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Ren followed suite after Lio had offered to leave this place and eat something at the restored building, which was currently hosted by Liothryth herself. He stumbled a few times while following Liothryth, realizing he was starving. His vision became blurry and his mind only bent on one thing: food.

"Kuzu...", He called out to his familiar by her codename and collapsed just as he and Lio were about to exit the door. Right when he muttered it, Azumi appeared from a cloud of smoke in front on the unconscious Ren.

"Rawx!", Azumi cried out, worried for her bond. She hurriedly casted a levitation spell on Ren and brought him towards the formerly abandoned building with haste. She stopped for a moment to inform the children that the sushi she promised will have to wait and told Linota to ask Ren about fixing the contraption if she wanted to do it without magic. She then continued on her way towards the party with Ren.

Liothryth’s increase in volume seemed to garner the attention of Azumi, and Linota too, as she spoke angrily at the knight. The old mage held Linota’s sentiments exactly: The royal guard had never helped them before and, for whatever reason they were here now, it couldn’t be in their best interests. Perhaps they had come to take credit for something they themselves failed to do? Or maybe they were trying to make the group admit guilt so that the guards could take them all away. Regardless, Linota offered Liothryth an appreciative nod and waited for the older woman to reach her. As she did, she saw Ren collapse and Azumi appear next to him. Only when Linota looked over to where Azumi had just been, did she realize she was gone.

When the little kitsune told Linota to ask Ren about fixing her creation, while floating his unconscious body towards the party building, the teenager looked from Azumi to Ren and back again before saying,
“Erm– Yeah. Maybe later.”

“Are you alright?” Linota asked Liothryth more quietly as they walked to the food. It was a question she herself hated to be asked, but she thought it was more than warranted here.

Her stomach growled, as all the childrens’ did, though the shame from her self deprecation did well to mask the hunger pains. She knew she would have to force herself to eat. She checked over her shoulder for Cario, who would be back to his normal size, and noted Assallya as well, wondering what she was doing now. She tried not to look at the knight and her fleet of guards, tried to pretend they weren't there.

Linota also tried to forget the silver platter she had stolen was still on the ground. She wasn't sure she wanted it anymore. Her hip bones still burned with pain as she walked, where the edges had dug into her, as well as the lump on her head from the fireball. She had heard Liothryth offer aid in healing, but there was no way in hell she would show such weakness. She had already embarrassed herself enough.

Cairo after returning to normal starts walking over to linota looking at the bruise on her head and calls out "Hey! Lin! Come here and let me fix ya up, i already checked all the kids and they're fine so that leaves you next then me after" pulling out water and a rag from his pocket to somewhat clean her wounds at least to the best of his near non-existent medical ability.

Lio offers Linota a tired, but reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, I just never expected to use that spell again. It was overkill of just on person but..." She simply shrugged. "I think I'll try out one of the healing potions that Carabina left with us. I'll be fine soon enough."

At Cairo's shout, she looked over to where some of the children were clustered and getting his somewhat dubious medical treatment. "Will you go over the the children and see if any of them need any healing? None of them came to me when I offered, but I'm not terribly surprised by that. If you or he were to be healed first, whether you actually need it or not, it might calm their fears a little."

"Ren, Kazumi, thank you for your help," Lio told them when she came close enough for them to hear. "I was glad to know that you could help get the children to safety no matter what else happened." She gave Kazumi a smile as well, "and I admit that I'm intrigued to try sushi as well, if there's any extra. If you need any supplies, let me know."

As she said, Lio found one of the healing potions that Carabina had left with them. After taking is she did feel better, though still tired. But what can you expect at your age, she thought. After getting herself some food, she found a chair outside and sat down to eat and wait for whatever would happen next.

"For years?" Aislinn echoed, considering even as she ignored Liothryth's vehemence. If what the woman was saying was true then a little frustration would be justified.

"A shame then you killed the mage," she added, more to herself since the elf matron was walking off, "T'would seem, for such a thing to have happened, that the mayor or others may have been involved. I wouldst have brought him before Tyr's question."

The elven sorceress sat on a nearby table, one bare foot on a nearby chair, they other dangling. She didn't like this at all. People here were too glum. It was at of they were sending themselves victory.

Except for Cairo; That little lad was irrepressible. She liked that about him even if he was an annoying sop of a child.

Then there was Linota who seemed to be concealing a limp or some other injury. She knew determination from her days in the harem. One sign of weakness and they'd take advantage, trying to better their position in the complex web of politics that was their lives.

Even Liothryth seemed to suffer from too much pride, preferring to quaff an expensive healing potion rather than ask for help.

