of it, and when this war ended he had no desire to take any new government position or do anything new. He might learn some magic, but he would almost certainly return to his craft and the road where he always had been. He had no great ambition-he was a simple man. Already he had begun to refamiliarize himself with his clients and craft, feeling a great division between himself and the others. Baxter, Azalea, Annabelle, and especially that monster Ivanna.

In the past few days he had felt himself growing more and more distant from the cause. He didn't care as much, and honestly just wanted it to be over. He had even considered a blatant betrayal, perhaps handing over their plans to the King and being done with this. But he knew that could never be, the king would probably kill or imprison him-or force him to work for the crown. All of which he didn't want, and didn't like the feeling of betrayal anyway.

But his feeling of loyalty had almost completely vanished, and he would definitely run away if the danger was too great. No longer did he wish to risk his own neck for his companions. Now he just wanted this all to end.

He looked down at his hand of cards. He won again, an easy trick where he always seemed to deal a pocket and there always seemed to be what he needed on the table. It was pretty, but these men shouldn't be playing against a tinker. A tinker will cheat cheaters any day.

He wasn't focused on the game much. He was watching the group, waiting for something to come. He was not a main character in this, he was simply a support. They cared no more for his life than he did them- and he doubted that would change.

Ms. Sparrow Xanto Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer explosiveKitten Bakuyoshi

 

[Blackrose7]

After saying what she wanted to say to the group. Annabel turned her focus to Clyde, and started to hug him. Since she knew that Azalea was going to turn her focus towards her eventually. Not to mention that he was still on the bed with her. ‘Please don’t speak to me, Azalea. I know that you are going to be angry at me for keeping that stupid title of mine a secret. But I had to do it, so nobody would treat me differently. Besides, I didn’t even know about me being a princess until I got the royal bloodline book, and even then I didn’t believe it fully.’ thought Annabel, who hoped that didn't happen to her.
As Azalea and James talked to each other about the Delchistrier’s ball, and Baxter started to talk to them about it. Annabel noticed that Azalea stop talking to James about the ball for some reason. ‘Oh, so Delchistrier’s balls are like our masquerade balls? That is pretty normal besides the game part, and why did they stop talking?’ thought Annabel. Her face turned pale once she saw that Azalea was pointing at her, since she was clearly targeting her now. “NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. NOPE. I will not be yelled at by you again, Azalea.” said Annabel, as she stopped hugging Clyde. She then put the bed sheets over her head, and pretend to be asleep so Azalea would go away. ‘Please leave me alone, Azalea. I already had to deal with being yelled at by both you and Cali. Please don’t do it, because I don’t want it to happen again.’ thought Annabel, nervously.
Ms. Sparrow

 

[explosiveKitten]

“I would never want to insult your culture or upset your people, but I’m not sure how we, a bunch of Sarthenfall rebels, will be able to get into a ball with the king? I fail to see how we could get in without blending in first. Is it free admission to anyone?”

Angie stood and walked over to James and Baxter, throwing her two cents in with her arms crossed, about to say something else, some other suggestion, when she heard some commotion from the other side of the room. When she glanced over, she found Azalea confronting Annabel about her royal status.

Angie took a moment, sighed, then turned to Bax and James, “I’m going to try to defuse this before it blows up. Whatever you two decide, I’ll make sure into gets done.”

With that Angie turned and swiftly stride over to Annabel and Azalea. “No, no, Annabel- Annabel you can’t avoid this. You need to hash this out now so it doesn’t blow up later with even more force than necessary.” She grabbed the blanket and threw it off of Annabel. Then wheeled on Azalea and seemed to gesture for her to sit.
“And you,” She stared firmly, “Need to not lose your lid when you’re talking. Once again, we need to talk this out before it gets worse. So Azalea, if you will, please, have a seat. I need you to CALMLY, and QUIETLY, explain why you are so upset with Annabel, and I’m sure when you do that Annabel will be more than happy to explain to you why she did what she did. Right, Annabel?” She turned and eyed the blonde pointedly, before turning to Azalea.

“I understand that you are upset, Azalea, but please, try to remain calm and keep your voice down. Now, let’s talk to each other, shall we?”

Xanto Ms. Sparrow Blackrose7

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

“What? Again? Again?! I didn’t even get to yell at you the first time cause you were too busy hiding! What do you think I’m gonna do stab you?” Azalea snapped, stepping a foot in the direction of the bed before Angelo rushed into the scene, stepping between the two as he walked over and yanked the sheets out from over Annabel, exposing the Ezerian Princess before whipping around on Azalea, whom scowled, crossing her arms. “She already knows why. She friggin lied. It’s obvious!” She exclaimed, throwing up her arms in exasperation before walking over and sitting on the end of the other bed Annabel wasn’t in, obeying to one thing at least. She pulled a few hair pins from her messy bun, letting her wavy red tendrils fall to her shoulder as Angelo tried to calm the instant growing tension, speaking in a stern tone, reminding Azalea of Baxter instantly. Angelo cast a pointed glance a Annabel after her lecture before looking back to her. “Right,” Azalea said in pointedly too-calm voice, crossing her arms. “Okay. Annabel. Please. Tell me why you’ve been lying for, I don’t know, nearly a year now.” She hissed icily.

James stared at the angry redhead for a moment with an unimpressed expression before turning back to Baxter, running his hand over his bald scalp as he paced in front of the fireplace. “Ah! Civil, legal, none of this will matter if we can gain entrance to the ball,” he said, turning on the balls of his feet towards Angelo. “You forget there are five royals in here, Sarthenfall royalty. To show up, completely unexpected—the aristocracy love their gossip and this would be the talk of the year no doubt. The King would be unable to be rid of you for the risk of upsetting his noble allies. It is you all standing out that garentees our success.” He educated before spinning on the balls of his booted feet back towards Baxter.

“The Balls are generally invite only, to ensure no...commoners show up. But I would recommend not asking for an invite. The King would likely try to immediately silence and undermine your arrival. A surprise is your biggest advantage here. This is because of our cabinet members. There are six in his cabinet.” He folded his hands behind his back, turning towards the flame. “The first, his Secretary of Finance, Artem Morkonsov. A shrewd man, thin, lanky, peppered hair. He will be the most suspicious of your arrival—you must measure yourself carefully around him—he will watch you all with careful eyes.”

“Maxim Prokirvaka, his General. Blonde, ice blue eyes, quite fit for battle. Many of the nobility favour him for his polite, often giving nature. He holds immense power, despite his Bastard title. Do not be fooled. His cruelty is rather known to the small commoner reputation. There are many unquelled rumor of his...actions. What you say to him will matter, especially if it is his army your trying to take.” James paused, running a finger over the white mantle of the fireplace, coming up clean as he inspected the finger, “It is rare for women to be on the Council, or his cabinet. But Nadira Jorkskirva is a rarity. The Spymaster. A middle-aged blonde woman, fierce, stern, and strict, known for her ruthlessness in the Game. Most servants are predictably her agents. Anything they hear, she will likely hear as well. She will be quite blunt with you I expect, but do not mistake her bluntness with stupidity. She has rosen up to the cabinet not through good fortune I remind you, but through playing.”

The retired Delchistrier assassin took a couple steps past the fireplace, crouching by a dark, oak cupboard with glass doors, the oak, he popped open the doors, retrieving a bottle of rum, as well as a glass from it before straightening, setting the glass on top of the counter as he popped open the bottle, continuing on as he poured himself a glass. “Ivan Prokirvaka, the Lord Chancellor. A man in his forties, sandy blonde hair, silver eyes. In charge of keeping the laws of the citizens in check, rather, writing them out. Hypocritical, and well disliked amoung the commoners, much like his brother in law. He is considered, well...one does not insult his family and get away. He is laid back rather, preaches but usually leaves the others to do the dirty work. Most he hires, usually don’t live long. Rumors are this is to cover his less then favorable activities among the nobility.” James paused as he put the bottle down on the cupboard, raising the glass to his stubbled lips and taking a heavy swig of the rum, grimacing. “Then you have Lyksander Glorvishek, Aodren’s left hand, and best friend. Young, like him, tan skin, dark brown hair. A spoiled, sniveling brat. Aodren’s partner in crime. He sticks his fingers into the Slave Trade quite often, and has been granted the Uncommon Title of “Lord of Revels.” Pah. In charge of the entertainment and such for the kingdom. As well as keeping entertainment for the king. He gives little care to the lives of others. At most, he will do his best to try and humiliate you all.” He remarked with obvious distaste before tipping his head back and chugging down the rest of the liquid, swallowing. Once he set it down, he frowned, thinking it over. “There is but one more. A young woman, fairly new to his cabinet...” he paused, frowning at the table. “Long, blood red hair. The strangest eyes I’ve ever seen. Beautiful. His Advisor, and Ambassador. Wherever Aodren goes, Layla Solvesteira seems to follow. She is not a noble, there are many mysteries that surround this woman. She is a snake. Manipulative, deceitful. Aodren’s wrapped around her thumb and there are rumors, that despite his marriage to the Duchess Karine Cestshevaka, Layla is his mistress. It is a quite common belief amount the aristocracy that they believe Layla makes half the choices of the kingdom, guiding and using Aodren. That she has manipulated and slept her way to her position. Whatever the truth, you must be most careful around her. She is your most dangerous threat.” James turned, refolding his hands behind his back, his posture impeccably straight as his gaze ran over the group with an inspecting eye.

