Rolling out the Red Carpet

[Roland]

Roland frowns as the tension continues to rise, then as Noku points at him and gives him instructions to investigate the happenings with the dragon he nods. It was on his list of things to do anyways. He feels a bit of relieve as Aveline scampers out and the king dismisses the nobles. However, Roland could feel the wards from his office activating and something else.

“Excuse me your majesty, I am going to need to insist you remain with an honor guard, someone has broken into the palace. I will go investigate,” He says as several members of the mage and royal guard appear from under an invisibility spell. Roland nods to the man at their front, he was one of Roland's lieutenant, and was a very capable man. He sweeps out of the room and looks at Aveline who was waiting for him.

“I apologize that I cannot stand and talk, someone has broken into my office.” He says, though as he sees some activity from the other guards he begins to pick up the pace. As he gets closer to the office he sees Garza, but says nothing, not wanting to distract the man.

[Deleted]

Wow, that wagon was coming fast and Severine didn’t hesitate to throw Rolly under it. Rolly however managed it well, but Aria had to question the wisdom in distracting the captain of the Royal Guard while he was working. His job was to make sure no threats came close to the king. She smiled when Lucinda came and stood by her, a bit surprising considering she had been largely implicated in this whole mess. If what she remembered was right where and who a noble positioned themselves by could implicate quite a bit. She would have to find a way to thank Lucinda later. Aria turned her attention back to the king as he once again reiterated that he was at the executions….she hoped his box had been veiled and out of the way. She certainly didn’t see him sitting near the old bats box.

Aria’s eyebrows shot up in surprise when she was suddenly ….invited? or Ordered….one of them to brunch. That and Garrett was now her personal guard….that made things a bit easier at least. She preferred him a lot over anyone else. That and she and Garrett would need to talk soon; there was a fuzzy memory of a confession that she wasn’t sure was hallucinated or not. When they were dismissed Aria bowed low and went to turn to leave until Roland said someone had broken into his office. Aria stropped and looked back at Severine and the king then the door…then Garrett unsure of where she should go. She ran a good hand through her bangs; and decided probably a good idea just to wait outside of the door until Roland took care of the intruders.

Aria opened up the door and exited the throne room; her eyes catching a glimpse of the woman who had done the wine tasting. Arias eyes softened as she went and stood next to her. The girl looked like she could use some company.

”Are you alright?”

[Deleted]

When he saw the other person come up from behind cover with the bottle in his hand, Garza's eyes went wide with shock. He knew what was in that bottle, and he knew he couldn't afford to be hit by it. When he saw that vial, he cursed and did the only thing he could really think to do in that situation. He dodged to side , allowing the doorway to be free to access. With any luck, he would dodge any kind of spear attacks that way as well, but it meant that he could no longer use his body as a shield to stop. He was not happy about it, but he WAS happy when he finally saw Roland turn around the corner. He had waited for back up, and he could assume that Roland had sort of detection system in place with his magics. He yelled to Roland, keeping his guard up the whole time.

"Sir! Intruders! I have had them pinned in the office, sir!"

[Deleted]

Séanait continued thrusting away at Garza, trying to get in a disabling blow, but he was too good for her and managed to counter everything she threw at him with either his gauntlets or good footwork. Claire had already thrown one thing past her head so, when Séanait sensed Claire coming up behind her, she stepped far enough off to one side to give Claire a clear shot.

Garza, on seeing the bottle hurtling towards him, stepped back and out of the doorway. Séanait darted forward, feinting at his face, but actually meaning to hit him down in the calf. She was relying on Garza already being on the defensive and perhaps a little distracted. In fact, he seemed to be talking to...Oh shit, that's Roland!

Already committed to her true thrust, Séanait decided that, if Garza managed to avoid her thrust, she would risk an upwards slash to his groin. She needed to end her fight with him now.

[Claire]

As Shy charged after Garza, the glass from the bottle shattered against the door as it slammed shut behind them. Claire’s shoulders slumped a little, hearing the scuffle continue behind the door. A certain word made her head tilt, however- Sir. Claire pushed forward, stepping towards the door Shy just slipped out of, then paused. She looked down at the sword in her hand, thinking. There was a strange warmth and familiarity about this sword, but it may have just been that spirit possessing it giving off that sensation. Regardless, it was a fine sword.

