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"I am Taff the royal manservant, I wish to see the lady of the household on behalf of the king. His majesty sends condolences and the prince is forfeiting a season's worth of taxes from her lands to alleviate her losses" explained Taff extending the parchment that bore the seal with the royal coat of arms

"I also come to deliver the king's latest orders by royal decree" explained showing the parchment for that too, the latest announcement and decision to ban magic and persecute its users or any creature not human

Atoli chimed in as soon as Romulus said ‘bird woman’ and corrected him by snapping, “Atoli.” Before listening once more. She turned towards Mannix now as he spoke, her arms crossing lightly in front of her chest as she frowned down at him.

“I found your hat… the guards didn’t seem to appreciate my offer of a trade for it.” She looked down and around briefly before remembering she had left that item back in the alley and sighed before rolling her eyes. “As if a hat would do them any good…” She still felt slighted over her encounter with the Crow and the Lady of the House.

Atoli looked over in time to see Eike’s magic trick with lighting the lantern and started in surprise. “Oh! ...Are you a magician?…” She looked to him with a little more wariness now; perhaps he wasn’t as helpless as he seemed. “If you make any tricks that give us away or cause harm I’ll poke your eyes out. Got it?” She warned Eike, the feathers on her shoulders floofing slightly. She didn’t know what sort of powers he might be hiding.

Lady Menelli seemed more than drained with all these visitors; already her husbands funeral was being arranged, her eldest son was only 10 and was already beginning his classes to train him to take the throne as soon as possible. Even if she was prepared for this, there was only so much the exhausted woman could handle.

She rubbed her temples, just walking up to the wall to stand beside Crow, "The King's men this time? We should've known he'd be coming here, I imagine soon he'll have the place swamped with his Knights..." While that wasn't exactly a bad thing, it was more attention than she would appreciate at this point.

---

"What did you give up to get that magic?" Romulus was suddenly much more interested in Eike than before, leaning forward and gazing at him, "Or is it in your blood? You don't look like I suspected a magical creature to...this one," He jabbed a thumb towards Atoli, obviously not bothering to properly address her, "seems more magical than you, and the only magic she seems to be able to is make herself seem scarier than she is...though it does work very well..." He looked warily back at the bird wo--- Atoli, he corrected himself mentally, his pale eyes examining her.

"Well I hope your spoils were worth it little thief. Now we're all going to be criminals."

The Hanged Man heard Taff out with his usual leaden stare. He was about to descend to inspect the proclamations when Lady Menelli joined him atop the wall. He bowed curtly at the waist.

"It would seem he has s-sent but two for now," the knight said, clearly skeptical, "and mere boys at that. Yet they claim to bear letters of import. It seems s-strange that they would not have an escort ..." He looked back down at the two. "Should we permit them entry for more scrutiny, my lady?"

For a long time no one entered or left the Haydn mansion, everything was quiet. Perhaps too quiet if there was anyone directly observing them, yet still the silence persisted, the lights in the windows staying firmly unlit. The entire building would give off the impression of a ghost town. Yet underground in the basements of the mansion activity was everywhere.

Charles looked at the finished project then back at his brother, the satisfaction overwhelmingly clear in his eyes. "Finally mankind can reach its pinnacle, we shall sweep all those who dare to oppose us away with this."

The other nodded, the eagerness in his eyes showing too. "Of course it still needs full testing, but first we do need more..."

He never finished his sentence as Charles cut him off far before he finished. "Of course, shall we use that to collect the requisite supply?" He turned and pointed to another looming object in the dark of the room.

"That would work, it shall be used soon."

"I have... a little gift." Ortrun began, shifting in his seat. "...But it is both, in fact. This lantern is child's play for me, though." The man smiled uncomfortably at Romulus and pushed his hair back out of his face, enough to expose one of his eyes from beneath his unkempt hair. Atoli's threats were not unheard but the sorcerer got the impression that this was to be a normal occurrence; he glanced at her, still smiling and giving a nod of compliance. "Nothing treacherous, friend. I only use as I should; to help."