“So. Any questions?”


Xanto explosiveKitten
Bakuyoshi
Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel just facepalmed herself, since she wasn't talking about when Azalea first tried to talk to her about the princess thing. She was actually talking about when she tried to join her conversation with Raymond in the past. Because Azalea thought about yelling at her when she talked about her sister's plan. "Ok. I said that wrong, but what I was trying to say that you thought about yelling at me in the past, Azalea. I noticed how your hands turned into fists when I talked to you about Violet's plan, and oh boy. You are very lucky that you didn't do that. I wouldn't have talked to you about the princess title thing if you did that, and even so. I didn't want to take the risk of someone freaking out over that stupid title of mine. Also, you clearly freaked out just like I predicted, Azalea, since you didn't react to Cali's title reveal very well." said Annabel, as she then sighed. She looked at Azalea in the eyes, since she was going to explain to her about the so-called "lying" part. "Now about that so-called lying part of yours, Azalea. I didn't lie about what I told everybody at the beginning of the rebellion. In fact, that really happened, and I also thought I was normal until I saw that Raymond had the book that I was looking for. I asked him if I could read it, and you guys know what happened next since I yelled what the hell from the royal bloodline book. I then attempted to hide the book from everybody, but Baxter wanted it. Although, Baxter didn't get the book on his own, because he asked Raymond to get it for him. Baxter then gave it to Clyde after Raymond had stolen it from me, and I tried to get it back again. Clyde had the book on him, though, and I was going to tell him about what was on the last page before you had shown up, Azalea."

After Annabel had said that, she began to look sad about what she is going to say next. "I had a second reason to hide the book as well. I didn't want anyone to know about my princess title, since I wanted to be normal. But apparently, the bad guys didn't want me to be normal, since they were literally trying to point out how I was treated differently from everybody else. From the Hound's behavior towards me to the letter that Soris sent. Heck, we can even add what Soris said about the too many secrets part if we wanted to. He knew who I truly was, and I wanted to get rid of any clues about me." said Annabel. "I even knew that nobody in Ezeris would leave me alone, because of how I looked similar to the king and queen. I just didn't consider that I would be a princess, nor did I want to believe that. I had a normal and happy life, and I didn't want to be related to the bitch queen. Why? That freaking queen kept wanting to hit me with a whip every single time I mess up in my royal castle maid job. It had gotten so bad that those whip marks are still on my body."
Annabel carefully lowers her dress, so they can see the whip marks that Queen Lydia did to her. After she did that, Annabel pulled her dress up, and stopped looking at Azalea in the face. "So what are you going to do now, Azalea? Are you going to yell at me, since I already had to deal with a bunch of negative things in my life. One of them is the fact that my real parents didn't want me in their lives. Are you going to hate me just like my own people, because at this point. I don't care what you think about me. I simply want to keep those that are important to me alive, since they are the only ones that I have left." said Annabel.
Ms. Sparrow

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan and Baxter Callahan​

Raymond forced his sleepy eyes open as he rolled over to his side, randomly catching Jeod in deep thought. "Mr. Swift," The tired rogue muttered before casually pushing his body up to a sit with one arm. "For such a small world we ran into each other a number of times, yet for such a big boat we rarely had any discussion," Ray smiled a bit before moving a hand through his flattened hair. Perhaps the blacksmith was just too caught up in trying to ease all the royal hotheads' minds and keeping the ship on track. Anyway, it wasn't hard to notice the tinker's boredom. Actually, it even looked like Jeod was borderline disturbed by the late meeting. "How are ya?" Raymond raised a brow trying to reconnect with his pal before things around them got out of hand again.

Thank gods for Angie. Baxter silently blinked, while somehow still looking indifferent on the surface. She seemed to be the one mainly on the same wavelength as him with almost unwavering loyalty. The disguised mercenary also posed a good question prior to diffusing one of the few multiple conversations that started occurring throughout the room. His group was getting restless, something Baxter anticipated before the late night meeting even started.

While waiting for a response from Jeod, Ray heard a commotion and looked over his shoulder. Azalea's voice was on the rise yet again, but this time Angelo swooped in to save the night. The man diverted his attention to his good friend Jeod again. He needed a break from all the tension. Besides, he couldn't even remember the last time the pals had a discussion. Lorelthia was it? Or perhaps another kingdom . .

James's voice immediately brought the rebel leader's attention back to the main discussion when he replied to Angelo's earlier question. James suggested a surprise arrival with no masks and using the fact that they had royals in their midst. Baxter's brows furrowed at this idea. It seemed too good to be true. Regardless, the leader continued to listen to the older man's words.

Raymond was still waiting for Jeod's response, but couldn't help looking over his shoulder at the other side of the room especially after hearing his name more than once. "For the record, I never had time to read the book," He clarified before turning back to Jeod, until Baxter swiped his attention with their new plan.

"1 or 2 people will be assigned to each cabinet member with the main objective being to appeal to their assigned target. All unless a different cabinet member approaches them. In which case, you swap targets with the other assigned group," Bax explained as his gaze shifted around the room at the individual faces. His blue gaze paused at the princesses bickering at the other side of the room until there was enough silence for him to carry on with the plan, "Angelo and Aurelie will both be assigned to Artem, the suspicious Secretary of Finance." It was slightly fortunate for the group to be able to double up on a few members. "Ivanna and Annabel are assigned to Nadira, the strict, sly Spymaster," He ordered casting a glance at the two ladies. After getting stuck on a ship with the group for three months, Bax knew which duos were flat toxic and which ones had potential. "Cali and Aria, you both get Ivan. He is Chancellor, yet he sounds like a law-writing hypocrite . . a law violator himself," Baxter's attention shifted to this pairing. There were a few new combinations making their debut in this mission. "Jeod and Priscilla are assigned to Lyksander. He is the king's spoiled brat best friend, experienced with the slave trade and entertainment. Remain thick-skinned by him unless you desire to be humiliated," Baxter summarized each character's main attributes that could either be strengths or weaknesses against the assigned people's personalities. "Azalea and Ray to Layla, the rumored manipulative mistress advisor," He bluntly ordered then turned to James, "You will float for assistance. Be aware of any signals of help that the assigned rebels may need. I'll take Maxim."

Ms. Sparrow explosiveKitten Bakuyoshi Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift
“Good and Evil, Creation and Destruction, we cannot have one without the other. Destruction, creation, good, and evil; in the grand scheme of things they are just the masks we use to understand that which we cannot grasp.”
​

Life on the road meant a lot of greetings and farewells. He would meet new people every day, and despite if they were evil, good, or somewhere in between, he always was entertained by who he met. He once met a man who could pin a fly to a tree without killing it, and a woman who had a voice like a river of silver. He had met a poor man who shared his fire and some fine wine, and he had met a rich man who scoffed in his face and knocked him down as he left. So was life on the road.

But through all the amazing people he met, and despite how many times he did it, he was never good at saying goodbye. Everyone he met had touched him in some way, and it was hard to meet someone and leave them. When he met the woman with the emerald eyes that sang like silver, he had fallen in love. He spent 3 days with her, and when her father found out his daughter was fooling around with a Tinker, Jeod had to flee else his head end up on a pike. In reality, they had done nothing but watch the stars, sing some songs, and go riding in the rain-but Jeod knew better than to try and explain that. That farewell had been the hardest-as he knew he would never see her again.