There was a distinct chance that the Sir was that mage- Captain Roland. Or perhaps that strange young man with the dark hair and missing eye. Either way, it would be best to not be seen. She lifted her head, looking for another exit. Then she saw it- a door beside a bookshelf she hadn’t gotten the chance to touch yet. She adjusted her grip on the handle of the sword, pressing forward towards the door.

This door lead to another room, smaller and filled with books and smelled of strange chemicals. On the table there lay hunks of wood and strange shards of stone, next to stone pots that gave off a smell like vinegar. Claire wrinkled her nose as she passed, moving to the door on the far wall that would hopefully lead to the hallway. When she pressed her ear to the wood, she could still hear the fight from down the hall and footsteps passing her. She opened the door a crack, squinting through the slits of the mask to see the back of that man’s head.

She remembered this man. The cut of his profile and unruly dark hair against candlelight and stone from her spot behind bars. The sound of scratching filled her ears- the sound of quill gone too dry against parchment. Quiet, then loud, then quiet again, over and over. The sound of a clipped monotone filled her ears between the scratching- Overreaction. Prank. Emotional. Her fingers tightened on the pommel of the blade to still the shaking there before she slipped out of the door in silence, raising her sword.

The blade found it’s mark through Roland’s back.

Claire pushed forward with the stab, pushing the blade through his lower back and out of his middle, pressing her shoulder to his back as she pushed. There would be no words for this- there were no words to say. This man did not deserve the dignity of words.

Claire pulled the sword back after an instant, stepping back from the skewered man. As she pulled the blade back, blood flecked from the bright steel to the cold marble beneath their feet, shining like precious gemstones against the white stone. She looked up towards Shy and her brawl, expression hidden behind the mask, but clearly ready to strike if anyone else approached her.

[Roland]

Roland charged forward as Garza suddenly leapt away from a bottle. His eyes suddenly lit up like lighthouses in the night as he drew in and out magic shaping it into a hammer of force. They had attacked his office! They had stolen, and now they were attacking his guardsman. Without another word Roland let loose a blast of force designed to turn the black figure that had emerged from the room into a mangled mess against the wall.

As soon as he let the spell go though something felt wrong. The armor seemed to gleam and the force broke against it, not even inconveniencing the wearer. Roland's eyes widened in shock, and in the moment of hesitation he failed to react to the sword that suddenly buried himself into his back.

The captain of the royal guard only had a moment to think. Fating criminals! before his vision turned red. Fire erupted from Roland a safety defense to drive anyone near him away.

Unable to continue supporting his weight due to his newly acquired gapping stab wound and he crumpled to the floor the skin everywhere but the wound turning to stone as the dull light of healing magic began to appear from his prone form.

Roland's eyes lock onto the figure, and suddenly the mask if pulled away towards him, slapping harmlessly against his chest. As he stares at Claire his gaze turns to steel. “Once a thief forever a thief, what you want...you always steal.” He growls.

[Deleted]

Garza had not forgotten about the spear wielder for a second. He had taken a stance outside the door frame for this very purpose, out of sight to the side. He danced to the side away from the wall, his hands raised, though no longer in the peekaboo stance they were in before. His fists were slightly closer to his chest as he tried to circle around into a more open space. He waited for Roland to cast a spell, so he could rush in and take advantage of the gap in case he missed....only to see the spell dissipate before hitting the armored warrior. Garza's expression of shock was clear. He had thought that he was the only one with complete spell negation...and this person didn't have to move a muscle. He didn't know what else this armored assailant could do..and he didn't want to wait to find out. When she made her thrust and darted forward, he took his chances. He stepped forward and to the side, trying to step inside of Shy's spear range, moving his head to the side in case it was meant to be a face blow. His left hand was kept ready near his chest, and he kept sharp to intercept any mid body blows or low blows, intent on pushing the spear tip away with the metal gauntlet using a backhand motion. Meanwhile, he used his right first to aggressively jab into her face. He knew he may not be able to break the armor, but he could at least blind his opponent with a flurry of jabs...and the metal gauntlet meeting the metal helmet would surely create a racket, and he was aiming to hit with enough force to disorient his foe, making the helmet ring on the inside. 