Atoli looked at Romulus blankly as he motioned at her. The harpy took to preening the long feathers on each arm for a moment, looking quite smug at the thought of him finding her intimidating. And when he looked back to her she grinned, exposing her sharp teeth proudly before replying, “I was already a criminal long before this little debacle, and I’m sure you were too. I can’t say the same for that one though…”

Atoli now eyed the magician, confused by his demeanor. “Friend? We’ve practically kidnapped you, how can you be so…” She motioned to him, unsure of what to call him. After a moment, she thought to maybe ask for his name… but looked to be a little lost for words now.

She turned and paced away to a door that seemed to lead further into…wherever they were. It led to a simple bedroom that was quite minimalistic in its furnishings; A simple bed, nightstand, and a chest occupied the small space, so Atoli went to rummaging through the chest, finding only clothes and a small sewing kit. She scooped up everything within with her feathery arms and toddled back to the room the two males were in before unceremoniously dropping the contents in front of Romulus. “Here. You look like a naked hatchling, lying there like that.” She smiled a little pityingly, still enjoying the fact that this infamous assassin feared her.

Lady Minelli sighed, shaking her head, "Yes, fine, let them in." She waked down from the wall, heading to the main room. Though the woman still wore her black, there was a certain fierceness she always had when meeting these people; she was cold, cruel; her green eyes were judging and accusing. These nobles were the reason her husband had died, they had been the ones to teach him his horrible ways. She blamed them.

She sat down, folding her hands in her lap and letting out a soft exhale, attempting to steel herself before these men walked in.

---

"Oh thank you, mother hen." He huffed at her, but he did go looking through the clothes. He wrinkled his nose a bit once he had gone through most of them, "There are womens clothes...."

Still, he felt like he had little choice; and this could be to his benefit. He plucked out a few items and moved into the dark of the room to dress himself. The tunic he had picked was more fitted and cut lower down his chest, and his breeches were fitted as well, though not so much so to make himself (or anyone else) uncomfortable. The young man sat back down in the light again, looking towards a window at the dark of night.

"Well, I guess this is quite the mess we've landed ourselves in."

Merthyr came forward bowing before the lady and extending her the royal parchment that he had written himself out of compassion for the woman. It contained his condolences and offered tax exemptions for the season to alleviate her worries, a courtesy from the crown prince.

"Sorry for your loss, madamme" mentioned Merthyr not willing to stay there long at all

Taff on the other hand, extended the king's parchment containing dry formal condolences along with the notification that he had appointed a new lord to her former husband's dominions, a strong hand to keep the lands under control with an iron fist where her husband had clearly failed given his present condition. After all, it was within the king's rights to remove as much as appoint lords, high and low lords alike, to suit his whims and felt a grieving woman, with a young child were unsuited to manage the large estate, appointing her to a grand manor in the countryside for her and her immediate family and household instead. Not only were the king's men coming but they were seizing and taking away, as he had done callously for every lord deceased.

Taff was unaware of the content as he also handed a copy of the new royal decree that banned magic and commanded its immediate persecution.

"Sorry for your loss my lady" added Taff formaly and serious also keen to leave since she was clearly indisposed, the pair of them awaited her indications to be dismissed not wanting to linger but not leaving so as to not appear rude

*****

Lord knight Tron Pentre, the commander of the king's army, seized the royal parchemts with the latest decree heading out to each village, city and town to read aloud the proclamation, nailing it at the main square to start rounding up sorcerers, those who dabbled with magic or supported it in any way along with any creatures that were not human too.

The slavery, torture and slaughter was about to comence and it would be indeed a bloody, long, merciless, cruel persecution, slavery of course being the first offered choice seen as an act of mercy.

At last he reached the city too, where lady Julia was, bringing about the announcement to the main square.

"Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Let it be known that from this day forward magic and its practice is banned and outlawed throughout the realm under penalty high treason punishable by means of slavery, torture or death. Those found guilty of practicing it, belonging to its followers and factions will be sverely punished including all creatures that are not of our kind. Those guilty of harbouring or providing aid to the culprits shall themselves be held guilty and accountable by means of fines and hard labour as pleases the lord of the lands. On the other hand, anyone providing valuable information about these sorcerers and creatures that leads to their capture and whereabouts, shall be rewarded accordingly.