That was life on the road. For every greeting there was a farewell, and most of the time, Jeod would never see them again. So it was a curious case that he not only ended up meeting Ray again, but ended up spending months with him; the longest he had ever spent with a group since he was a child. But the problem was, throughout the months they had been together, they hadn't had a single conversation. There was some hellos and goodbyes, and there was some times where they had small interactions, but they hadn't sat down and spoke. Hearing him attempt a conversation now was very strange, and while Jeod had always loved a good talk, his months here had changed him.

He was well aware he had been changing-which is why he was so eager to get back on the road. He had seen much that he didn't want to, and had turned into a darker and more violent person. He knew exactly why of course-it was this rebellion. This damn group. His opinion for the rebellion and group had began to sour the more he was here, and while Ray was a good friend to him once, time and war had divided them. He looked at Ray as though he were a stranger. He didn't know this man anymore, he just knew that he was about this rebellion.

But...Jeod's sense of wonder and curiosity had not died. He loved meeting new people, and in his heart of hearts he had not changed at all. He had grown wiser, but he was still the same wide eyed man that he always was. And perhaps in his first act of wisdom, he did not treat Ray like a friend at all. He treated him exactly as he saw him: a stranger.

"No, we haven't. How is it that we have met by chance more times than we've spoken to each other. We hardly know each other anymore." He looked at him now differently. He was meeting someone new. This was a greeting, the part of the road that he loved most of all. He loved meeting new people, and he loved the stories they told. That was a big reason for him joining this band; and now it was time to get to know Ray once again.

Baxter spoke, telling the plan to the rest of the group, forcing Jeod to pause before continuing.

"And I'll be damned, you picked the worst time to talk. We have no drinks in our hands, and we have no trouble to cause. But still, I suppose getting to know you again is just the thing we need before leaving." He pulled his pipe out of his coat pocket and lit it. "You smoke?" He puffed out a smoke ring that drifted up towards the ceiling.

"I'm doing alright. Got some new stories to tell. But this story isn't about me, it seems to be about you! How are you and your girl?" He asked. It had been obvious from the start that him and Azalea shared a connection. They deserved it.

Xanto

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

𝑰𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏​

The mercenary sat alone in the corner, watching most of the room with wandering eyes. Her mind going back to her thoughts.

“Where are you headed off to stranger?”

The merchant asked the traveling mercenary who was rubbing their cold hands by the fire. A common question that was always brought up.

“Just passing through.”

And the response that was always given. Ivanna didn’t sticked to one place for too long. Her fire was on the hilltop, away from many brewing fires down the road. No one was sitting by her and even if she visited a campfire to warm herself. She still felt like a ghost in the mist of people. So what was the reason for her staying in this rebellion? For Ivanna, it wouldn’t be an easy answer.

Ivanna glanced at the commotion between Annabel and Azalea. Watching as Angelo commands both of them to sit and talk it out with each other. Ivanna wondered why Azalea was so upset at Annabel’s title. Sure, it’s important information, but nothing to get angry about. Was there something more to it that Azalea wasn’t sharing? she thought with a frown. Ivanna then shifted her gaze back to James, who was in the middle of detailing each of the cabinet members. She listened carefully, taking note of each individual in her mind. It wasn’t long before Baxter assigned a pair of two people to each cabinet member.

Nadira Jorkskirva, Ivanna pronounced the name in her thoughts as she began to think about the info she was given. A middle aged woman with a fierce and stern demeanor, yeah Ivanna knew the type. A spymaster, meaning each servant would be listening to their conversation with a careful watch. Any information would be relayed back to Nadira. Ivanna was already formulating the plan in her head. Listing out the advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages would probably be no weapons, which Ivanna hated. Once she had the plan laid out in her head, then came the question of her partner. It took her minute to list their capabilities, only to realize she knew nothing about Annabel. To her knowledge she only knew that they were a princess and the leader of some gang.

Therefore, Ivanna started to turn her attention towards Annabel’s speech.

“and I didn't want to be related to the bitch queen. Why? That freaking queen kept wanting to hit me with a whip every single time I mess up in my royal castle maid job. It had gotten so bad that those whip marks are still on my body."

Annabel showed the scars marked on her body. Ivanna’s face softened at the sight. From the outside, no one could predict what Ivanna was feeling at moment. Anyone who saw her own scars would understand what was she feeling. Sympathy.

But why?

Ivanna wanders past the crowd, then stands next to the girl while still staring at the flames. The silent cries of the girl sunk Ivanna’s heart as she looked at the girl trying to stay warm and cry at the same time.

Noticing the scars on her arms

Ivanna could understand why Annabel would go through the trouble of hiding her true identity. She was once noble and dreamt of becoming something that was frowned upon in high class society. However, Ivanna thinks Annabel shouldn’t ignore her title, rather embrace it and make it her own.

Xanto Ms. Sparrow explosiveKitten Blackrose7 Inheritance Bakuyoshi

 

[explosiveKitten]

Oh. She lied about herself and hid it from you, which made you angry. Huh. Thought the woman currently pretending to be a man.

“Okay... So there’s your reason, Azalea.” Angie said, gesturing at the red haired princess. “And I think it is a fairly common reason for keeping secrets. Everyone has secrets. Surely, you can’t disagree with that.” Angie stated, looking at Azalea briefly, before turning back to Annabel, “I certainly can’t disparage you wanting to run away from a legacy you never wanted... or a family that you hate.”

She let that hang in the air for a moment, before adding, “Now, Azalea, if you will, calmly explain to Annabel why that upset you so strongly. ASIDE from the ‘lie’, why did the deception make you upset. Tell Annabel why, quietly.”

She was almost certain that this would not work for long. Azalea was clearly upset, and she honestly doubted that this tentative peace would last.

She looked from her new job as mediator and glanced over at Baxter as he continued to talk to James. Man, she sure hoped they had a good idea. And a good way to prove that this ragtag group of girls were in fact royalty.

Ms. Sparrow Blackrose7

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond nodded at Bax's instructions. It wasn't his first time on a social mission. However, it was his first time handling a mistress in this manner. Usually the rogue had to socially engineer other men or middle-aged snobby women. If anything, he was assigned to a boss rather than a manipulative partner. The king himself seemed to be off limits as of now though.

Ray's eyes glanced to the side. But Layla was all about manipulation and advising from within right? Some analytical thoughts quickly rushed through the ex-criminal's mind. He handled a couple of these cases before. Weren't those the factors that made her dangerous? Mistress was just icing on a cake . . right?

Right. Besides, with Azalea by his side once again he was sure they'd be able to get somewhere with Layla. It wasn't much of a surprise this time around to hear Bax pair Azalea and Ray up again. If anyone really thought about it though, Ray was probably one of the few people in the group who didn't have plans to snap at her any time soon. Now add that to their successful ship heist experience. The duo assignment was definitely a strategic move on Bax's part.

Anyway, Jeod soon spoke up saying that Ray picked the worst time to talk. No drinks and no trouble to cause . . as their other meetings went. The younger Callahan had to admit. It wasn't exactly the best time to converse especially since his brother was going over an important plan. What time did they have other than now though?

Raymond smiled a bit when Jeod mentioned getting to know him again before leaving. At least they knew they were both on the same page now. "We may not have drinks. We may not have trouble . . but we sure have a lot of royals," Ray smirked slightly tilting his head to Jeod.

When asked about smoking, Ray shook his head once and leaned back watching Jeod let out a puff. The fact that Jeod had many new stories to tell prompted Raymond to raise a brow. Both of them were quite fond of exchanging adventures. What confused the guy though was when Jeod flipped the script over to him. " . . " Raymond paused, lost for a moment. How did the conversation suddenly point to him? Actually, him and his girl?

"My girl?" Ray slightly tilted his head to the side in confusion with furrowed brows, "Don't think I told you about one." He rubbed the back of his neck wondering if Jeod probably mixed up Ray's story with someone else's. The tinkerer was after all a frequent traveler. Ray wouldn't blame the man for blending a few stories here and there.

Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

"Your girl." He prodded. Whether or not they were really together, there was certainly a spark between Ray and Azalea. At least on one side. However, the lack of talking about her made him believe he might be mistaken, or that he struck a sour chord there, and decided not to press it. "Nevermind it though."