The guardsmen did see Roland go down out of his corner eye and cursed silently. He couldn't break his fight with the spear man now; he had to hope Roland knew enough magics to gt himself out of the mess he was in now. Otherwise, they'd both end up as corpses.

[Noku Noru]

As the Nobles shuffled out of the throneroom, Noku stared absentmindedly at the chalice, rapping his fingers against the upturned base. Once the hall had become more vacant, he locked eyes with Severine, his mouth twitching intermittently for several moments before speaking.

"Lucinda. It pains me to distress your welcome visit with the distasteful affairs of my hired hands, but the matter before us now, for which I seek your counsel, pertains not only to my own court, but to the rest of the Noru clan. The servant you see standing here, whom so boldly disgraced the favor of her king, has taken it upon herself to wage a sort of...crusade, if you will, against the Fated of our kingdom, to the extent of organizing a public execution for a large number of the detained-DURING which, the wound, which you have seen today upon my flesh, presented, without warning, and without pain. The wine she rejected in my presence today was the same I consumed upon that evening, and the wound the same as the one upon "the vveerrminn", according to her own words." Noku drew out 'vermin' with an eerie rasp, akin to the sound of slowly tearing a dense cloth. He rested his eyes again upon the chalice and traced the rim with his index finger, the ringing of which became audible by amplification through the marble of the throne. "Cousin, just what is it that we do with those who disgrace the Noru clan?" He raised his eyes to meet Lucinda's, ignoring Severine altogether, and a deeply disturbed expression blazed from his knit brow, seeming almost to diminish the light about his face. Behind the throne, a wide, solitary beam of light shone through the arched window, clearly visible with particles dancing in it, and fell upon the marble of the floor opposite, brightening the hall to Noku's left, bare arm, pale and illuminated. His right, darkly clad, melded with the image of the opulent chalice, and shadow fell before his feet as he bore down his terrible visage, the image of a true king empowered, incensed, and baleful.

[Deleted]

Garza dodged off to one side as Séanait attacked and she hastily attempted to readjust her spear's trajectory. Had she been more lightly armoured she might have managed to cut the side of Garza's calf or follow through with her plan of bringing the spear up into his groin, but in this case the plate armour she wore restricted her arms and slowed her movements. She couldn't pull the spear back in time as Garza got inside her guard and slammed a fist into her helmet.

Even with her hair and the padded coif underneath the steel helmet Séanait felt the blow and she staggered back a pace, hundreds of hours of training and her natural instinct causing her to continue shortening the effective length of her spear so that she was holding it just behind the head. She shuffled back, trying to force Garza to follow her in order to keep within his own reach. Then, without warning Séanait stepped forward and thrust her spear forward with all her strength.

As her right hand shoved the spear forward, the shaft sliding forwards briefly as she added momentum to it, Séanait's left hand dropped from behind the steel head and dropped to the dagger on her belt. She wasn't particularly good with her left hand and he speed was somewhat limited by the armour she wore, but she trusted on the unexpected nature of her attack and Garza's attention being focused the spearpoint coming at his face to give her enough time to draw the dagger, close the gap even further so that it was harder for Garza to grab her left arm, and plunge the dagger into his upper thigh or groin. Really, anywhere with an artery or vital organ would do, but the arteries of the leg and groin seemed the best choices to Séanait right then.

[Claire]

The fire that spurted from Roland’s collapsing body caused Claire to jump back, pulling her cloak up to try and shield herself from the fire. It only worked so well for a moment- the edges of the cloak burst into flames. She quickly undid the clasp of the cloak by her throat and flung the burning cloth into the first space she could see- the open door to the office that she just walked out of. She turned on Roland, only to feel the mask on her face pull away.

When Claire saw recognition come over Roland’s expression, her face went cold and steely. She stepped forward, pressing the heel of her boot hard into the wound on Roland’s stomach. “Thief?” Claire asked, her voice smoothed over with the Novian accent. Her head tilted down at the man, her steely gaze meeting his. “If this makes me a thief I will become the King of Thieves.”

She pulled a green bottle from her bag, her heel still dug into his stomach. She uncorked the bottle, tilting it over Roland’s head and pouring in onto his face. She dropped the bottle then over his head, digging her heel harder into his wound once more before pulling her foot away. Claire scraped her bloody heel against the stone before turning from Roland, leaving him prone on the ground with only the faint sweet smell of the Kingsbane to keep him company.

