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Fantasy Four Suits: Of Gods & Devils - IC Thread (Vol. 4)

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Guineverre Victoria y Blanca
Why are we here just to suffer?

Guin has never felt more betrayed in her entire life. She silently gaped at Twig as soon as he finished his statement. Of course she could detect the skittish glint in his eyes and this might be his retribution for her earlier prank, but she couldn't believe he'd actually joke about it. King Valentines has always been an infuriating subject for her, and almost everyone in her circle was well aware this. Once she managed to compose herself, the Queen narrowed her eyes at the Jack. "What a distasteful jest, Twig. I thought we were like family." She pointed out with a light scowl. This was almost as bad as when he drew his sword against her all those years ago. However, her anger was obviously empty- unlike before- and her frown eventually softened.

Tonight was the night. There was no way Guin was going to forget about it. She along with the rest of the kingdom, the Jokers, and its affiliates have long hauled themselves over this. The amount of sweat and blood they've poured for this operation was immense, so there was no room for failure. It was honestly what churned the dread within her. If they win this, then the future of Ornare would be in the palm of their hands.

She deeply sighed. "There's so much to be done. Where are the rest of the royalties?" She asked as she looked around the otherwise empty room. She knew they weren't technically late yet, but she thought they'd at least make sure to come early. She was well aware Valencia's mountainous terrain and hazardous pathways might be difficult to traverse but that was exactly what their esteemed airships were for.

As if on cue, Guin abruptly felt the familiar signature of none other than the King of Clubs. She took in a sharp breathe and mentally prepared herself for what was to come. She didn't know if he was here to answer her summon or actually attend the royal meeting. She could hope for both but she didn't really expect much from the man when it came to royal etiquette. Heck, he admittedly hung out with pigeons instead of attending the royal conference five years ago, right before the war. He was horribly irresponsible. Although she did wonder why he would donate a huge sum of money to her country's orphanage. Could it possibly be a political move? King Valentines may be an oaf, but she knew he wasn't as dumb as he let others see.

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart LazyDaze LazyDaze
 
Athania walked around in the halls of the castle in Valencia, she leaned back in her chair and rested her legs up on a foot stool. She twirled around between her fingers a knife made of shadows as she waited for the attendees to show up. The knife had an unearthly purple glow and made weird a distinct hum as the blade cut through the air. With a flick of her other hand, the knife changed into spoon and then it twisted and contorted into a bird before she released her command over the shadows and letting them dissipate into a billowy cloud of dark smoke. Until she sensed the presence of the other royals present in the halls and immediately made her way to the meeting room.

Along the way she continued to fiddle around with her shadows, weaving together different materials and items casually as she was still trying to hone one particular shadow spell. She walked into the meeting room once again twirling around a knife in her hand and immediately locked eyes with Guin who was across from her in the meeting room. "Well I guess I'm not the only Royal here hmmm. I also sense... that's the King of Clubs right, it's been a while since we've last seen each other. Been kind of busy." She then tossed her knife high up into the air and let it dissipate into a plume of black smoke. "So what have you been up to?"

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart . D O V E . D O V E LazyDaze LazyDaze
=====================================

Garrett made his way out and noticed a wagon moving through the countryside. He waved at the lead driver and the man brought his horses to a halt. "Yo Garrett, are you planning on heading to Ariandel again?"


"Yeah, the young miss told me last night she wants me back at her place. Said that she needed me to do some cleanup."

"Well can't argue with that, and even if I did, I know she'll somehow find out that I didn't give you a ride and stick me with a fine. You had to go and hit on quite the special girl huh. Hop in, have a special delivery I need to make anyways and needed some muscle just in case things go south. Got your gear?"

"Mhm, you know I'm always packing," Garrett replied while lifting up his jacket, revealing his sword and pistols.

"Hope you got some food and water, gonna be a long trip."

"Thought that was your job, Mister Transporter."

"Yeah, yeah. I got some bread some smoked meat in the satchel. Help yourself but save me some pork."

"Don't worry you know I'm no thief." Garret then hopped on next to the driver and pulled out a satchel from that was sitting behind them, and took a large piece of bread out of it and took a few bits out of it. There was a strand of some woman's hair and some dog hair on the bag, and Garrett immediately knew something was up.

"Is that all you're gonna take."

"Yeah, kinda drank too much last night, don't wanna waste too much of your wife's precious cooking if I do end up puking," Garret laughed, "Don't worry though I'm sober enough to hit a snake from 50 meters out."

"Prove it."

"If you insist. But why don't you pick up some speed, make it a bit more challenging for me."

"Whatever you say, but if you miss you owe me for the bread." The wagon driver then whipped the reins on the horses and they were on the move once more. "Alright we're moving, hit an apple off that tree back there." Garrett squinted and saw the tree that was a decent way off, definitely 70 to 80 meters out.

"You can't be serious, Eddy. That's way farther than what I said I could do right now."

"Well, pay up then that's going to be 3 copper. If its actually that hard I'll, even give you three tries."

"Fine, three tries?"

"Three."

"Alright, three." Garrett pulled out one of his revolvers and opened up the chamber, emptying out three of the six rounds, and took aim with his right hand. Eddy gave him a soft smirk, expecting to win an easy bet. After all, they've been through this exercise three or four times already and not once had Garrett been able to do it. Garrett let his hand relax and then pulled the trigger down slowly and then as he passed the threshold, the gun rattled off a loud bang. The shot went nowhere close to the tree. Garrett repeated the process, letting his hand relax and then pulling the trigger slowly until the gun went off. Another loud bang rang throughout the trail. The horses panicked, but Eddy calmed htem down. Another miss. This time the bullet knocked some bark off a nearby branch.

"You got one more shot. Make it count."

"Oh the pressure," Garret replied sarcastically. As he pulled out his second revolver with his left hand and quickly rattled a shot off knocking two apples off with one shot. Eddy's jaw dropped at the sight and Garret heartily replied, "Easy. See."

"Gaah, that's not fair, I didn't know you were a left handed shot."

"I used to be able to do both, old war injury never healed right. There's a lot of things you don't know about me. Like I know you got a stow-away on this wagon."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah isn't that right, whoever you are." Garret stated as he lifted up the wagon flap with his right hand while pointing around with his left. Revealing a white haired dog girl resting in the pile of hay in the back of the wagon.

Kisaki Kisaki
 
'The encounter'

The question, "What if there's more?" rang silently through the dimly lit cabin illuminated only by a candle on the table along with the fire in the fireplace that was slowly but surely dying out. Arabella wondered about this situation and it felt wrong for she knew it was an expensive bottle. She did not say why she was interested in this matter to Philip. Probably, because she did not want to get into a big argument.


Arabella wasn't new in this business and, in fact, she got a similar bottle as a, something extra, for one contract she did. Her mentor gave her the similar bottle and she still had it. And so the dark haired girl stood up from her comfortable, soft bed and walked towards a small cabinet. After opening the door, the bottle was there covered in dust.


For such a girl as herself, drinking was unacceptable and quite ill-mannered in her eyes. All of a sudden, it clicked. It was the same bottle!
Now she knew for a fact that it was very expensive considering that her mentor is a wealthy man. And he himself told her that it was his most treasured bottle.