He was silent for a bit, before finally asking, "So what is the plan after all of this? Don't tell me you haven't thought about it, there's no way you haven't. What's next for you? There will be Chaos..."

He had himself thought a lot about what was next, and in almost every scenario he was back to where he was before-on the road. It was where he belonged, and it was what was good for him. But he simply couldn't see Ray returning to his old life. After all that had happened, he knew that the man was destined for greater things.

"You should get into politics. Will make it real easy to help me out of a pinch of you can wave your hand and have a servant vouch for me." He smiled slightly, remembering some of the old times. They seemed like so long ago now, almost ancient. But that was how it had been for him, and he knew well that as each new battle came, another part of him was lost.

Xanto

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

"My girl?" Raymond repeated with a confused look on his face as his eyes slowly moved from Jeod to scan the room. The man's gaze soon stopped on Azalea before slightly widening. Just this past night the two of them were locked in the same room. . . What if Jeod thought the same thing Bax did? Raymond parted his lips ready to clarify the scene with a stutter until Jeod cut in cancelling the discussion out.

The guy silently exhaled in relief. It only took a few moments for Jeod to ask his next question though. What was Ray's plan after all of this? The ex-criminal thought in silence for almost a good solid minute. "You should get into politics," Jeod said snapping Raymond back out of his daze. The mere idea made him smile. It was almost ridiculous. Could the blacksmith even imagine having so much power that a hand wave could get his friend out of trouble? "The princesses are on our side, remember?" Ray gave a nod in their direction, "They wouldn't even need to lift a finger." "Besides, politics with my background?" He humbly shook his head. Technically, if they got through it all then he could probably qualify for a position specializing in alliances . . but his credibility would still be low especially if things ever got out. "I've thought about it though, or blacksmithing, or creating a special force against Sarthenfall crimes," Raymond shrugged, "Guess it'll all depend on where I'm at when this ends."

"What about you, Mr. Swift?"

Inheritance

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

Azalea pooled over everything she’d been told by Annabel, her swelling temper cooling into something bitter, Annabel’s whip scars still a vivid image in her mind, she grimaced sourly at Annabel. “No I’m not gonna friggin flay you alive or yell at you.” She growled out, still bothered by the scars. “I’m just saying bloody avoiding it won’t make it go away.” She hissed out, though was calmer. She turned her attention, her head glancing up at Angelo, as he spoke. Azalea scowled at the tone and order, suddenly feeling very young, almost like a temperamental child. Glanced between the two with a blank expression as she was expected to pour out her own feelings, abruptly she stood up from sitting at the end of the bed, “Yeaaah. I’m not doing this.” She said bluntly, never one for opening up, nor dealing with emotions head on. She stalked over to the window at this, turning in on Baxter’s orders as she stopped at the window, turning her back to it as she looked across the large room and at Baxter, crossing her arms.

The redhead gave a groan upon hearing whom she’d be taking on, though was secretly pleased with her choice of partner, her stomach doing an odd piccolo in her chest. “Layla? Really? Why do we get stuck with the bloody bit—“

CRASH!

Glass abruptly exploded behind Azalea as a masked figure came crashing swiftly through the window, tackling her to the floor, as six more masked figures came nimbly leaping in through the now broken window. They wore gold masks—all of a different design, white hoods thrown over them, attached to the white cloaks all seven masked figures held. The six figures moved with expert speed and precision, all wielding long, sharp daggers. In a blur they were in the room, moving to quickly attack the closest of the group they could—their attacks would be precise and fluid—this was nothing short of an attempt at murder as they leapt upon the group.

Azalea chin slammed into the floor as she had been tackled from behind, instantly writhing and thrashing her body to get her masked assailant off her. Her attacker lost his hold on her briefly, allowing Azalea only the second she had to roll unto her back before they were upon her again, pinning her down with their weight. Azalea found herself breathing heavily, glaring up at her assailant, it’s mask a snarling, golden lion as they lifted one of their ornate daggers and brought their gloved hand downwards quickly, aiming to stab her in the throat. Azalea’s arms flew up, grabbing at their wrist, stopping the stabbing momentum for her throat, the blade inches away from touching the bare skin at her neck, the two struggling with each other on the floor while the other six set about quickly and precisely trying to kill the rest of the group.



Xanto explosiveKitten
Bakuyoshi
Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[NinjaGirlGamer]

𝑰𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒊𝒏​

Everyone thought it would be a quiet evening, staying at a inn in an unknown country. Ivanna thought she would be able to rest, having been on a ship for so long. It was only wishful thinking, and foolishly so. As a gold and white assassin crashed through the window and tackled down Azalea. Ivanna at the sight of this immediately got up and watched as the rest of the assailants climbed through the window. So much for a quiet evening.

One of the assassins turned their head fast towards Ivanna. The assailant didn’t think twice as the figure dashed forward and pushed Ivanna against the wall hard. The impact making her grunt and reach for her dagger attached to her hip. The figure tried to stab Ivanna in the lower part of her stomach, to which she catches the person’s wrist and struggles a bit to keep them at bay. Ivanna manages to pull out her long dagger before driving it into the attacker’s arm. Making them yelp out in pain before gripping Ivanna’s whole arm then using their might to throw Ivanna at a nearby table. She lands on top of the table briefly before the force makes the table tumble over, flinging Ivanna to the ground. She slowly gets up, but not before grabbing the long dagger from the ground. The figure wasn’t hesitant to attack her again by running towards her, the blade aiming at one of her weak points. The attacker makes a stab strike forward before Ivanna tilted her head away from the knife. The miss makes the dagger plant itself on the wall, causing it to be stuck. The white figure momentarily tries to take the knife out of the wall, before Ivanna stabs the assailant in the stomach. This makes the person let go of their blade in the wall before finding themselves with Ivanna’s dagger in their throat. The assassin chokes up in their blood while Ivanna pushes them to the ground and pulls out the dagger from the attacker’s neck.

Ivanna looked over the scene of six other assailants all trying to assassinate the group. Her sharp blue/green eyes spots Azalea and another assailant, struggling on the floor. The blade was only inches away from Azalea’s neck. In that moment, Ivanna wasn’t focusing on who was attacking who. The environment around her was an ongoing battleground and her only objective was to eliminate any impending threat. Ivanna wasted no time charging forward to the figure about to stab Azalea in the neck. The figure seemed to not have seen Ivanna coming when she dashed forward and kicked the side of the assailants face as hard as she can. The hit makes the assailant jerked to the side of Azalea, already trying to get up and try again. Ivanna didn’t let that happen as she tackles the attacker on the ground while she was on top. The attacker only got a glimpse of Ivanna’s rage filled face before being decked in the face with a punch. The mask started chipping and slowly being soaked in blood as Ivanna’s punches kept coming one by one at a rapid pace. The figure’s hand manages to reach for their blade while the punches were flying at their face. Driving the dagger into Ivanna’s upper leg. Resulting in Ivanna releasing her dagger when the assailant was able to grip hug her into a wall. Before she could react with an attack of her own, the blade was already close to her chest. In a quick grab of the wrist, she held back the knife in a struggle. Staring into the gold lion’s mask, seeing the eyes of a killer.

Ms. Sparrow Xanto explosiveKitten Blackrose7 Bakuyoshi Inheritance

 

[Xanto]

Clyde Callahan and Baxter Callahan and Raymond Callahan​

Pow. Clyde sent a flying fist at the masked face attempting to scoop him up. The assailant seemed to fly back at his strike, only for Clyde to realize that Baxter sent a swift kick to the attacker's gut just a second after. This time it was different. Bax protectively stepped between the attacker and his son, pulling out one of his swords. They weren't against Shades, they were against their own kind.

"Hold that thought," Raymond smoothly shifted onto a bent knee, sending his chain whip out for the attacker headed for Jeod. The masked figure was charging Jeod head on with his sword paving his or her way until the chain whip's end wrapped around the attacker's wrist. Raymond suddenly tugged it in his direction, using the momentum to pull himself up and kick his own attacker into Jeod's attacker's sword all in one smooth motion.

Clash. Clang. Bax and an assailant seemed to be sparring with swords; however, anyone could notice the rebel leader pressuring the attacker against the wall. It took a good minute or two before the attacker attempted a downward strike. Bax hindered it with a horizontal block, sliding his second sword from behind him and stabbing it into the man's torso. He quickly disarmed him from there, striking the loosely gripped sword away and punching the man into unconsciousness.