Claire raised the sword in her hands as she approached the fight between Garza and Shy from behind Garza. As her friend lunged Claire struck, bringing her sword down on the opposite leg to slice a line down from buttock to heel.

[Lucinda Noru]

Lucinda looked alarmed as Roland announced the break in and left to deal with it. She looked to Noku as he motioned her to the throne, moving to stand in front of him with a curtsy. He didn’t seem at all concerned about the break in and when he spoke, it wasn’t to mention that at all. Rather, it was to sort of apologize for the circumstances and inquire her council on the fate of Archduchess Severine. He explained the reasoning in short detail, which sounded to her almost like an accusation of poisoning and rebellion, possibly worse. It seemed to her that Severine knew of the strange connection between the Fated woman and her Uncle, considering that his wine was drugged prior to the events at the gallows. Nothing of course was proven certain except that the adviser was the driving force behind the unfortunate events.

The princess continued to think on the matter for several minutes. It was a difficult situation, to say the least. If the Archduchess had been any other servant or lesser noble, she simply would have been put forth from the kingdom and banned, at the very least. At the worst, she could be thrown in the dungeon and then hanged for crimes against the crown. But, Severine was the adviser to the King and Lucinda knew she had her hands in several of the other kingdom’s honey pots. If banned, she’d just run to one of the neighboring kingdoms and start causing more problems, possibly a war. She sighed, reaching to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Finally, Lucinda spoke, choosing her words carefully. “Your highness, this is a very complicated situation due to Lady Severine’s political ties and her position of power in your own court. She has boldly disgraced you in a very public way, in front of many of the most notable families in your own kingdom as well as myself, a visiting royal from a neighboring kingdom. You say that she’s the driving force behind the fight against the Fated, that she has taken up this crusade of her own will going so far as to arrange for the execution of many of them, possibly including the woman who just left and with whom you share a dangerous connection. If that shoulder wound you have is because of the shoulder wound she received, I can only imagine what her death would bring,” she said, her voice steely and her meanings quite clear as she stared at Severine for a moment.

Turning her attention back to Noku, she continued to finish her answer. “In Palico, if she were not so empowered an individual or perhaps a lesser noble, she would be at least banned from the kingdom and at worst, charged and hanged with crimes and conspiracy against the crown. However, again, her status makes this difficult. Should she be banned, she would simply run to some other kingdom and possibly cause more problems. Her children are her tools, there is even one married into our own court back home. It might be best to simply confine her to the castle in some way, restrict her communications and strip her of her title and position. Perhaps even throw her in the dungeon, which she seems so fond of forcing others into. I have yet in my time witnessed such blatant disrespect for a member of the royal family, especially one’s own King,” the princess said, inclining her head to indicate that her answer was complete.

Her countenance was grim and serious, a hint of disgust behind her eyes every time she looked to Severine which was highly contrasted with the degree of respect that showed when her attention was on Noku. It was such a complicated matter, mostly because of who Severine was and all the children and political ties she had. The only way to be truly able to remedy the situation in such a way as to prevent further interference or future problems with the Archduchess’s political ties, would be to strip the entire family line of their birthright as nobility. It was unorthodox and would be publicly disgraceful and very extreme. Lucinda would not speak of it, lest she be deemed out of line. Though, if it could somehow be proved that Severine’s intentions were to poison, harm, or even get the King killed, that would change things quite a bit. Lucinda had no doubt though that a woman as crafty as the archduchess would’ve made sure to cover her tracks.

[severine]

Aveline gave a start when Roland spoke to her, eyes going wide. “Someone- Captain, at least-” she watched as he walked away, uncertain if she should follow. If there was truly a disruption at his office, then she would only be in the way.

Then the young scarred woman spoke to her.

Aveline looked over to Aria, her dark eyes huge. She took a step back, nearly pressing herself against the wall to keep away from the Fated girl. There was fear clearly in her expression- she could remember this girl’s skin split and peel and a dragon emerge from her small body. This was a dangerous woman. She couldn’t speak and she looked back to the throne room, easing her way back into it to stay away from Aria.
Aveline looked back to her mother, a shadowy, silent column standing before a king like marble. Black and white. Her mother’s face remained impassive, not betraying emotion as the king and his cousin spoke about what they might do with her. Severine would not speak a word in her own defense- Aveline thought that her mother might regard this as weakness to speak before she was explicitly addressed. But she couldn’t let this happen to her mother, not after what she had gone through.