The young assassin had a few doubts before, however they were no more as there was only one truth. He stole it. There was no way that a "man" like Philip could have ever afford something like that and that was a fact. "Oh Philip where did you steal this..." she said with a soft, calm but troubled voice as she walked towards a trapdoor hidden under the bed. With one quick motion she moved the bed and opened the trapdoor revealing that there is a little space.


A wine storage. Well... Not really. She opened a barrel where there was supposed to be wine but she pulled out her light armor out of it. Trousers, top and boots.


Another barrel contained a sword, bow, quiver and a pair of worn out gloves.


The third, which was also the last barrel in the space under the cabin, contained the most important thing. Vials. She pulled them out with a visible excitement. After that the girl geared up and went up, closing the trapdoor behind her and moving the bed to a position which covered the hidden entrance.


*yawn* "Hm? I haven't done anything today... I guess it made me quite tired... Well, that's no issue" she shook her head to wake up a bit. Then, with a gentle motion she put on a cloak and a hood in order to hide her identity and to scare Philip when she finds him so that he spills out the information of where he got the bottle.


Although she was ready to go and almost walked out of the front door, Arabella stopped for a moment and listened closely to the sounds outside.


"Footsteps..." she whispered. "minimum of two people." *knock, knock, knock* rang menacingly across the room.


What to do? The assassin thought to herself. I cannot open the door, I'm in my work attire... I need to hide or I need to... Hmm... Think, think, think.
*knock, knock*
"yes, I got this" she placed her arms on her chest and crossed them creating a big X. The plan was to use *Shadow Cloak* to hide in the room and pretend that nobody was home. However this plan was cut short as she saw Philip looking at her through her window.


Arabella didn't know if Philip found out on the spot about for whom she works just from the armour, however she guessed that he did not and therefore she proceeded to open the door slowly.
And in the middle of her opening them she realized that she heard minimum of *two* people outside. However before she could react, the doors slammed open and she jumped back. Three people emerged. A quite big fella, and a quite short one.


Despite the height difference, she knew that were both thugs. Zinnie knew these types better than anyone. The worst thing was that the big man held a knife at Philip's throat as the little one stepped forward.


"Well good evening girl. This is your friend here I believe."
She nodded.
"You know we got a situation here, you know she stole a precious bottle and our boss wants it back, so you know. I see you are all geared up which is good I guess but I assure you that we don't want no trouble" he said while hand gesturing all over the place.


"Hand me the hostage and then we can proceed on the elaboration of the matter dear sir." she said calmly.


"Okay you truly don't know how this works. So let me explain it..." this was true as Zinnie never got into any of the hostage situations or gang situations. Her work was more of a do the job and get out "Somebody needs to be punished for this and it's going to be this gentleman over here. And before you ask, no. We are not going to kill this guy. That ain't our style." he finished with a quick, little laugh.


"I personally believe that the well being of this gentleman is within both of our goals dear sir. I don't plan to not hand you the bottle over and in fact I could give it to you at once. However I think that further explanation of your intentions concerning this young mister is in order. What do you mean when you say that you will cause him harm and how severe it will be?" she said while also gesturing all over the place. Even walking from side to side.


"Okay lady I don't know what are you doing right now. Just speak normally. We don't need this educated, well-mannered bullshit. You are not the royalty so speak normally." he took a deep breath. "Concerning Philip over here, we will just beat him a little, you know how that shit goes. Well... Hopefully you know.."


Zinnie looked at Philip and he nodded in agreement. "Okay" she also nodded, grabbed and handed over the bottle.


"Do you even know how much this shit costs? Unbelievable."


"So?"


"Yea let's go outside and Philip will get a beating."


"How hard you gonna beat him? And how long? Cuz it's kinda late and I think that we should just knock it off and go to sleep."


"See, no need for the royal talk, speech style or whatever. You are prettier when you talk normally. And don't worry, we'll knock it off when we knock him out."


"Ight" Zinnie didn't like this but if the situation ended without casualties, she would be happy.
And so she watched as Philip got beaten. The little guy counted the hits the guy got. And when he got to 16, Philip was only moving a little bit on the ground. As this was happening, Arabella was fuming. She was definitely going to kill then later.
They were already dead, they just didn't know it yet.


Her eyesight was then cought by the little guy standing beside her pulling something from his pocket. She knew the situation would come to an end soon.


"Miss? I'm sorry but our business demands no witnesses." he turned to her with a knife in his hand, however Zinnie caught his hand in time and then slammed her knee into his face, breaking his nose. It was at this time that she saw the big guy pulling out a knife that he put behind his belt earlier, with the intention of killing Philip.


As her knee was in the little guy's face, she could reach for her dagger in her shoe. And so she did. With one non-stopping and perfectly balanced motion she pulled out the dagger and threw it at the big guy. The dagger found it's way straight into the man's forehead. He dropped dead.


Arabella let go of the little one and he immediately threw his dagger away in order to hold his broken nose.


Zinnie went to check on Philip and overwhelmed with emotion she noticed a simple tear on her face. She wasn't crying. Just worried. Philip's once pretty face, suddenly looked unrecognizable.


She turned around to finish the job, however the guy was already on the run.


"Well, well, well" she said playfully as she grabbed a bow from her back. And put a little of castor oil on it. She took her time just to add to the challenge.


The arrow made it's way towards the target and hit his arm. Right in the middle of the little guy's palm.


"no casualties huh..." she said and brought Philip to her place and placed him on bed very carefully.


"I'll be right back Philip." the dark haired girl said as she closed the door. Leaving Philip to rest.
 
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Elijah Addison Saar

Upon being introduced to the other member, Elijah, and Eadrick bowed at Vier and her companions as a show of respect as they are part of the same forces and all, a good relationship is a must. The white-haired woman then gave a cheery wave and an equally jolly "Hello~" At Vier before Wysteria continued talking.

"Jeez, this lady is scary. Look at Eadrick, he's sweating so much from what that giant pink-haired lady said! It's disgusting." Sebastian crawled away from her butler's shoulders and jumped to hers, crimson eyes flitted to her companion. Sebastian was right, Eadrick was losing his cool demeanor and his fringes sticking to his skin.

"Now, Sebastian, don't be so mean," Elijah whispered to her pet crab but she had the most devilish stare at her own butler, but there really was no need to fret for she was just playing around as always.

"As for me, I don't really have anything to ask at the moment." She shrugged, she's not really interested in the particulars. She just wants to venture out in the sea. She knows the gist of the operation, to find the Trident of Legends. At first, she just joined out of impulse, but upon learning what the objective was she got more excited. "I'll follow every order you give, Captain."

mention: || interaction: Wysteria Beacon LazyDaze LazyDaze Vier Tollamber AI10100 AI10100


 
Melody Holladay


In Melody's sleep, she dreamed of enjoying a good plate of juicy steak. In the dreamy haze, she picked up a fork, ready to put the piece of meat in her mouth, but before she could take a bite, she was startled awake by the sound of very close gunshots. Her eyes snapped open to see two men staring at her. 'So much for an easy ride,' She thought as she pulled herself to her feet.

Melody shook herself like a dog, ridding the hay from her body. "I wouldn't call myself a stowaway," She huffed, crossing her arms together. It made her sound like some criminal.

Mel's ears then flattened against her head." Look, I wasn't tryin' ta steal anything if that's what'd ye were thinking." She asserted, trying to clear any suspicions.