Ching. The chains sounded as Ray quickly moved around the two assassins, dodging most but not all of Jeod's attacker's aggressive kicks. It was all just a distraction for Ray to tie them up in his chain though. In fact, he had a strong foundation for it since his attacker was stabbed in the chest and Jeod's attacker's wrist was wrapped in the chain . . still stabbing the sword into his buddy's chest. Swoop. Raymond ducked under Jeod's attacker's free fist before coming back up close and casually stabbing a dart into the guy's neck. "Down," He said in a low voice as he guided the man down with a press of the shoulder. By the time Ray took a step back, both assassins were knocked out and tied together.

Baxter looped his arm around Ivanna's attacker's neck from behind and striked the person's leg, sending them down backwards. He snapped the attacker's neck too not wanting to prolong the danger.

Inheritance NinjaGirlGamer Ms. Sparrow

 

[explosiveKitten]

Angie sighed audibly when Azalea refused to talk- this would come back to bite her later, certainly. But Angie didn’t have much time to think on Azalea’s mental state.

People in white robes and golden masks burst through the window, surprising Angie as the first tackled Azalea to the ground.
Chaos broke as the assailants began to attack various individuals. Aurelie shrieked from somewhere, and Angie immediately vaulted to her feet with a cry of, “AURELIE!”

But as she was dashing across the room to the princess, Angie was quickly clotheslined by one of the assassins, and she fell backwards onto the floor. She gagged and coughed for a moment, before she felt a weight press against her gut- the man who struck her had rushed to straddle her waist and was currently trying to stab her with a flashy golden knife.

Her insitincts kicked as she twisted her torso left, then right, then left again as she weaved her way out of the downward stabs. When she finally caught her breath she reached up and grabbed the wrist with the knife and strongly forced it away, using the other hand to grab the man’s mask and jab her fingers into the eyeholes.

The man howled and recoiled, giving Angie enough time to shove him off her legs, then used said legs to kick him squarely in the chest. When he was off, she scrambled to her feet and began to dig around under the edge of her long dress shirt for her hidden knife, but the recovered man shouted and charged her with his own. The young woman smacked his arms away every time he attempted to strike, driving her further and further back until her legs collided with the couch, and her knees collapsed, sending sprawling backwards.

Seeing his opportunity, her attacker shouted and made one final attempt to stab, but Angie grabbed one of the throw pillows nearby and held it forward, causing the knife to plunge into the fancy cushion instead of her fleshy body.
This done, she twisted the knife out of the man’s hand and sent it flying across the room, at which point the man seemed to panic and turned to run, but Angie lunged up and wrapped an arm around his neck from behind.

She could hear him gasping and choking as she held him in a vice grip, and after a quick glance in Aurelie’s direction- finding her cowering behind Alex of all people, who was holding the attacker back by the wrists- and found herself growing impatient with her captives squirming and muttered, “I pray you meet the gods in the afterlife.”
Then she gave his head a sharp twist and snapped his neck.

She threw the body to the floor and looked over at Aurelie and Alex just in time to see the aforementioned pale boy absolutely coldclock Aurelie’s assassin in the face, sending the masked marauder to the floor in an instant.

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He nodded with a grin as Ray got up to handle the assassins. As the situation developed, he quickly figured out that there would be no reason for him to intervene, so he casually stood up while putting his hat on. He scanned the room watching the action, and while most people might leap into the fray or jump into a more active stance, he was content to calmly take in and observe the situation.

A great lesson that he had picked up on the road was to never panic. Even if everything was going wrong, even if the moon was falling into the planet: Never panic. There was never a reason to panic; it made everything worse and had no benefits. Bandits didn't harm tinkers very often because of their craft, but a desperate man will do insane things, and panic was the enemy to escaping encounters unscathed. But there was a huge difference between not panicking and not reacting-and he walked that line so well it was sometimes hard to tell if he even comprehended what was going on.

Because of this, watching the group effortlessly take out some assassins didn't spark much interest from him aside from saving himself, which Ray already did. He pulled his firearm out of his coat, not in any hurry but certainly not slacking, and aimed it at the attacker that was on top of Ivanna. He aimed, and without any obstacle found a clear shot to the man's head. But as he was about to fire, memories of his encounter with her began to surface. He remembered her attack, her blatant betrayal of her kind. The brutality, and the absolute lack of compassion for another human.

His vision returned to the world, and even as the man struggled with her, possibly about to kill her, he remembered his vow. His eyes narrowed, and he pulled his gun back, refusing to take the shot. Baxter took care of the assassin soon enough, and Jeod returned his weapon to his coat and sat back down, lighting a pipe and sending a ring of smoke into the air. He saw where the man's knife made it into her leg, and in a rare moment, he felt no sympathy for her. Hell, he almost wished she got hurt more.

But despite this, he did not wish to see her dead. If she was in mortal danger, he doubted he would help, but he did not wish an early death upon her. He was not like her, and he knew that he would not raise a hand to hurt her. But ...was refusing to help the same as raising a hand against her?

He didn't think so. But he was done thinking about this. It was over, and he had other things to worry about.

He watched the rest of the fight go down in silence, though with his left hand he gripped his cane, ready to defend himself should an assassin make it to him. Nobody else was in danger, and they seemed to have it under control. He was content to watch, and let the fighters handle this; though in the back of his mind he hoped nobody saw him purposely refuse to help Ivanna.

NinjaGirlGamer Xanto Ms. Sparrow

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

Azalea rolled into her knees, leaping to her feet nimbly as Ivanna rushed her attacker. The redhead unsheathed both the daggers strapped to her waist, the room in a wild frenzy as her gaze sought for any more attackers though most members we’re handling their attackers quite smoothly, she noted as she scanned her chaotic surroundings, her gaze stopping on Jeod briefly as he watched him aim the gun for Ivanna’s attacker—and then lower it. Azalea’s eyes widened then narrowed, flaring a bright yellow. He wasn’t helping. He wasn’t helping! By now the group had already delt with the seven assassins, dead or unconscious. Azalea jabbed a finger accusingly at Jeod, still clutching her daggers in gloved hands, “You were going to let her—!”

Swish.

The sound of moving air behind her caused Azalea to whirl as another golden masked person swung themselves in through the window, the Calore Princess however, was ready. She lunged, her dagger driving for her attacker’s throat before the masked, feminine figure abruptly threw up her hands in surrender, Azalea halting mid-stab, the blade inches away from her throat.

“I know when I’ve been beat,” the woman coolly purred out, seemingly calm about the whole ordeal, despite her seven dead or unconscious comrades sprawled around the room.

James glanced up from one of the dead assassins at hearing the woman, his brows furrowing, holding a sword at his side. “Ariane?” He asked.

“Hello, James.” The masked woman purred back, her mask a snarling wolf, still relaxed despite the dagger at her throat and being pinned against the wall by Azalea.

James grimaced. “What are you doing here?” He asked, giving a nod to Azalea. Reluctantly the redhead stepped away, dropping her arms to her side but did not sheathe her daggers.

“Oh me personally I don’t want anything with them, I’m just doing what I’m told,” Ariane replied as she pushed herself off the wall, stepping to the side a bit to see past Azalea, her head turning slowly about as she took in the group, before turning back to James, placing a hand on her hip. “You know James, we’re on the same side.”

“Who’s side is that?” James asked, his brown eyes narrowing some as he sheathed his sword without taking his eyes off the woman.

“Delchistrier’s.” Ariane said airily, much to James unamusement who gave her a stern look for it. She sighed, “Layla’s.” She said, a snort of disbelief erupting from James, he opened his mouth as if to argue but she went on forth in her same purr like tone, “she wants this rag-tag rebellion out of Delchistrier and I think that you know that she’s not happy when she doesn’t get what she wants.”

“Oh, so does she also assassinate the chef when he cooks the meat wrong?” Azalea asked dryly, her yellow-green gaze narrowed some. Ariane pointedly ignored her, much to the redhead’s annoyance. “Why are you doing her dirty work?” Azalea asked her in a slight growl now.

Ariane turned towards Azalea, throwing up her hands in mock surrender, “Don’t kill the messenger,” she said before turning back to James and once more ignoring the redhead as she opened her mouth to speak before being cut off, “We both know that you can’t control Layla, she does what she wants.”