I, King Conrad Tydfil, ruler of the realm hereby command that from this day, til ordered otherwise, all, highborn and lowborn alike must obey the terms of this decree for the greater good of the kingdoms, for the sake of peace, prosperity and protection of the realm and its vassals." concluded Lord Pentre finishing to unfold the scroll and nailing it to the board, making his way to the tavern which was always a good place to start alongside a mug of ale

((I'm back! Sorry guys, the camp I went to flooded and we had an overstay, I apologize!)),

Groaning, Umbra stepped out from Atoli's shadow, dropping to the floor. She rolled about for a moment, sitting up, she muttered weakly, "I'm back," and resolutely flopped to the ground. During her time away she had, chronologically, seperated herself from the group, allowing the rest to pass through the shadows. Ended up a good vertical twenty feet from her original position, landed none too softly. Had her very first , and extremely extensive city pursuit and finally arrived at her destination after escaping the guards.

A gash ran from her upper back to her lower torso, both on her left side, another down her right arm. Three of her ribs were fractured, along with an arm broken and to top it off, she had sprained her ankle. A hand waved from Umbra's position on the ground, "Medical!" She called, and then proceeded to up-end her evemeal onto the boards. After she had finished and rolled another five feet away from Atoli's shadow, she eyed the garments held in the harpy's arms, "Those are female clothes, but... whatever,"

The Hanged Man watched the two boys, making sure neither of them tried anything in the presence of the lady. The tall one looked very familiar, but Crow had seen many, many faces in his years ... surely it was just a coincidence. He was silent as they presented the two scrolls and offered up their sympathies. He had half a mind to dismiss them, but waited for Lady Minelli's word, in case she had questions about the two letters.

A man awoke in a darkened cave, water slowly dripping from the ceiling and onto his face. Splashing off his face and running in little rivulets down his cheeks. At first he just sat up in bleary eyed haze, not fully understanding where he was. Suddenly it hit him and his eyes snapped wide open and full of fear, his memories coming flooding back.

His head swung wildly about as his eyes became adjusted to the new surroundings. One thought racing through his mind, why was he there? Why?

Then he knew, he must have been placed there by the Haydn's after they caught him and his friends trying to steal from them. His friends! Where are they? Are they in here with me? All thoughts that ran through his mind.

Tentatively he called out. "Mary! Alex! You there?"

"Over here." The reply came wafting out from in the darkness, a voice which he recognized as his sister Mary.

He sighed deeply, at the very least his sister was alright. It was a small comfort but one he held tight, yet it was going to be a very short lived one. For a few seconds later his sister screamed in fear and just as quickly went silent.

He turned and ran. Fleeing without a second thought. A glance behind revealed a patch of dark much blacker than the rest speeding towards him.

Tears streaming in his eyes he continued to flee, running from the horror approaching. Then, suddenly a wall reared up in-front of him, blocking his escape.

He only had time to turn and stare into the four gigantic stone eyes which glared back and scream.

---

Charles turned to his brother and smiled. "The first test has been a great success. Soon it shall begin harvesting the needed resources."

Eike started when Umbra fell to the floor suddenly, nearly dropping his lantern in the process. "Ah!" At the moment the sorcerer was the most intimidated by her (since she was the one to cast the spell which landed them there), so he crawled a small distance from her before getting up. "D-do you, I mean sh-should I help, or do you have something on hand?" It was hard for him to know, given the situation.

When she crawled and send a comment Romulus' way he shot the jester another small smile, quipping, "I'm sure you'll look beautiful regardless." Despite the fact that he could be saying that to get on their good side it seemed like a genuine observation; maybe it was!

Atoli snorted through her nose lightly; her version of a soft laugh. When Mannix sat back down after changing she grinned and whistled out a lilting cat-call at him. “Sure you don’t want to try out something a little more elegant?” She asked and bent to pluck out a thin dress from the pile until Umbra emerged from her shadow.