"I'm just a poor traveler who needed a free ride," Melody stated with puppy eyes. She hoped that it at least worked on the driver. 'My puppy eyes probably won't work on that other guy. He kind' a looks like a hardass,' She remarked.


Interacting: TPBx TPBx
 
Guineverre Victoria y Blanca & XIXIX VALENTINE
Written by LazyDaze LazyDaze and my cat.



"Good morning, Queen Kaloronos." Guin politely greeted upon the fellow Queen's arrival. She was honestly surprised to the treacherous King's daughter in throne, but at least her entrance was less extra compared to her father. "Overseeing the Kingdoms recuperation, mostly." She answered with a smile although it soon fell when she was reminded of King Valentines.

A deep sigh escaped the Queen of Hearts as soon as she realized the King of Clubs wouldn’t be entering the meeting room anytime soon. She has been waiting for the oaf to make his entrance for the past five minutes, but she sensed that his mana signature only seemed to be waning as though he was getting farther and farther from her. There was no question: King Valentines wasn’t planning on attending the conference. Of course she could just chalk it up to him being his usual forgetful clown self, but she was well aware of his secretaries’ diligence. Having the Club’s Jack as a spy earned her plenty of information about the foreign Kingdom’s rundowns. That, and the fact that Declan was a blabbermouth despite being mute.

“I’m sorry, please excuse me for a short while. Something a bit urgent suddenly came up. Don’t worry though, I’ll be back before the meeting starts.” Guin said, shooting an apologetic smile to the recently arrived Queen of Diamonds and giving Twig a tap on the shoulder. Once that was done, the blonde disappeared from her seat altogether.

---

With an uncharacteristic scowl, the Queen materialized somewhere at one of the palace’s many corridors. She was following King Valentine’s unrestrained signature, and it unsurprisingly led her nearby the royal kitchen. Once the infuriating man’s form came into view, Guin wasted no time and teleported beside him- keeping the right amount of distance of course. At least ten feet.

“Good morning, King X.” She said with a clear touch of irritation. It has been years since she started working with the King thanks to their shared organization. She could still recall the horrible period of her life when she’d exhaust herself from pretending like the King’s eccentricities didn’t bother her. Let’s just say that ship sailed and sunk down the depths of the sea at some point of the five-year transition. “Are you aware that this hallway leads to the kitchen and the meeting room’s the other way?”

X gave Guin a lazy salute after she appeared beside him, albeit at a noticeable awkward distance. The poor lass, so taken aback by her feelings that she couldn’t even bear to be in his immediate vicinity. X sighed internally after realizing this might have been worse than he thought. Over the past 5 years he hadn’t noticed anything particularly different about her mannerisms since he joined the jokers. It was a fact, however, that it wasn’t often that they were in the same room due to other obligations. It was feasible that anyone could change considerably in that time relatively unnoticed. Even so, X liked to believe he was a good read of character. Perhaps absence does make the heart grow fonder as opposed to out of mind. Nevertheless, when he notified her through his mana signature, he didn’t think she would arrive so quickly. Maybe this was due to his own experience with prioritizing meetings and the like, but he thought he would at least have time to get a bite to eat.

When Guin finally mentioned his intended destination X finally stopped and turned to Guin. “Unless you moved it, I’m sure that’s where food happens,” X said while nonchalantly pointing in the direction of the kitchen. He couldn’t help but feel like he was forgetting something important…..must have not been too important. “Anywho, fancy meeting you here. You must be pretty hungry too. I don’t mind you tagging along,” X said as if oblivious to the fact they were supposed to be meeting up under the guise of professionalism.

And so it began. Guin could feel the start of an aneurysm as she continued looking- or glaring like she was trying to drill a hole through his skull- at the infamous King. Even until now, she still couldn’t fathom what kind of tragedy happened to transform a man into… this. Regardless, she should remain civilized. She was a Queen- a servant of justice. Not a woman who’d easily resort to murder despite how tempting.

“And I’m sure I banned you from entering the royal kitchen.” She reminded him as the end of her lips twitched ever so slightly. “Besides, the Hearts have prepared a buffet in the conference hall.” Not to mention that each guest’s lodge has its own pantry. Obviously, the King of Oaf was planning to traumatize the palace cooks with crude displays- again.

“I don’t know if my telepath reached you, but I had him arrange an appointment between us. I simply have a few inquiries.” She added as she crossed her arms.

Ah so that was it...a kitchen ban.

X glanced toward the ceiling in silence for a moment before returning his gaze to Guin. “Has nothing to do with me,” X said matter of factly. “As we constantly take in new information and evolve, even the me of today is drastically different from the me of yesterday. This truth is even more evident when regarding the me of yesteryear and so on. So the me of today is unconcerned with the ban the me of a few years ago received.”

Honestly, this matter was far more important than what she wanted to discuss. In fact, he was hoping they could avoid that conversation entirely, but he knew the diligent Queen of Hearts wouldn’t let him escape so easily. Furthermore, he was unwilling to put effort into a fruitless task. “...What are these inquiries,” X finally said with a bit of apprehension as he sighed once more...internally of course. He couldn’t decide what would be worse. Sitting through a confession, or sitting through a fruitless meeting.

“No. That’s not how it works, King of Clubs.” Guin flatly said after X finished blabbering about his well-deserved kitchen ban. Oh, those poor cooks. They even reported he was moaning on top of a table while swimming in pastries. Just the mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

“It’s regarding your recent activity in the kingdom.”
She began, gauging his facial expression despite how futile it might be. He might as well cover his entire face because he wasn’t using it anyways. She found his constantly emotionless face annoying since she couldn’t read what was going on in his mind. “I received a report that I apparently sent you into one of the city’s orphanages. I don’t remember doing such a thing though. What’s more, you even donated a palladium. Could you please explain the situation?”

Ah starting off with the small talk. Classic maneuver.

X glanced toward the ceiling once again, attempting to recall something that he already knew. However, it never hurt to put on an act. He’s been doing that for years after all. Just like before, his gaze returned to Guin when he finally regained his memories. “Oh right, there was an orphanage with that snot nose bully and the know it all harlot. Had nothing better to do, so I taught them a few things,” X said with a shoulder shrug before reaching into his inside jacket pocket and retrieving a rather cheap looking pouch serving as his coin holder. “What’s this talk about a palladium, could have sworn it was a copper I gave them. Ba dum tis…..”

Well, he thought it was a good joke anyway. He put away his pouch, and shoved his hands back into his pockets, looking toward the kitchen as he spoke. “They looked hungry and the palladium was weighing me down. Fair trade.”

Did he just label a child as harlot? Guin’s frown deepened with distaste as he proceeded with his joke. She didn’t really get it- although she doubted it was meant to make sense anyways- so she blatantly ignored it.

“Why must you always hide behind scatterbrained excuses?” She muttered with a brief shake of her head. Declan told her before that his assistant, Iris Bastille, mentioned how the King would sometimes skip parties to visit orphanages. It was one of the many things Guin would recall whenever the urge to drain the King would emerge. It reminded her that not all the bones in his body were loathsome.

“Either way, it’s a huge amount of money.” The orphanage could buy two villages using the coin. While Guin has been doing her best to make sure that each of the children’s needs would be met, the fact remained that they could always use more funds. Especially with the upsurge of orphans thanks to the recent war. Her eyes briefly dulled at the thought. She wondered how many children would be separated from their family during the upcoming days?