Azalea scoffed, scowling. “So what? So do I. So do we.” She snapped back. Ariane gave a cool laugh, stepping slowly around Azalea and peering at the princess over her shoulder,

“Oh really, scar-face, do you?” She purred in cool disbelief, turning to face the group and unaware of the way Azalea’s face turned icy behind her. Ariane gave a dismissive wave to the group, sounding exasperated, “This was a warning, unless you’d like to end up forgotten corpses buried in shallow graves, I’d suggest you get out of Delchistrier or be dead by the end of the week.” She glanced over at Clyde and cocked her head, her hand sliding to her hip. “Well, except for him. He’d make a great buy at the Slave Market.” She said casually in the same, threatening cool tone. Azalea’s expression turned frigid behind her.

Azalea’s hand lashed out, dropping one of her daggers as her hand wrapped around Ariane’s throat from behind before jerking her head to the side, slamming the side of Ariane’s head into the wall as she kicked her steel-toed, booted leg out and slammed into the back of Ariane’s knee, sending the masked woman to the floor, landing hard and flat on her back. Azalea leapt on her, the petite woman pinning the dazed assassin down, pressing a knife firmly against her throat, a cold rage simmering on Azalea’s features as her free gloved hand reached up and grabbed Ariane by her hood, yanking her head up and slamming it down on the floor, Ariane crying out.

“Now that I have your attention—listen up,” Azalea snarled, glaring down at the masked woman, “you do not come into my inn room, threaten the people I care about—going after Clyde? Bad move,” Azalea hissed, leaning in close, “you leave them alone or I will rip you to bits, because I do believe in killing the messenger,” she leaned in, pressing the dagger harshly against Ariane’s throat, enough to draw just a little bit of blood as Azalea brought her lips close to where Ariane’s ear would be underneath her hood, “you know why? Because it sends a message.” She hissed in her ear, before sitting up once more and removing the dagger from Ariane’s throat, before abruptly grabbing her by the hood again and banging her head against the carpeted floor again. Ariane let out a choked back cry of pain once more, “Layla wants something—you tell that little bitch to come do it herself.” Azalea snapped before standing and stepping off her.

Ariane coughed, the masked woman seemingly shaken some as she scrambled to her feet and nimbly leaped out the window, grabbing into the window ledge above and pulling herself unto the roof, disappearing as silently as she’d came in. Azalea glowered out the window quietly, her mind racing.

James ran his hand over his bald scalp, sighing as he ran his stressed gaze over the seven unconscious and dead assassins in the room. “Ariane will report tonight’s events to Layla. If she knows your here—it means our Spymaster does as well. Who knows who else does. The inn keeper must’ve tipped off someone.” He spoke in his usual if not more weary, matter-of-fact tone. He sighed.

“Welcome to the Game.”


Xanto explosiveKitten
Bakuyoshi
Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel simply ignored Azalea about her avoiding the problem, because she honestly doesn't have a choice. Since she recognizes that her title would cause a lot of problems if it was out in the open. Especially if they were in Ezeris, since everybody in that kingdom wants her to be dead. Not to mention she also wanted to be normal, so she would rather for everybody in the rebellion to not know about it. ‘It’s not like I didn’t know about that, but I rather not deal with it. I want to be normal for as long as possible and if I have to hide my title away from nosy people like Azalea. I would do it, even if one side of me wants to deal with it head on, so I can serve my people.’ thought Annabel.
Angelo then asked Azalea why she was upset by this, and Annabel immediately got angry when she deflected the question. ‘SERIOUSLY?! Did this princess just target me, because she can? I will not let her get away with this, since I had to tell her my secret. Now Azalea has to do the same thing.’ thought Annabel. She got up from the bed, and as she was about to walk up to her. An assassin crashed through the window and tackled Azalea to the floor.
Annabel’s eyes were wide open when that happened, and she secretly grinned about it. But she knew she needed to pay attention to the assassins.
One of the assassins made a rookie mistake by attempting to stab her head on, since they were panicking about their fallen comrades. But she just sidestepped to the right and twisted their hand so the dagger would drop to the floor. Annabel then picked the dagger up, and instead of using it on the assassin. She began beating them up, because she wasn’t in a good mood to kill them.
After the assassin ended up being knocked out because of how badly Annabel beat them up, she looked at the assassin who started to talk. However, she secretly got angry when the assassin wanted Clyde to be sent to the slave market. “Excuse me, but you may not send my nephew to the slave market under any circumstances.” said Annabel, who then wanted to tell them something. But they ended up jumping out of the window.
“Alright then. We will definitely sneak into their ball if they happen to be doing one. For nobody is going to take Clyde away from me. Also, don’t think I haven’t forgotten about you, Azalea. Because you are going to tell me why you were upset about my secret.” said Annabel.
Ms. Sparrow

 

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan and Raymond Callahan and Clyde Callahan
APPROVED TIMESKIP INCLUDED​

Clyde blinked wide-eyed at the battle scene. The kid saw everything . . as in everything. From Baxter snapping someone's neck to Jeod almost purposely not saving Ivanna. Was the tinkerer scared to fire the gun, or was Ivanna not his friend? His thought on the subject only ran on for a couple of seconds before Baxter quickly stepped in front of his son once again. Clyde peeked out from behind his father, catching sight of Raymond stopping himself from running toward Azalea when the last assassin charged at her.

Ariane and James know each other? Baxter wondered and observed James's expression at the mention of working for Layla. The rebel leader allowed Azalea and Ariane to bicker a bit, hearing the expected threat to leave or die. What he didn't allow though was for Ariane to threaten his son about the Slave Market. In which case, Baxter protectively moved Clyde right behind him once again.

Meanwhile, Ray was almost taken back by Azalea's vicious leap at Ariane. The princess aggressively pinned the attacker down and placed the knife by her throat after a sequence of head bangs. It was a side of Azalea he didn't think she had. Then, Ariane left a few moments before James stated the obvious that all their enemies knew just where they were.

Well, at least nobody could take Clyde away from Annabel. The boy stepped out from behind his father, who shifted his gaze to Annabel and gave her a nod. It was good to know that most if not the whole group was on the look out for Clyde . . even Aurelie. Baxter looked over at the western princess. She just stood there almost paralyzed in fear though. . . okay, maybe Aurelie.

"Sneaky," Ray slowly walked across Baxter's line of sight, looking down at the ground and smiling a bit. "Didn't think ya had it in ya, Bax," He paused before raising his eyes to meet his brother's face, "Prove me right." Baxter indifferently diverted his attention to Ray, "I only made our real quarters the second choice after a likely attack. Perhaps you have an idea of how to get there?" The younger Callahan brother kicked up the guard helmet he wore earlier into his hands before nodding at the others, "We have enough disguises to get by." Him and James had their outfits from earlier. Now they were up by seven more temporary disguises. "Unless you're used to sneakin' around, start wearing their clothes," He threw his helmet at Bax who caught it just before making contact with his chest.

Once the group was ready, the undisguised few climbed out the window. The ones with disguises just walked out the lobby nodding at the inn keeper as if their job was complete. They all soon met and walked into a forest. In fact, the thick woods almost made it seem like they weren't in Delchistrier anymore. "Ya sure about this?" Raymond asked, looking around for any spies as Bax led them. "Don't question me," Baxter bluntly stated before realizing that they went down the same path just two minutes prior. Raymond raised a brow at his older brother, smirking in the process. Thump. Baxter shoved a crumpled piece of paper into Ray's chest, "Figure this out." "Wha- . . alright give me a sec," Ray tilted the paper into the moonlight. After ten minutes, they were back on the right path.

It didn't take long for Raymond to randomly throw a rock and set a trap off though. He shortly walked toward the likely more trap infested area with Baxter following right behind him. Meanwhile, Clyde was just looking at all the other adults. Shouldn't we be walking AWAY from the danger? The kid shrugged before following them anyway. As expected, around five other traps went off after Ray did a series of fake triggers on their way to the destination.

"It says we're here," Ray finally said, hearing a sigh come from his nephew.