“Your Majesty.” Aveline took a step forward towards the king she feared so deeply and bowed low, keeping her eyes averted. “Our family has served you loyally for over ten years and my mother loves you too deeply to speak a word against you. May I have permission to speak in my mother’s defense?”

[Roland]

Claire's cloak set alight some papers in the office, but a loud thumping could be heard as a small strange golem suddenly stopped putting away papers and made a flying leap onto the fire rolling around until it was smothered.

As Claire declared she would become King of Thieves Roland said nothing, his eyes continued to shine, brighter and brighter. “It'd fit, you're a lot like Noku.” He says before shutting his mouth to avoid taking in the poison. He purified the liquid before it got into his wound, but could feel himself beginning to weaken, he couldn't heal the wound quickly enough with the amount of other spells he was casting.

Roland gritted his teeth against the pain in his back and stomach. His head felt light, but he felt heavy. Mana began to gather around him until it was almost visible to the naked eye. Two tremendous blasts for force are fired at Claire's back as she attacks Garza. Following this the light in Roland's eyes dim and they go glassy as he falls into unconsciousness.

[Deleted]

Garza wasn't completely caught unawares by Shy's attack; he was an expert at gauging range, and he was keeping a close eye out. However, the speed at which his opponent had adapted did take him by surprise. He had to tilt his head to the side very quickly to avoid the spear thrust...and he wasn't able to avoid the entire attack. He felt the all to familiar sensation of burn left behind by a slashing wound, blood dripping onto his uniform from his cheekbone. Rather then flinch away at the pain, Garza pressed on and actually pushed himself forward, getting into a crouch to try and avoid  avoid the spear thrust, and the same time propelling him forward. Ironically, by pure coincidence, Claire had gone to slash at the same time. The sword hit him in the lower back due to the position he was in...and he was lucky he was wearing his Stoneskin Tunic, otherwise he could have been paralyzed. Even now, he felt the pain of the blunt impact, but his forward momentum could not be stopped. 

If he was successful in bowling over Shy before she could draw her dagger, he would roll to his feet and wipe away some blood from his face. It was then that he noticed Roland wasn't moving. He cursed to himself again, this time very loudly. He wasn't a field medic, but he couldn't leave Roland to die. He made a choice; he ran toward his superior officer, trying to get him up on his feet. He'd carry the damn bastard if he had to. His muscles strained as he lifted the man over his shoulders. The sound of approaching footsteps began echoing in the hall, the clanking of armor and weapons drawing closer as the guards approached the scene. Garza tried to make his way toward the sound, praying that a healer would be nearby to tend to Roland.

[Deleted]

Garza dodged far enough to one side that Séanait's spear did no real damage and, against all expectation, lunged forward, obviously confident in whatever spells or armour he had to protect him. He collided with Séanait before she could fully draw her dagger and she grunted as he knocked the breath out of her.

Séanait released her grip on the spear and attempted to grapple with Garza, to hold him down long enough to fully draw her dagger and gut him, but he had too much momentum and went right over her, rolling to his feet just as Séanait began to scramble to her knees. It was a bad position to be in, but with her plate armour she didn't have any choice.

Instead of attacking, Garza ran past Séanait towards where Roland had been. Up until now Séanait hadn't worried much about Roland because he hadn't appeared in her field of vision after the first time, but now she saw Roland on the ground and Claire standing...

Some sort of spell from Roland rushed out at Claire and Séanait gave a wordless cry of warning, reaching out uselessly towards Claire. Roland's attack infuriated Séanait and she wanted to take her spear and plunge it straight through his heart, but Garza was already beginning to light Roland's body up onto his shoulders, and Séanait could hear the guards approaching in the distance. She didn't have time to fight Garza all over again.

Sheathing her dagger and picking up her spear, Séanait asked Claire, "Are you hurt?"

Looking around, Séanait worked out the best route out of the castle from Roland's office.

"We need to go, now!"