“I share a special bond with orphans. I love those children dearly. Hence, I appreciate your generous donation regardless of your motivation. I will make sure it’s put to good use.” She finished, the scowl on her face finally softening back to normal.

X listened to Guin make note of his ability to hide behind what she saw as scatterbrained excuses. She then began to speak on other inconsequential things; however, X’s mind had already drifted to another place, so much in fact that his gaze seemed more distant than usual. It was as if he could see that horrendous reality through brief glitches. Burning tears, ominous silence, cold metal, the taste of blood and….well that would have to wait as X forced himself back into the present. His gaze locking back on the Guin as she finished speaking.

“You seem to have the wrong idea about me,” X said, taking a few steps to close the distance between them as he spoke. “Excuses are for good people who make mistakes.”

7 feet.

“For bad people who wish they were good.”

4 feet.

“...I’m not a good person,” X said calmly, but assertively, now standing a little less than a foot away from Guin. This was not misdirection; it was a fact in his own eyes. He had struggled for some time now, discerning the line between right and wrong. After several years of observing people, he was able to ascertain a sense of logical morality; however, simply knowing that never stopped the elation he felt when a soul left a body. The excitement before a kill, or the euphoria of knowing you will soon bring hell to an unsuspecting target. Old habits tend to die hard after all. He hated that he loved it all.

“Oh well, you know how us royalty can get careless with our riches. It’s probably better in your hands anyway,” X said with a chuckle rubbing the back of his head. “Anyway, I’m relieved this is what you called me here for. For a moment I thought you were going to confess your obvious love for me…..wait, I didn’t just...ruin your confession did I?”

'How annoying.' Guin couldn’t help but think to herself. Just when she thought she was finally getting through his annoyingly impenetrable mask, he clamped down. Now, she was once again stuck with the old clown who has a grandiose delusion that they were in some sort of romantic relationship. What a spineless oaf.

“Neither am I a good person.” She confessed- although it was fortunately not the confession he was expecting. Guin knew people would look at her as though she was some sort of a saint. But between the two of them, she knew who was more sinful. She briefly averted her gaze from X as her mind wandered off to her nightmare from earlier. She was spewing excuses back then, wasn’t she? Perhaps, deep inside, Guin wished she really was a good person.

Her eyes faltered to the ground for a moment, but it quickly made its way back to X’s empty ones. “Good or not, it doesn’t matter. You helped those children and we’re all grateful for that. I like to think that brings your heart even just a bit of joy.” She took a step back as one end of her lips curled into a sly smirk. “I’m a presumptuous woman, but I think you already know that.” It was him who labeled her that after all, all those years ago.

“See you tonight, King X. Best of luck to us.” She bid with a nod before disappearing from her place.

X raised an eyebrow when she responded with a similar statement to his. He couldn’t imagine why she would say such a thing, but most people in this world did things they weren’t proud of. If you didn’t, you would probably be dead by now. He thought he even saw a tinge of genuine regret? Something he could never manage in front of someone. However, that look was gone almost as soon as it came and could have been all in his head.

As she continued, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was joy that they brought them, or salvation. If so, doing things for that sale was pretty selfish wasn’t it? Laboring on these thoughts was too much work after all so he conceded. “See ya, and it’s just X,” he said as she blinked off without draining him this time. He then strolled out of the palace, blowing a goodbye kiss to the kitchen as he left. (No way in hell he was going to the meeting...not yet anyway.) With time to think, X recalled her final statement. See you tonight….

“Wow...a little early for that, but who am I to turn down someone willing and able? Guess I’ll see her tonight then.” X took out his broken watch and made a mental note of the optimal time for night time activities. Until then who knows what he would do.

---

In a blink of an eye, the Queen returned to her seat no less than five minutes after her disappearance. She looked around, hoping to see other faces but was disappointed when she realized Twig and Athania were still the only other occupants of the room. This was getting irritating. She wanted to start this conference as early as possible since she had a lot of things on her plate at the moment. Well, more than usual at least.

"Hmm. The others are sure taking their time, aren't they?"
She commented as she continued looking around the empty seats. She internally wondered what would happen if a few royalties missed the conference. It was a pretty big one after all- especially with King Dornwell's idealistic proposition. The same troublesome feeling emerged at the pits of her stomach although her face refused to show it. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

TPBx TPBx Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
 
Myles Rein.png
"Floury?" Myles clicked his tongue, "Strange, I don't remember putting a lot of flour in it."

The telepathic Joker's manner of speaking always messed him up. Using telepathy on a daily basis was nothing that Myles had ever seen before deserting the Argossian army. Even now, after five years, despite Myles trying his best to act like he blended in, he still felt like a goose in a squad of ducks.

"Oh wait, that's not what you meant," Myles realized, "Yeah, I suppose it's supposed to taste a bit floral. If the sweetness is too much, I guess I shouold add more salt. I'm glad tastes still carry over across the ocean."

"In Argossia, these things, which people call 'junk food' are never associated with chefs," Myles said, "So I can't really count on the cooks to tell me if these taste good or not."

Myles took a chip from the bowl and crunched down on it. Man, he missed Argossia. Manga, udon, subways, electric guitars, electricity, Ornare didn't have any of that. All he could do was try to recreate the things he missed, which for the case of udon, since the recipe was passed down from generation to generation, it meant that Myles would have to figure out his own.

No more mulling over the past, Myles decided. He forced himself to change the subject.

"Tonight's the night when everything goes down," Myles noted, grabbing another chip from the chip bowl, "Ready to kick some A and put your new weapons to use?"

AI10100 AI10100
 
Zephyr _Twig_ Terwilliger.png

Twig wasn't that accustomed to pulling pranks, so he felt a tinge of guilt when Guin looked so hurt. He should've known that anything involving X was not anything to joke about. In all honesty, Twig didn't blame Guin for disliking the King of Clubs so much. Twig made it a personal policy to avoid the King of Clubs as much as possible.

"Sorry if I went too far with that one," Twig said, "You can get your revenge on me whenever you want."

Twig looked down at the document in front of him. He guessed that he could probably just say that the document was lost in transit and that he could forget about renewing it. He folded the document in half and then shoved it back into his bag. The next document underneath the pile appeared to have something to do with the city of Solaris requesting some "backup funds" for reconstruction in case Devils Due was as chaotic as the past few years. Twig didn't blame them for asking for such a thing. During the years of Corda's reconstruction, the Jokers had flocked to the city to celebrate the holidays. And last year the chaos had been immense. But Twig had a feeling that holidays weren't going to be celebrated for quite a while.

"Good morning Queen Kaloronos," Twig echoed Guin when the Queen of Diamonds entered the room, "I'm glad that you decided to brave the morning and come earlier than the rest."

Twig gave Guin a small two-fingered salute of acknowledgment when she said that she needed to go talk to King X. He too felt X's mana signature permeating the air, although he did his best in ignoring it. If he had to guess, Guin was going to confront X for whatever caused her to scream 'I don't like him' out loud.

"I've been muddled in paperwork these past few days," Twig replied to the Queen as he stashed away the documents into his bag. There wasn't any reason why the Queen should see what he was doing, in case it gave her any hints on what was to come. He poured himself a cup of tea and reclined back on his chair as he waited for the rest of the royals to file into the room. He didn't have too many intentions of conversing in small talk. Even after the eight years of Jackship, the Jack of Hearts was still quite an introvert. Besides, there wasn't any use getting in a conversation with someone who might just become the enemy in the span of a few weeks, or risk getting in a conversation where Twig would have to lie, for Twig was a pretty bad liar.