Leaves. Just vines and leaves . . or so it seemed. Baxter stepped in front of Raymond, moving the vines away and finding a door. The rebel leader then removed his mask and sounded out two whistles in the same tone. Thud. Click. Click. Thud. Click. Soon enough the door finally swung open, moving the vines away and revealing- "Baxter!" A brown-haired woman scream-whispered, immediately wrapping her arms around the man as she pushed her masked face into his chest. Baxter just as quickly embraced her in return. She swiftly pulled away though knowing the situation at hand, before Baxter tilted his body to the side signalling that the masked group was with him. "Come in, quickly," The woman vanished directly back into the vine covered cottage.

Bax followed her in as she led a two-file line into her humble abode. The mystery woman walked into her living room, reaching behind the couch for a crowbar before pulling a rug to the side and digging the crowbar into a tiny space between wooden planks. She exerted pressure until a wooden panel popped up. Then, Baxter instinctively went in to help, lifting the panel at a higher angle until it clicked. In which case, he followed the woman down the secret stairs.

Raymond moved to the end of the group until he was the last person to step in. He looked around for any spies as he silently shut the door behind him and quickly locked all the chains and locks. Apparently they passed by two doors though, so Ray repeated the process again a few steps afterword. Whoever this woman was sure had a secure home . . or hideout? When Ray finally faced forward, the last couple of people were heading down the stairs. How did Bax even have this kind of connection?

Raymond made his way down the stairs into a room with a map of Delchistrier laid out on a table in the middle. There seemed to be a couple more rooms around them as well.

Clunk. Baxter placed his helmet off to the side, prompting the woman to remove her own mask too. Naturally, the rebel leader took it into his own hands to introduce the character, "Everyone, I would like you to meet-." "No need to introduce me, honey," She interrupted, "I'm capable of-." "Mom?!"

The woman suddenly paused before shifting her gaze all the way to the back of the room. Her eyes caught sight of a son she thought she'd never see again. "Raymond!" She gave up all composure, shoving Bax to the side, running, and hugging Ray. Meanwhile, the guy embraced his mother in return.

Baxter moved his gaze from the mother son duo to the rest of the group, "We will be staying here till tomorrow-." "Gammy!" Clyde could be heard screaming in the background as he ran into the arms of his grandmother. Baxter glanced at the reunion, "Any mention of our strategy must happen here, below quarters." "Quit with the attitude, Joey!" The mother scolded Baxter with furrowed brows, while gently moving her hand through her grandson's hair, "Your poor group must be so exhausted. Please everyone, make yourselves at home without destroying anything and get some rest." Her eyes moved to the rest of the group as they removed their helmets, hoods, and masks. She suddenly paused at a sudden realization though.

"Theodore . . . please tell me you're dating one of them," She looked over at Ray whom her arm was still around. " . . Mom," The man sheepishly looked away. "Anyone? Oh, but look at his face!" She released Clyde, trapping Raymond as she moved his head to face the mostly female group. Raymond simply smiled a bit with a mixture of shyness and embarrassment . . something that usually wasn't seen with his confident demeanor. Regardless, the headstrong mother went on, "He's thoughtful, surprising, and can get really-." "Ivanna's leg is bleeding!" Raymond suddenly blurted out before his mom could finish the sentence. "Oh dear!" The woman immediately released her son, running for her closest medical kit, "Who? Which one is Ivanna?"

Spoiler: Open after reading

Rasia "Rayne" Callahan

I'm done. Raymond turned away from the group before moving both hands through his hair. He'd rather be sneaking past traps than hearing his mother spill embarrassing stories about him. The mother quickly turned around spotting the injured lady out for herself as she took out the necessary supplies, "Ivanna honey, take a seat."

"While we are at introductions," Baxter slowly approached his mother, "Mother, I would like you to meet James, Angelo, Alex, Priscilla, Jeod, Ivanna, and the surviving Sarthenfall royals." Tear. The sound of a bandage ripping introduced a brief moment of silence. Mama Callahan stopped fumbling around with medical supplies after hearing the final part of her eldest son's introductions, "What do you mean?" "Princess Aria of Trodaire, Princess Azalea of Calore, Princess Annabel of Ezeris, Princess Aurelie of Aubigine, and Princess Cali of Lorelthia," Baxter gestured to each character respectively, lowering his voice as his mother's eyes widened after every name. Not once in her life did she ever think she would be with all the Sarthenfall royals in one room.

Baxter and Raymond glanced at each other not sure if their mother was starstruck, furious, skeptical, worried, stressed or all of the above. Her face seemed to shift into an expression of seriousness with a tint of concern, "Well, Queens now." Despite her being miles away, the Callahan mother knew about the Shades and darkness in Sarthenfall. In fact, that was exactly why Baxter sent her back to her homeland in the first place.

"Call me Rasia," She mentioned almost feeling as if she had a new responsibility on her plate, "The last thing we need is for anyone outside to know I'm their mother." It was an honorable responsibility nevertheless. "House rules. Everyone under my roof will be treated with respect," Rasia moved her gaze along the faces of those around her, "I know there is drama. There always is . . even in a family. Try to save it for tomorrow morning, but if you must have it then keep it down."

"Now Joey, patch Ivanna up will you?" The Queen of the house ordered, smiling after her eldest boy got a bandage and opened up one of the room doors for the injured one to limp on into.

Ms. Sparrow explosiveKitten Bakuyoshi Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

Azalea had simply exhaled at hearing Annabel behind her. After everything, she didn’t really have the care to argue, though she certainly wasn’t about to tell Annabel anything either. Azalea turned from the window as she sheathed her daggers, giving Annabel a dry stare.

‘Because your going to die,’ she wanted to say. Because if they didn’t find other answers here—there was only one way this was going down. One way to kill Soris. But she didn’t say these things. She didn’t tell Annabel about what it all meant. Because the day she would...would be the day she gave up hope. And she was still, ever so desperately, clinging to it. So she said nothing. Nothing as she climbed out the window, into the night and leaving the inn behind. Nothing as they trecked through the woods, her mind muddled with thoughts of tonight’s events.

Tonight...what was that tonight? She’d never been so cold, so violent, until with Ariane. She’d been...cruel. Horrid, really. The woman had not even tried to attack them personally. Had only warned them, threatened them. And she tonight she became...

‘A monster,’ a chilling voice supplied in her mind. Azalea frowned, shaking her head to herself as Ray now led them after Baxter seemingly had gotten lost. Was it so far off though? Stay true to yourself, Ana had told her before. Reminded her constantly when she’d fought with her parents. After seeing Nox, the Shades. She’d always believed monsters were born....But maybe they were made.

‘Yes,’ the purring tone in her mind encouraged, drawing her deeper from her surroundings and further into her dark mind, ‘just look at what you’ve done...a monster, indeed.’

Azalea started as a trap door flung open from the ground, not even realizing she’d stopped, or rather the group, had stopped walking at all, so lost in the closed, almost comforting darkness of her thoughts. Her brows arched in befuddlement as a brown haired woman emerged from the trap door and pulled Baxter into a swift hug. Which raised many questions in her instantly. Who was this woman? Why was she hidden, masked, even? Why did Baxter known anyone in Delchistrier? With all certain questions threatening to burst out of her, she cautiously followed behind as they were ushered in below, her steps moving with practiced silent as she entered below, glancing around then locking into Baxter and the woman as she removed her masked.

Raymond’s voice made both brows arch in surprise as he called out to his...mom? Azalea instantly stepped to the side as the Callahan mom came running to Raymond and embraced him fully before Clyde too, ran into the hug whilst Baxter attempted to bark out more orders. Baxter, it seemed, was full of surprises. She watched the warm reunion with an unreadable expression.

She wondered, what if it had been like if her parents yet lived, and they had reunited. Probably a nice, stiff handshake with her father, she thought with a grimace. A simple nod from her composed mother. The thought was unwelcoming and she pushed it away, turning away and squashing the selfish jealousy she felt rise in her, hating the awful feeling.

Azalea smirked bemusedly to herself as the woman chastised Baxter and addressed the rest of the group to make themselves at him, though her smirk was tugged even more upwards as Raymond’s face was trapped as his mother looked to the women of the group, though she could not say why this humored her so much...nor why she could feel some heat bloom at her pale cheeks. She itched her scarred cheek and glanced away, pretending to loook about to cover it up. ‘Pull yourself together, Az.’ She scolded herself silently, though her eyes caught on Raymond despite herself as he turned away from the group after distractedly freeing himself from his mothers clutches. Mischief tugged at her insides. She smirked as she swaggered up behind him.