She was about to say something when both Cairo offered to help with trending to Linota and Azumi came in levitating a fallen Ren.

"Ah... Beshaba," she said to the goddess of ill fortune, "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

Assallya closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was hiding inside here to avoid the woman outside.

"Look," Assallya called out, uncharacteristically loud, "Why not ask the Paladin for help? That's what they do. She might be able to help Ren. At the least she might be able to ask her God where to go for help."

(OCC: Had to edit my post since I was unsure on where the group was. Thanks to gracious help, I am down on the right path.)

Outside, a huntress was lost and currently asking the Paladin for directions to a hunting contest. Unknowingly to her, she was late to the contest by 2 weeks and it had ended. As she checked the flyer, which was clearly ripped a bit, she pouted, “Ah, crud. I missed it.” Disappointed, she sulked and was going to ask the Paladin if there was anything to do around here.

As Azumi carefully removed the levitation spell and laid Ren on the bed farthest from any noise or party-going passersby, she went into the kitchen to find any spare ingredients she could make sushi with. Unfortunately she could not find any sign of her favorite food, tofu. She did, however, found some conveniently placed ingredients for sushi: raw fish, seaweed, and rice.

Beside the set of ingredients, there was a note.

"Azumi,
Look don't get mad at me for thinking I was dead alright? I had to trick Dehdmhen... and I guess it worked?
I got Lucine to smuggle some food for you guys. Don't worry about the rest, they're fine. I'm guessing you're starving by now.
Make sure to give Ren some especially. You know how he is when he gets hungry"

She layed the note down slowly. She cried in relief, knowing that Finn was okay, knowing that they were all okay. She composed herself after letting herself sob for a few minutes and she proceeded to make the sushi using the smuggled ingredients. Meanwhile, Ren woke up from his hunger induced unconcsiousness, dizzy from a lack of food. He observed his surroundings. It was the refurbished building that still had an ongoing party. He went straight into the kitchen, stumbling constantly on his way their, only to meet his kitsune mother, her hands on her waist.

"I wanna help... hungry...", Ren said softly

"You are better off helping yourself right now, Renny, go back to sleep"

"But-"

"No buts!", she giggled and went back to making sushi. Ren simply groaned and went back to bed. After a few minutes of carefully preparing the food, she called for the Lio, Linota, Cairo, Assallya, and the Children to come over to Ren's room, where she explained that she didn't want anyone else except this group to eat it as they needed it most.

"Come on children, I know it's raw, but you never know until you try!", She smiled softly to the children.

"Surely there is got to be something to do", she said to the Paladin. Her ears were down as she sighed,"Any bounty boards? I can do bounties." She was eager to do anything as the hunting contest had gotten her pumped up for action.

Linota widened her eyes at Liothryth’s explanation of her spell being overkill, as if to say ‘you think so?’, though she looked at the ground when she did it. What Aislin said about not killing Radigan at all, however, made her scowl come back. She rolled her eyes and went to continue walking when Cairo called out to her about cleaning her up. One look at the rag in his hand, marbled with old blood and mystery grime, and Linota was aggressively shaking her head at him.

If he came towards her with it, she would say, “Do not touch me with that thing.” She pointed a threatening finger at him, hoping to freeze him in place with it. To Liothryth’s offer, Linota gave the old mage an assessing look that turned into what might have been sympathy.
“You should eat and rest before casting any more spells,” Linota told her. “They’ll be more inclined to trust you after they’ve eaten your food, anyway.”

What she meant was that she herself didn't fully trust Lio to do it. She believed that Liothryth’s intentions were good and that she truly could heal her, but she couldn’t be sure about the elder woman’s spell casting. She hadn’t expected, hadn’t meant, to use such a spell and that, in itself, was monstrously dangerous. Linota was simply buying time.

Assallya’s calling made Linota look skeptically at the house. Why was she hiding and not asking the paladin these things herself? Why call out from within the house? Everything about this random appearance of the royal guard, and now Assallya’s behavior, was strange. Too strange.

A few of the smaller children around Linota pulled her from her suspicions when they began to whine about being hungry. Now that the promise of food was only footsteps away, it was torture to wait any longer. Linota corralled them with her arms and beckoned them to walk when a small voice sounded from seemingly nowhere. Linota looked over her shoulder to see a small girl, so vibrantly dressed that she looked like a carnival cutout in the aftermath of what had taken place here. The kids still moved around her like a stream around a rock, no longer bothering to wait for her to lead them. There were ‘grown ups’ around that they could follow now, as good food trumped caution.