When Guin finished her conversation with X and returned to the meeting room, Twig shared her expression of disappointment. He wanted to get the meeting over as quickly as possible, especially considering that there was to be a lot of planning before the day was over.

"Is King Valentine not coming for the meeting?" Twig asked, "I wouldn't be surprised, to be frank. I wonder where Jack Frey is though."

TPBx TPBx . D O V E . D O V E
 
Cilantro.png
Cooking looked to be very very difficult. It looked like a strange combination of vigorous stirring, endless waiting, and a large amount of pressure that would probably make someone like Cilantro cry. Even the process of making the pumpkin soup seemed difficult. There was a lot of whisking to incorporate the pumpkin stew with the heavy cream, a process called 'emulsification' as Myles had said.

While he was desperately throwing spices together with his chips, Myles had explained that the cream was a 'non-polar substance' and the boiled down pumpkin was a 'polar substance' which meant that they didn't mix well. What the chef was employing was emulsification to make the creamy texture he was seeing now.

Suddenly, a duck flew through the window and landed on Cilantro's shoulder, "Hello there!"

"Oswald!" Cilantro cried out in joy, "Long time no see!"

The rest of the kitchen staff spared a look at Cilantro and the strange talking duck before going back to work, trying to ignore the chaotic duo. Oswald the duck had been Cilantro's one steadfast companion throughout his life. He was the one that helped make him feel comfortable in the circus. And it was he who had rescued Cilantro from his execution from the cultists.

"How have you been? What are you doing?" Oswald asked.

"I've been doing better," Cilantro replied, "How's the circus going?"

"Not the same without a little brother like you," Oswald responded, "Boy, this place smells great. Is that mallard pie I smell baking in the oven? Yum."

That last statement garnered a few strange looks from the cooks.

"Can you get the duck out of the kitchen?" the cook making the pumpkin soup asked.

"Well, looks like we overstayed our welcome," Oswald commented, "Let's go, Mark."

Before they left, Cilantro gathered up his courage and snatched a plate of oliebollen from the table. Cilantro knew that he had a hopeless pastry and dessert addiction, but what could a poor young man do when faced with a royal kitchen?

However, when he opened the kitchen door, he heard two distinctive voices. One of them seemed oddly familiar, although he couldn't place where he had heard that voice from. The other voice was identified as X Valentine, the King of Clubs by the first voice. Cilantro took a careful peek around the corner to find Queen Blanca of the Hearts and King Valentine of the Clubs doing what seemed like squabbling. He held his breath as he listened in on the conversation of the two royals, and as he did, he felt frustration rise inside of him.

"I'll be back, I need to do something real quick," Oswald said awkwardly. He undoubtedly felt Cilantro's frustration as he flew away from the other way.

Finally, when it seemed that King Valentine and Queen Blanca were finished with their conversation, Cilantro walked around the corner, ready to give them a piece of his mind. He did hear that the two of them would be busy that evening doing as Myles called it 'the thing," which meant that it seemed unlikely for the two royals to interrupt the plan.

Cilantro couldn't find where Queen Blanca vanished off to, but he could see King Valentine off in the distance, and he hurried to catch up. When he got within talking distance of the King, he demanded, "Hold up, your Kingship."

Cilantro dipped his head in a short bow as his free hand went up to his breast, a curt and hardly passable bow for someone as worthy as the King of Clubs. But Cilantro refused to give anything more-- he felt disgusted even by acknowledging that the King of Clubs was more than him with the act of saying 'your kingship.'

"You should know that money doesn't buy happiness," Cilantro met King Valentine's eyes with his own, burning with hatred, "A palladium won't solve the underlying issues that caused those orphans to be hungry in the first place! Have you not thought of that? Or do you think you, the top cheese of your kingdom, can understand someone on the way bottom? Or maybe are you just hiding in how you're 'not a good person' which lets you do whatever the hell you want without caring about whether you're helping your people or not?"

"Don't for a second think your money is helping," Cilantro spat, "When you're just fixing the problems that you caused!"

Cilantro knew that his words were blasphemous and that there was a good chance that King Valentine would retaliate against the young man, but with the courage flowing through him, Cilantro couldn't allocate any restraint. He also knew that a young man with a plate full of doughnuts was not particularly threatening, but a man could try.

LazyDaze LazyDaze
 
XIXIX VALENTINE

Just as X was off to live his best life he was interrupted by...someone he didn't know. X decided then and there that his name would be Dave. X raised an eyebrow, unsure why anyone would want to talk to him...he would be hard pressed to ignore the tension in his voice/ He had done a swell job at lying low and useless...at least outside of the kingdom. No one here should want to speak with him. X didn't even have time to correct the dreaded use of formal speaking terms before he broke off into a rant. X was tempted to watch the non ticking hands of his pocket watch as he continued to berate him. Had he known giving children a copper...or a palladium apparently would have caused this much of a fuss, he would have settled for racing grandmas. X took a few steps toward Cilantro and took one of his donuts. He twirled it around his finger before placing it in his inside jacket pocket. It was always strange seeing the irritated scowls that often surrounded him while he felt...nothing. Compared to other things he had seen, a few negative words wasn't enough to cause his blood to boil.

"You're right, there's not anyone or anything I particularly care about," X said flatly, staring down at Cilantro, meeting his eyes with his own dead ones. Having others misjudge, or look down upon him was nothing new. In fact, he welcomed it. He couldn't help but reminisce on how Guin told him off for letting others judge him incorrectly. He held back a chuckle at the thought before speaking again. "...You shouldn't project your own uselessness on others. No matter my intentions, ranting about things you can't control is the same as throwing a tantrum." There was no malice in his voice, which was often the case. He only stated what he felt others needed to know. His own past was inconsequential, and his intentions were just that...his. Despite his apathy toward it all, he was perplexed as how he could blame the King of Clubs for the Heart's current state of orphans. Correction, he knew how...frustration, determination, maybe even envy? It didn't really matter at the end of the day. Everyone in this world believed they were right. This is what usually lead to conflict. X knew very well he often screwed things up. However, and this would be strange coming from him, sitting back because you were afraid to make mistakes would be far worse than playing it safe. When it came down to it, even if he was wrong, it really didn't matter if no one could do anything about it. They could debate about this for hours, and something told X this...cook...would be more than willing. X was on vacation, a debate would not be happening. All that said, one thing was certain, those children would not be eating stale bread tonight....speaking of stale bread....

X took another donut without moving his gaze from CIlantro's eyes. He thought about paying him, but well...he seemed to dislike money very much. Who was he to make him unhappy by giving him gold for every donut he took. With the kitchen ban in place, he was a godsend honestly. "You seem smart Dave. Pretty sure I don't have to tell you things you already know. Was that all?"

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
 
Cilantro.png
"Then why are you the King of Clubs? Shouldn't you hand that title over to someone who can make change?" Cilantro demanded, "Or are you just too vain to give up the title?"