Azalea propped an elbow up on Raymond’s shoulder, not the easiest action considering he was actually quite taller then her, leaning her petite, lithe form on him the slightest as she smirked up at him, “I wonder what else your mother has to share about you, I’ll have to ask,” she teased him dryly, giving pause then as he heard Baxter name drop ‘royals’. She dropped her elbow and straightened then. Oh boy.

The redhead still managed her cocky smirk however, as her name was dropped, dipping her head to the Callahan mother some, her posture casual as she leaned her weight to her side with her hand on her hip, the princess looking far more likely to rob someone, dressed in her fitting leathers, then to sit in a throne. Azalea’s yellow-green gaze held some caution to them as she took in the woman’s reaction to the titles. The slight concern in her face made her insides squirm some, even more as she addressed them as Queens. A Queen without a throne. Without the support of half her people. Some bloody Queen she was, of course, boffing up Faroliis entirely. It was an uncomfortable title, a complicated one, for her. But the respect the woman gave by addressing her as one, warmed her all the same. Briefly, her lips curved into a tight, dimpled smile.

The woman then addressed them all for a final time, telling them to at least, get along for now. And to call her Rasia, raising still the question of why she was in hiding. Or why people couldn’t know. She watched as Baxter set about to try tending to Ivanna, her faint smirk slipping from her features as she stepped away from Raymond, her hand sliding for her hip as she took a few steps around, noting her surroundings before turning at the sound of footsteps and finding herself looking up at James.

“Play nice,” he muttered in a low voice, sternly, his gaze briefly darting to Annabel.

Azalea snorted and rolled her eyes, turning away, “I always play nice,” she muttered dryly in return, stepping away before James hand reached out and lightly grabbed her by the wrist to stop her, she flinched and turned, her eyes narrowing icily at him and he quickly dropped her wrist, his expression turning apologetic before he stepped closer, his tone dropping lower.

“What you did tonight wasn't smart,” he said quietly before gesturing her over to the far wall as he stepped away. Exhaling at yet another lecture, she followed with a grimace till they stood facing each other, crossing her arms and peering up at him with some expression of smugness.

“This is cause I used a move on her you hadn’t even seen until me.” She murmmered in quiet cockiness to her trainer whom looked nothing short of un-amused.

“This isn’t a laughing matter.”

“I don’t think you could laugh at anything unless it slapped you in the face.”

“Azalea. You threatened Layla.”

She exhaled, exasperated. “Look, I get it alright. The Game. The threats, tread carefully, blah blah blah. Tonight Layla pushed me. I pushed back.” She whispered airily, this time holding up her hand as James opened his mouth to interject, his stern expression shifting to that of mild surprise as she continued, “Let’s not do this for the fifth bloody time. We have company and we reaaallly can’t afford to be kicked out. ”

“Your being reckless and you know it.”

Azalea turned away and stopped then, turning and smirking over her shoulder at James, “Relaaax, I’ve got this.” She said casually, dismissively with a shrug. Cocky.

“Azalea—“ he began in a low voice, the two still speaking low to avoid a rise of argument or concern, as well as attention to themselves. Being cut off again by Azalea.

“The Game does not only exist in Delchistrier, James.” She said coolly with her same smug expression, though there was something frigid in her gaze as she said it before sauntering away, leaving the retired assassin rubbing his face with a weary expression at the untamable Queen.

The fiery young woman stepped quite a few paces away from the group, her expression falling into something serious and withdrawn as she glanced around some quietly, her thoughts again being dragged into darkness as she poured over everything from tonight’s events to her family, feeling foreign in such...warmth.


Xanto explosiveKitten
Bakuyoshi
Inheritance Blackrose7 NinjaGirlGamer

 

[Bakuyoshi]

Cali had to take a long while in her head to imagine how she had even gotten in this situation. She had hardly been able to talk. And now all of this had happened. Everything was falling apart, they were in a country of murderers, assassins, liars, and slavedrivers. She hated this place, how could there ever be any form of truce with monsters like these. Yet she could not speak, her voice could not work after an attempt on her life. Her heartbeat had hardly slowed down and she could still feel her heart threatening to leap out of her chest. How was it she got here. Nothing made sense. And now she had to be forced into that position, with that name, "Queen. Why do they call me that." she thought to herself as she was introduced. Only a glum look on her face and hardly even looking up. And even in all of the warmth she felt distant from the people that surrounded her.

"I must excuse myself." She said in a monotone voice as she walked away to some place where she could be alone. She needed the time to be away from all this stress, where she wouldn't be called queen. She just needed someone to call her Cali. Maybe then she could be dragged out of this nightmare.

explosiveKitten Xanto Ms. Sparrow NinjaGirlGamer Blackrose7 Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

Azalea's accusing tone did nothing to change his mind of his course of action, especially when her criticism was met with an attack by yet another assassin. He watched their little show go down before the group once again moved. The news that the inkeeper tipped someone off was troubling, and the group's lack of action continued to irritate him. Jeod was all for planning and thinking things out, but the time for strategy was rapidly passing; and their hours of planning were now turning into hours of waiting for the next assassination attempt.

Even so, meeting Bax's mother brought a welcomed sense of relief. It had been a long time sense he had the pleasure of a home-cooked meal, or the feeling of warmth that came from a nice house. He tipped his hat and bowed respectfully, but felt that the people that should be talking to Rasia were more important than himself. He tipped his hat again, and stepped back into his usual position in the corner of the room where he could watch everyone and prepare himself should something go down. He was a bit on edge now, almost expecting another assassin to leap through the window and murder this kind woman, violating the sanctity of this haven. But instead of an assassin, he watched as Cali stormed off alone.

He knew it wasn't his place, and he knew that going after someone he barely knew was a bit strange, but it was dangerous for anyone in this group to be alone, much less a coming queen. He waited a moment before he excused himself as well, and deftly followed Cali out of the room. He understood well that most others in this group were a lot more stressed out and troubled then he was. His reason to back this rebellion was vastly different than the others, and if the rebellion failed, he had no doubt he could slink away and return to his old life. The rest though...there was nothing left for them. Assuming they survived, they would be on the run or in prison for the rest of their life, constantly wondering what could have been. He could never understand what they felt, and he was ok with that- though he felt a responsibility to ease the burdens of others because his was so light.

When he finally found her, he approached her cautiously, figuring she wanted to be along. He would respect her wishes if she sent him away, but he figured he might as well try to talk to her. He thought about how he might greet her, as he had never really talked to her before. Your Majesty? Highness? No. That was foolish. He didn't like titles anyway, which is why his profession was essentially without one. He was a tinker yes, and the name gave him great respect on the road, but it was not the title that was respected-it was the craft. Because of this he found himself disliking addressing even royals by their proper title. When occasion and social niceties called for it, he obliged and used whatever title was appropriate. But this was not the time for anything formal, and if he wanted to have a deep conversation with her, her name might be a nice way to start.

"Cali?" He said in a quiet voice, "Are you alright? Bax's mother isn't that intimidating is she?" He said with a small smile. He knew there was something else, but he knew he would have to start small before he could get any truth out of her.

Bakuyoshi

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Do you even have an idea of where we are at this point. Look at us, we are Lorelthians, practical geniuses! But look at how we are treated here. We are treated like frail individuals, everytime we try and help they shut us up." Cali barked in a somewhat hushed tone so she did not get any unwanted attention. But she was relieved. Finally she had an ally that was like her. She was sick of the Rebellions ways. And Jeod was a helpful individual, after all they were two of a kind.

"And how long will they tell us to shut up and listen as they spout idiotic plan after idiotic plan. Now we are looking for Assistance from a country like this. We are seeking help from slavedrivers, murderers, and generic assholes. How would we ever benefit from this alliance. I dislike Ezeris believe you and me. But we are choosing the lives of the few over the lives of the many. We took someones livelyhood. If our enemy is as Merciless as we believe. An entire crew of Ezerians were likely executed for us stealing their ship, and they allow Nox to move around. Because I don't know why, why is it that we are even allowing her to roam around, why is it that the others shut us up regarding it."

Cali stopped before looking to Jeod. "And I was wondering if I could trust you on something. Lorelthian to Lorelthian. None of this royalty bullshit, two people concerned about the future of everything."

Inheritance