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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.

"Common sense between a foreign man and a murderous magic elf is not so common," Eike replied, kneeling nearby regardless. With much more work now ahead of him, the man made quick work of unpacking what seemed like half of his backpack (though judging by its persistent swell, there was much more inside) in order to operate. "If I were not here against my will, I might write you a bill." He smiled, fully expecting the other three not to appreciate his humor. Mostly it was to ease his own nerves as the man took a jar and bottle from the pile.

Assuming that he was allowed to work, Eike would use the bottle (filled with clean water) to rinse some of the blood from her gashes. He'd offer Mortem a sip of wine from a much smaller bottle just before stitching the worst of them closed. While working he'd murmur in two other languages; some reminders for his work and some strings of spoken incantation. Then came the bones; a matter the sorcerer found outside his physical capabilities. "I want to fix these," He'd say, gesturing toward her arm though he knew her ribs had to be broken as well. "But I have to use my gift. Do you trust me?"

“A little tumble… down a mountain?…” Atoli asked and inched away from the elf… particularly from the vomit on the floor. She scooted the clothes away from the mess as well, her nose wrinkled as she did so. As Eike and Umbra were busy, the harpy took the time to hold the rest of the clothes up to herself; all of which were too long or big for the petite creature. Atoli was still wearing the torn top part of her dress and wanted to change, one of those would have to work for now...though she didn't mind the pantaloons she still had on.

“Are these yours?” She asked the elf as she began to tear the sleeves off a simple dark blue linen tunic, though it looked nearly black in the lighting of the room. After they were off she started working on getting out of the bodice; tugging and fidgeting at the crisscrossed lace in the front. She let out a huff of frustration through her nose and wondered why she even bothered getting into the damned thing; her efforts at the party were complete failure…

(Pantaloon is such a funny word)

Umbra accepted Eike's treatment, giving a groan in response to his question, she looked over to Atoli. With a sigh, she explained, "Unfortunately for me, it wasn't off of a cliff, it was twenty feet mid-air," another sigh, "and as you know, assassins and soldiers don't mix well,"
Wincing at the stitches and shifting as she took a sip of the wine, Umbra chuckled weakly. As Eike worked, she let out a whine, "Yes those are mine, don't ruin any of the dresses, please," a frown came to her face, "That was a good tunic too,"

She lied on the boards with her head propped up on her arms, looking over to Atoli as she fidgeted with the bodice of her ruined dress. Umbra scoffed at the harpy, unsheathing the hunting dirk at her belt and offering it, "Just cut it, there's no need for any of that if it's nearly ripped to shreds already,"

Taff gave Merthyr a sleeping draught mixed inside his warm tea that he offered up to the prince and waited till he was asleep. Then he waved his hand and wrist in a quick circular motion to seal the room with a wall of silence so no one would listen to the conversation. He came to the fireplace in a stern voice, arms folded neatly behind his back as he paced restless. "Thalia, come to my presence, I have an urgent task for you" commanded the warlock pacing around the room

"My my I'm surprised you still remember our names warlock, it's been ages since you last bothered to acknowledge me, finally choosing to join us then, Gelligen?" asked Thalia emerging from the flames in the shape of a young woman, a smirk across her face knowing things were dire if Taff took the risk to summon her in the middle of the city itself.

"Not at all, I called you because you must reach out to any creature or magic wielder, especially the human, the lad you girls gifted... nay... cursed, and tell them that King Conrad has outlawed magic and they are being hunted. Lord Pentre himself was appointed to the task and he is brutal" explained Taff giving a head's up to the prey of this bloody hunting game that had just begun. He waved the spell away, laying down to rest tiredly on the floor, by the hot embers, joining Merthyr in having a restful sleep. They both certainly needed it after the effort.

Thalia left with a strong gush of wind that swept through the room out the window whisking her away to the given task. The three elemental siblings, Elektra, Thalia and Gaia talked briefly among them and scattered to spread the grim news for others to take heed. Since Elektra was locked in water, she could not reach out to Romulus, strictly as demanded, so she sent Thalia instead, who entered the building where the assassins were gathered by using the flames of the lit up latern, making her presence known in the room. She was not going to linger much, just tell the message and leave. "Greetings.... lad... I bring a message from the sea... a word of warning for you, if you care to listen" saluted the beauty briefly nodding at the elf and the harpy in a friendly smile of acknowledgement, yet leaving them to their task, as she addressed Romulus

Charles looked oddly at the number of guards atop the wall, pondering on the nature of so many being stationed ready to defend. He was just preparing to turn and leave when the sallyport opened and Crow called him in.

"Took your sweet time, I was just ready to leave."

Striding through he would follow Crow to where Aileen was, all the while preparing himself for the possible bargaining. One thing was for sure, he was not going to let her go easily for attempting to ruin his business in this sector of the kingdom.

Aileen was sitting in her late husbands study when they arrived, a cup of tea in her lap while she poured over a letter. No longer did she wear the black gowns for mourning; now, she wore bold colors, red and black and white, and it would give off a faint reminder of the killer who had ended her husbands life. She gave a tired smile to them, "Come, Sir Charles, sit." She gestured to the chair across from her, moving her tea to the table beside her. And then she smiled at Crow, "Please, go rest. I know I'm working you quite hard; I have called upon some...questionable people, to assist the guard, but please don't worry yourself with them. The others will allow them in."

---

Romulus frowned at her, "A warning from the sea...? Are you speaking of that sea witch? Is something the matter with her?" He scooted closer to the lantern, watching Thalia with wary eyes. He didn't trust them, but if any messages from the sea was for him, it was from that siren he had spoken with.

The Hanged Man looked a little lost when Aileen dismissed him. He hesitated at the door before bowing to her and mumbling, "as you command, lady." Green eyes followed Charles for a moment longer--he didn't well trust the man, but Aileen had lesser guards watching over her. He backed out of the study.

She was right. He could rest. And he was so tired, but when his eyes shut his mind still whirled, and sleep eluded him. He was loathe to dip into the bottle again but it was the only thing that would let him relax. That, and perhaps sharing his bed. He dare not seek a partner, however, lest word spread. There were already enough ugly rumors about him, bound to get all the uglier due to their delicate situation. It would only be a fleeting release anyway, and with wine there were fewer complications in the morning.

Crow nipped a bottle from the winecellar, then dragged himself to his room. Once it was empty, he collapsed facefirst onto his bed and tried to forget the dire situation they were in ...

"Sea witch?! Plllllease... we are goddesses not witches...." clarified the woman "I'm Thalia of the wind, ice and fire, Elektra is of the waters and Gaia of the earth, you can call on us for favours and gifts so long you have something to offer in return. But beware that we won't always grant all your wishes though" smiled the woman broadly.

"My sister Elektra cares a great deal about her new looks, at your expense, it would be a pity any deadly harm came to you and ruined them. Besides, the warlock demands that we send you a word of warning, so pay attention and listen up" pointed out Thalia followed by a light cough to compose herself to deliver the message

"King Conrad Tydfil has outlawed magic across his realm and its kingdoms, you are being hunted as we speak, many creatures and magic wielders have already perished, many more to follow. Lord Pentre himself was appointed to the cleansing task and he is brutal, should you be caught, there will be no mercy, just torture and certain death, other lords are following suit as well so tread with caution when you walk among men. With that said... I bid you farewell... ta-ta..." finished off Thalia, snapping her fingers to quickly vanish into nothingness leaving but the dim flame in the latern that she came out of, not waiting for a response or further questions.