King Valentine's words were further infuriating, that was for sure, if not for Cilantro's confusion and the self-esteem that he had gained from talking with Myles. The question on Cilantro's mind was 'what the fuck??' Why was the King of Clubs stealing his doughnuts? And why, rather than eating them, did he put them in his pockets? The powdered sugar was going to get everywhere, and if King Valentine wasn't careful and accidentally smooshed it, the apple filling would explode everywhere. The confusion was making it quite difficult to stay angry at the King of Clubs. Added to that was the strange situation with King Valentine actually agreeing with Cilantro.

"I knew I was useless," Cilantro said, "That's why I've worked to change that. The one stagnant here is you, but it seems like you're pretty chill with that."

He had repeatedly called himself useless the past few years. It was a funny coincidence that King Valentine saw through Cilantro's feelings of uselessness, especially when he had found a way to change and decide that no, he wasn't useless. He could help with the Jokers and bring forward change, whether or not the nobles were ready for it or not.

"I have a question then," Cilantro demanded, "If you aren't the faucet of change, who is? Durian and his 'hand of control?'"

Cilantro had a feeling that he butchered the god of balance's name, but he genuinely couldn't remember whether it was Durian or Dorian based on the conversation with Olivii two years ago. Not that it mattered.

Cilantro knew he wasn't smart (and that he definitely wasn't named Dave). He had at least ten fewer years of education than King Valentine, even if the case was that the king only had five years of royal education. For the love of everything good, Cilantro still couldn't read a single word and he couldn't even write his own name! So he knew that there were a lot of things he didn't understand, running a kingdom for one. However, Cilantro did know that if the royals didn't make any change, then nobody could without force.

"Your kingship, why are you stealing my doughnuts?" Cilantro asked, "Can't you get your own?"

In order to prevent King Valentine from stealing all his doughnuts, and without having to retreat from this increasingly odd confrontation, Cilantro picked up a doughnut and defiantly bit into it.

LazyDaze LazyDaze
 
XIXIX VALENTINE

"I got drunk and woke up as King,"
X said with a shrug. It never got old telling that story. Dave (Cilnatro) once again went off into a flurry of accusations and passionate drivel that often amounted to nothing. It reminded him of those grandiose speeches people often gave to say look at me at the excuse of beckoning morale. He wondered if he always accused people from a foreign country about things he knew nothing about. He actually took out his broken pocket watch this time around and sighed, putting it back after he was done.

"I was banned from the kitchen," X asserted in response to the claim of Cilantro's donuts being stolen while he twirled said donut that was still free from his pockets grasp. Nevertheless, Cilantro seemed pretty perturbed about this entire ordeal. Seriously...who knew giving a palladium could result in this. He was absolutely wasting precious leisure time dealing with this man. Why couldn't another royal get stuck with him. In fact, X wouldn't have been surprised if Guin only built orphanages to appease this man. "Do you always beg to your enemies," X asked with a raised brow. He had to be aware that this would not reflect well on his apparent superiors. Perhaps his convictions ran that deep. Nevertheless, conviction without direction was fruitless.

It really was that simple. More often than not, people complained about things because of powerlessness. Step down as King, give to the poor, or do it yourself. Of course tmany things were easier said than done. X couldn't complain to the gods with how the world turned out...if they existed. After all, he had never been in charge of an entire universe. He could only move forward and live. Tired of twirling the donut, he placed it in his other jacket pocket. He didn't feel like using too many words to lecture the man who was probably justified to some extent. These types were always the worst.

"...Whether, Dorian, or any god for that matter, bends us to their liking has nothing to do with me," X started after placing his hands in his pockets. "Similarly, begging me to facilitate your cause won't fix the underlying issues that caused the very situation you were in before you even knew who I was," He said with a casual shrug as he glanced off to the side. It took more words than X expected, and he could have used another donut after such a reply. X could probably tell him that he was working with the jokers, he could probably tell him all of the good her has apparently done for the world but it wasn't true. X simply did whatever he felt like, just as Cilantro ascertained. If people wanted to crack the maze that was his mind, he would let them. If they chose to swim on the surface, that was also just as well. "At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what I do from this point forward. If you can do a better job, unseat me, or remain an insignificant child," X said with an apathetic shrug. Once again his voice was neutral, as if presenting an actual choice in the matter. Hopefully he would see who change really started with and how actions tend to cause waves in unexpected places.

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
 
Cilantro.png

Dorian! Dorian! Dorian! Damn it, durian is a fruit! Why the fuck was it so easy to mix the two of them up?

"...you got drunk and woke up as King," Cilantro flatly repeated, "That sounds like one hell of a blackout. And you got banned from the kitchen. I seriously wonder how."

Cilantro sighed. At this point, he wasn't even angry. The man in front of him had an empty head full of flies, festering and tearing apart whatever brain matter he had left. Cilantro bit off another piece of the oliebol. The savory pork flavored oil along with the powdered sugar and sweet apple filling made for a fantastic balanced dessert.

"Sounds like I'm talking to a brick wall," Cilantro commented, "I guess if I want to make some sort of change... it'll be by my own hands. As long as you don't get in the way of the Jokers, there's no reason to eliminate you."

Cilantro chomped down on his oliebol and waited for King Valentine to retort something. Or call the guards. Or fight him. If the latter happened, Cilantro did not doubt that he could beat the King in a one-on-one fight, as long as he played to his strengths. He had revealed that he was a Joker after all, although Cilantro had a feeling his mannerisms made it clear from the very beginning.

No matter what happened, Cilantro knew that King Valentine was right. The filthy, greedy nobles were never going to release their hold on the grimes of society. They would have to be forced to, just like how they forced people into disadvantageous positions to get the advantage. It would mean getting his hands dirty. There would be an opportunity to do just that later in the day, and boy, was Cilantro excited to get into action.

LazyDaze LazyDaze
 
XIXIX VALENTINE

X raised an eyebrow when Cilantro flat out admitted to being with the Jokers. Perhaps being backed by the Queen gave him an ego trip, but if he hadn’t been told X was a joker, he must have been pretty low on the totem poll. Another possibility is that his identity was to be concealed as much as possible. In fact, this man would probably tell half the country. X couldn’t help but realize how lucky Cilantro was to be speaking with an abnormal, rather tolerant, royal as well as a joker. He could only hope no one else had heard that or else Guin would be placed in a tough position. For the briefest if moments...he wondered if he should kill him to avoid any future slip ups. After a few seconds passed by, he decided it would work itself out.

That said it was a blessing when he finally realized X wasn’t going to give him much. He easily shrugged off Cilantro’s empty threats. Of course this was also a sin X had committed in the past although he usually avoided such a fruitless act. Warnings like these were usually made in attempt to compensate for your own apparent helplessness and often came off as such. A tiger when facing a mouse need not roar when the danger was present in situation alone. So X didn’t roar, he hid in the grass.

“Sure thing Dave,” was all X said while glancing at his pocket watch before turning around to restart his vacation. Sooner or later, “Dave the Donut King” would come to discover his own arrogance. Nevertheless, he did manage to get a couple of donuts, so this wasn’t a complete waste of time. Time to tour the city.

Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
 
Alaric Westguard - 10 - Hearts
Location: Westguard's College for the Defensive Arts - Heart Territory
As the sun broke through the large stained glass window that framed one of the large towers of the castle he had built over the past few years, Alaric watched the retinues of Hearts soldiers that he had stationed here train in the practice yards he had erected. Students from noble and wealthy Heart families made their way between buildings of the keep as they headed to their classes. He was the headmaster of this college, a lord of this castle and the outlying town, and a general in the Hearts military. His good friend and battle brother Cassius had seen to the latter, and with his elevated status and wealth he was able to fund the former two. A simple college to train young minds. Well simple was really an understatement, after all, he had built an entire castle for his students, equipped to train them to the best of his and his faculties abilities in the art of defending others and oneself. An inherently noble pursuit, and one he wished he could provide to everyone, as Alaric himself had not been born a noble. But alas, running a castle turned college required coin, and he could not give out the classes for free if he wished to keep the college running at all. He had instituted a scholarship program, one that the lower classes could take advantage of, but it also required a dedication to the school that many were not ready to give. They would join his fledgling Order of the Battered Shield, worn from use but never broken. It was another one of his wishes he had personally taken charge of. An order of knights who's sole purpose was to wander like he had in his younger days, seeking out those in need and offering a helping hand. The commitment to join the order was four years of strict study at the college, much of which Alaric strove to oversee whenever he could spare the time. The upbringing of his students was mostly nobility, and it took a selfless heart to make such a commitment when a future of wealth and pleasure was all but guaranteed. In fact many of his students had been sent here by their parents just to learn how to properly defend themselves and nothing more. The young nobles parents only wanting their kids prepared to defend themselves properly from the power struggle that was the nobility. Of course, Alaric was aware of this fact, yet he did not hold it against his students. Hopefully their short time at his college would mold their young minds to be more selfless, and they would go out into the world after their time here and strive to make it a better place. It was all just wishful thinking, but it kept him going every day. That and his select few pupils.

Now that Cassius sat on the Heart throne as the new King of the Hearts, Alaric hoped that years of continued peace would be before them. He had thought about running for King again, but seeing Cassius on the throne eased his worries. In all the battles he had participated with Cassius, Alaric had come to the understanding that he was a good and loyal man, and an honorable warrior. He would lead the Hearts kingdom well, at least Alaric hoped. But with Cassius’ elevated position, the man deemed it necessary to award Alaric for his continued service to the Heart kingdom, bestowing upon him many accolades and promoting him to the position of a Hearts general. The position was not something Alaric had been expecting, but he excepted it no less. Once in command of the soldiers under him Alaric devoted his time to training them into a more defensive unit. Alaric’s magic focused mostly on defending those around him and the troops under him now were organized to do the same. They would be the shield for the rest of the hearts military. Even from his bedchamber window, the sounds of the soldiers drilling in their practice fields could be heard. Under his watchful eye he ensured that discipline was paramount in the drilling of his soldiers, for without discipline, how can one be expected to protect the ones beside them in the heat of battle, with death all around them. They would be ready for the next war, though Alaric hoped it was a long way off. For he wasn't naive enough to believe there would be peace forever, there was always another war.

Today though he would not be heading out to the practice fields where his troops were drilling, but instead to check on his most curious pupil. But before he could do that he would need to get ready for the day. His bedchambers, while spacious, were not what one would expect from a lord in his castle. Indeed they were quiet plain, for Alaric had never had a permanent residence before and therefore did not have very many things. His large bed with its plain sheets sat center of his room, while a dresser for his cloths and a full sized mirror hugged the left wall. His rune etched sword had a place on his wall, beside a coat of plate that he wore quite regularly. The mail was of a simple design, yet exuded an air of authority in it's intricacies that displayed its level of craftsmanship and quality. While his sword still burned with his story. He had never learned the history of the blade, having found it in his travels many years ago, but he had carried it ever since. The fiery runes burned across the blade with all his past victories and failures, his whole life made bare. He had often pondered what would happen when the runes ran out of room to etch the rest of his story out, but there always seemed to be more room, as the runes magically twisted and turned to fit.

He pondered donning the mail today, as he knew the royals of all the kingdoms would be meeting within the coming days. The peace treaty was ending, unless they could come to another agreement, and if the peace ended, he would have to be ready. His kingdom would need him ready to serve again, and he wouldn't know if he would have the time to don the mail in an emergency. In the end he decided to go for a modest leather tunic and breeches, with a pair of leather boots similar to that of what his soldiers would wear, though of a higher quality. While Alaric did not believe in wearing the high fashion that was commonplace among the nobles, from looking at his wardrobe one could tell that each piece was of quality craftsmanship while remaining plain and modest. His job after all was not to draw heads and steal hearts, but to protect the people of the hearts kingdom. Though he presumed even if he were to wear the fancy attire that was commonplace of people of his station, his scarred body and face would be more than enough to scare away anyone likely to come to him with such suggestions.

As he left his bedchambers, he strapped his sword to his waist and passed through his modest office. A large oaken desk framed the center of the room, while bookshelves hugged the walls. Another large stain glass window marked the back of the room, and other than the door that led to his bedchamber there was only one other door, which lead out into the heart of the school. Pausing momentarily to glance over his desk and the multitude of papers strewn about it, Alaric took note of a new bit of writing that had been left on his desk by one of the staff. It appeared his most curious pupil had been up studying all night again, and was even neglecting to feed herself. While he was pleased with her devotion to her studies, he didn't want her harming herself in the pursuit. Vinna's magic was quite curious, and was honestly her ticket into the school. It seemed to be a form of disruption magic that directly interfered with another casters spell. A form of curse magic, Alaric himself was not too familiar with the inner workings of her spell casting, but with his connections and status he was able to supply the school's library with a multitude of books on curse magic and magic theory. Even in his personal collection he now carried a couple of books on curse magic and reaching into one of the many bookshelves that lined his office he pulled a particularly thick tome off the wall. The tomes within his personal library were of a higher quality to those found in the library, and only a handful of his most skilled students were allowed access. Seeing Vinna's dedication to learning how to control her magic, he felt it time to reward her, though she would not have time to dive into the thick tome just yet, as Alaric wanted to focus on actual spell casting today and less book work. Leaving his office with the tome under one hand and his other hand resting upon the hilt of his sword, he quickly passed through the halls on the way to the main library.

As he arrived before her he gave a gentle knock on the oaken desk, alerting her of his presence and placing the tome upon the desk beside the many other works that lay around the young woman. "I was unaware the school offered meals at midnight." An amused undertone appearing in Alaric's gentle yet commanding voice. He would not reprimand her for her study schedule for she was a grown woman but he hoped that by mentioning it she would try to take better care of herself. "I brought this tome from my study, I believe you will find it to your liking." He gave little pause as he motioned towards the thick tome he had deposited within her pile of readings. "But, today I think would be better spent practicing your magic, if you are feeling up for it." Because of the instability of her magic, Alaric was hesitant to press her to practice it. He did not fear injury, to herself or anyone else as his magic would prevent such injuries from occurring. Yet he wanted her to be confident in her casting and did not want to rush her into something she was unprepared for.

Lyth Lyth
(anyone who needs a starting point, come join the school if you wish)
 
M A L L A R D , C A L L U M
Location: Mallard Family Farm, Spades Kingdom
Interactions: @Ambiloquous @Sushi Muncher @Voril

"It has been a while. I should give you money for that." Callum mused as she began to stalk her prey - a small insect, a common household fly, had been buzzing around. He didn't mind the girl not really looking at him as they conversed. After a decade or so years of being together as adventuring partners, he's gotten used to her antics. Or at least, that's what he'd like to claim. Sometimes, she catches him off guard with a sudden statement or an action. But they understood each other well enough. "But you have to admit, we're a bit time constrained as of late." There were times where the two of them would just relax in a town and he'd hand her a share of the money and watch her go wild in a casino. She never won and he was well aware that it was a gambling addiction, but it was good for them. It kept them grounded.