The harpy gasped and jumped away from the elf, nearly tumbling over Romulus in the process. "What in the?!-" and watched Umbra heave her lunch on the ground. At the comment directed to Romulus and Eike's reply to it, Atoli nodded her head in agreement; though she still looked disturbed by the sudden appearance of the elf.

Lady Minelli's face was grim as she read the letter; she didn't look pleased at all. She set it down, standing, "You dare mock me with your words, servant? Your kindness does not align with the message you just delivered me. I will be damned if I let some power-hungry beast take over my familys' land, you can tell your horrid King that I said to hell with his rules!" She was yelling by the end, her eyes burning like fire, "Crow. Close the gates. No one leaves this manor. No one enters. Take these two men to the basement, tie them up...I need to get in touch with a few allies." The woman turned on her heels, making her way out of the room and quietly muttering about her 'husbands legacy'.

She moved like a snake through the hallways, hardly graceful but very dangerous as she advanced to her late husbands study. When she entered she went swiftly to his desk, pulling out his ink and papers, and quickly beginning to scrawl out a letter:

Sir Charles Haydn, it read, I wish to reconsider your involvement in the Minelli family land. I have a proposition for you, one you may find unable to refuse. Come at once, I haven't the patience nor the time to wait on you. Signed, Lady Aileen Elis Minelli.

She rushed to a small cage, the messanger bird climbing out onto her sleeve; its talons dug into her skin, but the woman was unerved, securing her letter to his leg, "Go, at once." She released the bird from the window, letting it begin its flight to Charles.

---

"Very funny." The young man grumbled, though perhaps the faint color on his cheeks was a blush. He looked to Umbra without care, watching the elven woman, "Did you make a mistake out there? Transport yourself off a cliff, woman?" His smirk made it clear he felt satisfied by her suffering. Even if she was the one to help him out of there.

((You're good dude!! ))

The Hanged Man lofted his brows at the lady's reaction to the letters. What on earth had they read? He didn't expect her to clarify, however. "Aye, my lady," he said. "C-come on, lads ... make this easy." He stepped around behind Merthyr and Taff and grabbed each by the upper arm. His grip was tight, though his hands shook slightly. Provided they came willingly, he would begin to lead them towards the dungeons. In the gatehouse, chains shifted and groaned as the portcullis was lowered.

Merthyr looked up alarmed at her sudden change of tone of voice and attitude, her words in part revealed the message contained in the parchment of her being replaced and no longer the ruling lord or lady of the lands, how disgraceful of his father to deliver such a low blow at such time of distress, no wonder the woman was furious. He was all the more worried at her words confirming their grim fate of becoming locked up in a basement for some unknown intention, length or reason and he wasn't going to stand and wait for it to happen. He was keen to read that parchment to know exactly what the king had written and confront his father about his distasteful tactics but not so keen as to endanger himself for it. He forcefully yanked himself free tugging Taff to release him too. If she truly wanted them she'd have to come get them. "Move!" shouted Merthyr leaving the property by jumping from the high balcony into the river below. Admittedly it was not an elegant route to follow, but if this unusual escape path had been good enough for a wounded assassin not a week before, it was a proved and tested way out for sure. Taff was already ready to make a run for it, every lady issuing similar orders any time he delivered the king's condolences, until now, not knowing why.

Without further ado and two splashes later, they dived into the icy waters of the river below swiming to safety by making their way to the town. They emerged a while later, soaked and drenched but safer and headed to the main square, to the market stalls, to buy clean dry outfits. It was here, whilst buying clothing, that they saw lord Pentre arrive in his full force, king's banners and all, with so many armed men that seemed as thought there were more guards and knights than common folk gathered at the main square. It looked indeed as if there was a war going on and the place had been seized. Such unusual display of force at such large scale had a darker reason behind it than just a mere proclamation. Merthyr and Taff looked at each other silently they already knew the message and did not like it one bit at all, but to walk away would raise suspicions so they mingled with the common folk coming closer to listen and learn about the latest royal decree. Taff quickly paid for two cloaks to conceal Merthyr and himself and to keep warm, buying the rest of replacement clothing items more calmly. Once done, he mingled with the crowd whilst Tron Pentre rambled on reading the new cruel decree.