Linota briefly studied the girl, from her oversized ears down to her uncomfortable looking shoes. She definitely wasn’t from around here and she was asking about a.. ‘hunting contest’? Linota wondered what her ulterior motive could be and waited for Aislin to give the girl an answer before catching up with the kids, and possibly Liothryth and Cairo too.


When Azumi and Ren entered the once abandoned building and rushed to the kitchen, a few party goers caught sight of them and began asking questions. The questions spread as the rumors did, so quickly among them.

”Who was that?”
“What was that?”
“What’s going on?”
“Is he dead?”
“Is that the man from earlier?”
“The diplomat!”

The commotion started to bubble, the sounds of the townspeoples’ questions carrying down the alley.

"Canvassing is almost done," the captain Kidd the Watch stated to Aislinn, "So far few have been willing to talk. It's common in this area. The rabble don't talk to us. So far the gist is that the elf woman used fell magics to assault one of our citizens and used magic to coerce the programs into attacking their caregiver."

The scarlet haired paladin struggled to comprehend that. It was such a load of artifice.

"Thou wouldst expect me believe an elder magi of the Seldarine, a war veteran, simply chose to murder someone using children as weapon?"

Aislinn almost laughed but her hand was white on the pummel of her half and a half sword. She could almost smell the complicity.

"By all means," Aislinn said to the man, "T'would be most amusing to see thee try plying these charges upon her ladyship. Thou mightst even survive such audacity should her mood be not foul."

"But... It's your sworn duty to arrest those that use the dark arts!" the captain protested.

"You wouldst dare call me on my oaths?" she replied, green eyes like emerald fire.

"No ma'am. I just thought-"

A mailed first extended a finger and thrust it up against the watch captain's leather cuirass. She strongly suspected this man and his ilk would likely cause trouble for that lady mage. The arcanist had killed what Aislinn was beginning to suspect was an ally of the mayor. It would be best to advise this man of what he was getting himself into.

"Bring me proof of misdeed and I shall mete out the wrath of Azuth and Mystra upon her and quite likely perish in the attempt but without evidence I do naught but show this woman the respect she is owed.

"Art- I- clear?"

"Yes'm." the man said.

She would have told him to run back to the mayor with his tail between his legs but a young woman approached, an odd thing with dog ears in her hair and a bow. Dog ears?
Maybe she was victim to a curse?

"Surely there is got to be something to do", the dog eared young woman said to the Paladin. Her ears were down as she sighed,"Any bounty boards? I can do bounties."

She wanted to tell the woman now was not the time, that she had no time for a mercenary but Aislinn realized she was still bothered by the behavior of the watch.

"I am Aislinn, beholden to Azuth, The High Scribe and Lord of Candles, " Aislinn greeted the young woman, "and you are?"

Lio could hear by the whispers that things were taking a turn. The healing potion and food had helped and now there was more to be done. Standing, she stretched a little to assess what kind of shape she was in and decided that while she was still not fully recovered, she was once again able to think and act. There were many places that seemed to need her attention, but dealing with the armed guards seemed to be most urgent. That being the case, she went over to the woman who had arrived on horseback. Now when she walked she didn't need to lean on her staff for support and her movements were more fluid.

"Lady knight," she called as she came closer, "I have not introduced myself. I am Liothryth Terandes of the House of Farnesai, Master Mage in the line of Jevin. I am willing to answer any and all questions about this incident that any should wish to ask me and knowing that, as an outsider my word may not be fully trusted, I am willing to be placed under type of truth compulsion that is within your ability before answering those questions."

Azumi, realizing the others were talking to Aislinn, had left the tray of sushi in Ren's room. It seemed there was something important they were about to talk about. So she approached Aislinn with her ears perked up and her tails raised.

"I have realized I have not introduced myself yet. I am Captain Kuzu of the Treasoners, a naginata and artillery magic specialist of the forlorn children squadron", She bowed politely and smiled, wagging her tails slowly.

Unbeknownst to her, Ren had secretly followed, she suddenly scolded him for not taking care of himself when he could clearly introduce himself later, but he felt like doing it sooner rather than later would just make things less suspicious.

"And I...", Ren paused, making sure to avoid eye contact with Aislinn, as he only met her briefly,"...am Captain Rawx of the Treasoners. I specialize in explosives and artillery magic as well. The fox is my familiar, by the way"

Ren proceeded to return to his room, most likely to eat sushi and tinker with his weapons. As Ren walked away, Azumi noticed a young woman with ears on her head, wondering if they were canine, she approached Robin with a gleeful look on her face.

"Are you a yokai, miss?", She said politely, trying to hold back her excitement.