Lord Tron Pentre proceeded to read aloud about lord Julius murder and the official notification that the Minelli were no longer the ruling family, to give them time and space to grieve their loss properly and warned the peasants to respect her privacy by not troubling the lady Minelli. He read to the crowd at large that, he himself, the lord Tron Pentre was the appointed lord for now and he would inform them of their new liege at a later stage. They could come to him for urgent matters or await the new nomination instead. He made them aware all the lesser lords and the cities, towns and villages had been informed of this immediate change of power and to come forward to him at once for any matters pertaining to outlawed sorcery, to claim their reward if details were proven to be true. Upon finishing, everyone shouted the usual "long save the king!" as was customary and dispersed.

Taff and Merthyr ventured down the alleyways and streets heading to the tavern in relief. Taff noticed the jester's bell hat discarded by the edge of the road, along with a handful of scattered black feathers and a dried up patch of blood but the trail clearly lead nowhere which was puzzling. He left the items there making a mental note of the location and the pair went to the tavern a bit further down, pausing stiff to find lord Pentre and his men already there questioning peasants about known sorcerers and those that practiced such dark crafts. Taff was almost shaken to the core at the danger of being found out and bit his lower lip. Merthyr acted calmly as he paid for bed and a meal, sitting down to eat and drink quietly, listening to the surrounding conversations. They were weary of being noticed by Pentre, thus ate the food quickly, keeping the hood up and head ducked at all times, no conversation till the food was finished. They nodded at the bartender and headed to the given room. "That was a close call" muttered Merthyr in a sigh of relief "No different to the other ladies I lately deliver messages to, one might think the king wants me executed in the most painful manner by making me hand over messages of that nature when feelings of anger are still so high" nodded Taff not blaming her at all, given the circumstances. He made the bed for the prince and laid back on the carpet by the fireplace instead, having helped the prince change his attire and hanged the wet clothes to dry by the warmth of the flames.

Inside the Haydn manor Charles was looking up in surprise as a guard rushed up to him carrying a letter addressed to him. Skimming his eyes over it there crossed over his face a look of confusion and slight annoyance. The news was good, but it came at an annoying time. Just when he was overseeing the completion of a project the family had spent their lives creating, it was also in a way strange. She had reconsidered awfully quickly for someone who had so adamantly refused the request just a few days ago.

Turning to the head of the guards; Manuel he ordered to him to keep an eye on the progress of the project and that should he not return to ensure that the lady Minelli regretted it for the rest of her life.

Donning his formal outfit with its imperial purple colouring, he set out towards the castle. Only finding a locked gate upon approach.

The Hanged Man was not a clumsy man, but he wasn't light of foot either, given his heavy armor. "Get after them!"

Several guards pursued the two escapees through the manor, but to no avail--over the balcony they went. "This is g-getting old," spat Crow when word was brought back to him. "Goddess preserve me ... let them go. The lady has ordered the keep to be fortified." It was foolish--their forces were spread thin across the city in search of the jester. If the king besieged the keep, he could easily round up the scattered soldiers and put them to the pike. At least it would be fewer mouths to feed if the siege drew out ... but Crow didn't think that likely.

The gates were shut and barred and the patrols atop the wall tripled, until nearly every spear they had left was there, watching the city around then. The arrival of the King's banners wasn't lost on them. The Hanged Man hurried to and fro making sure everyone had their orders, then returned to the gates to meet the returning Charles. Thankfully he did not take long to arrive. "Master Charles," greeted Crow. "You are expected." A small sallyport was opened to permit Charles entry, then quickly barred again. The Hanged Man joined him on the lower level, then beckoned for the Haydn to follow him to Aileen.

Glaring at the ceiling, the elf snorted, "No, I just kind of had a small tumble, though you wouldn't have gotten out of there if not for that," She then turned her head towards Eike with a hostile stare. Umbra stayed silent for a moment, then sighed, "Won't you use common sense for once?"

With a huff, the assassin reviewed her life choices, then her recent choices and recent ongoing events. Umbra groaned in annoyance, so much had gone wrong within a nighttime.