He winced as the vase shattered and as she showered the harmless insect with curses. "Or you could leave it alone. It's not the fir- and there it goes." The fly was now forever stuck to the wall that Jana had embedded it into after brutally murdering it. He looked at the shattered vase, then to Jana's smug face as if the death of a fly was something to be completely proud of in her position. When they've already eliminated bandits before through sheer difference in power. "You're cleaning that up." He pointed out as he gestured towards the broken shards. "I don't want any of the kids getting hurt because of broken porcelain. I'm not gonna be the one who's gonna get the tail end of mom's anger." He said, raising his arms in a mock surrender motion.

The foreigner's accent had once upon a time put him on edge. It was too unfamiliar and if anyone else were to hear it, they might get caught. Though as time goes by, it became a lot more endearing, as well as the person who owned it. He turned to the wolfgirl with a bright smile and a pat on the head. "Good morning. Go on. Eat your fill. Long day today, as usual." There was no rest for the wicked in the farm. There's always something to do, something to fix and something to record. If he wasn't mistaken, Allison and Samuel had already gone out to the town with their carriage to deliver the daily harvests and to make trade with the other townsfolk. Callum counted himself lucky due to the fact that their noble was tame enough to just let them go about their businesses.

"Jana and I have some business to do tonight." He said, his smile faltering as the quest details came back to his mind. "You're gonna have to stay here again. But I promise, we're gonna go tomorrow. If everything goes well, Kai might even come with us." He missed travelling with his alchemist friend, but with how busy he was constantly with... well, everything, Callum couldn't blame him for not being able to take as much time away from his group as possible. "I'm gonna be tasking you with protecting the farm tonight. You got that?"
 
S A R M I E N T O , D E C L A N
Location:
Valencia

Interacting with: Coyote Hart Coyote Hart
Declan raised an eyebrow at the misunderstanding, waiting for a moment to see if the younger man would get his error. While that was happening, Declan reached out to grab another chip. He wondered if Myles would make more or share whatever recipe he had in his mind to the chefs. This kind of finger food seemed perfect to have by their forgetful royalty. It wasn't as filling and heavy as the pastries, but it served well to make it seem like you aren't eating much until you realized you were finishing the entire bowl. As what he was doing right now, having already taken a few more chips than he had intended but as long as Myles didn't stop him, then why would he have a reason to stop?

"It's a whole new kind of taste. Even if it's not some fancy food back in Argossia, I assure you they'd be more than happy to try it our here." Myles knew a lot about Argossia. The man came from there after all. Myles had even taught him how to drive more efficiently one time just to give him a better overview from an actual driver. He had half a mind to ask him about a few more things, to prod just a little bit more and Declan would finally know what is up with Argossia. But he's always somehow out on a job or busy with Cilantro, and Declan, himself, was a bit too busy the past few years with their recreation of a car. Maybe eventually, when they had a longer time to talk. "It's really good though. Toss me some Argossian recipes next time. I kinda want to try whatever you can throw at me." Food is food, after all, no matter where it came from. And who knows, maybe they're delicious.

As the subject turned serious, Declan nodded, never losing the grin on his face but he was already surveying the people around them. No one was particularly close. "It is." He pounded his fists together and gave Myles a grin. "Primed and ready to go. It's been a hot second since I've seen some action, so it'll be nice to bring them out again." His guns were practically collecting dust by this point and they were only taken to the target grounds when he does manage to find the time to practice with them. Sure, he'd gone on a couple of missions here and there over the past few years, but they were mostly stealthy and information gathering. He didn't need guns there.

"How about you? Nervous? Excited?" He questioned as he grabbed another chip.
 


Adelleid Frey

Frey couldn't help but chuckle at Iris's remark to his question, "It must really be a lot of work." He added to her comment lightheartedly. While it has been a while since they first met, Iris truly was what he expected, an admirable person that has stuck with X as his assistant for a long time. "Well, I do hope that you get the vacation that you deserve."

He momentarily blanked by being called Clubship, as he wasn't used to the title and doesn't want to be but alas, such is the way of etiquette. "A letter to the Queen of Hearts?" He asked, all the while taking the envelope in hand. He wondered what it was for as it looked rather fancy, his crimson eyes laid once again to Iris as he tapped his chin with a free hand. "Considering that it is X that we are talking about..." There was a rather odd feeling in his chest when he thought about the letter that was now in his hands. "It might not be important at all." He let out a defeated sigh and placed the letter in the back of his bag, "I'll have to see how the Queen of Hearts feels about our King first, I don't think everyone is accepting of his personality, he can be very surprising at times after all."

The Jack of Clubs then turned to answer Siegfried's question, "Quite alright. Although I never expected to have a Royal Meeting as soon as, well, today but I will be fine." He assured his assistant with an easy smile, throughout the past few months Frey has done nothing but follow Twig's instructions, and mimicking Sieg's demeanor at the office. "Anyway, after the whole meeting would you three like to-"

"Your Clubship, we have arrived." Said the man from earlier as the ship's movement changed and landed safely back on the ground.

"Guess we better get going then." He said to the three as he followed their guide to the castle in Valencia.

Later on and the group had arrived to the castle, Frey beelined for the meeting room, asking a servant to guide them along the hallways, not wanting to become late because he got lost trying to find his way. What an embarrassment would that be? Well, it won't equate to what he will do in the near future once everyone arrives and X would be nowhere to be found. His quietness through the whole walk to the meeting room can be easily chalked up to a slight nervousness towards the whole meeting but it's really something different.

Frey gave all three assistants a kind smile before he opened the door to the meeting room and gave his signature pleasant smile towards the Royals that arrived earlier than he did. "Good day, Queen Blanca, Queen Kaloronos, and Jack Terwilliger. How are you all faring today?" He asked, starting off with a small talk, as soon as he sat down in the seat that was prepared for him.

mention: Xixix Valentine || interaction: Iris Bastille LazyDaze LazyDaze Siegfried Maria Rothschild The Prophet The Prophet Lilaia @Xcelgamer Guineverre Blanca . D O V E . D O V E Zephyr Terwilliger Coyote Hart Coyote Hart Athania Kaloronos TPBx TPBx

A post made while I was hungry, extremely hungry. P.s. Might edit some stuff once I can get to it re-reading it, if ever.


 
𝕾𝖎𝖊𝖌𝖋𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖉 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖆 𝕽𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖉

As the airship touched down, the rocking of Siegfried's chess piece stopped, scooping it up to pocket it in his overcoat. For all intents and purposes, this was business. Serious business. Siegfried stood and made sure of his appearance, before following Frey out and into the city, taking in the sights of the castle with his eyes while his face remained relatively still. While it wasn't the case, for the sake of furthering his kingdom's power and prosperity Siegfried would have to treat everyone in this meeting as an adversary, an adversary to further their own goals at the detriment of Club's own. As Frey got a servant to act as a guide Siegfried took a moment to scan the exterior of the building they were to enter, noting its size and opulence in comparison to the outer ring of the city they saw from above. Hopefully they got this over with quickly; he wanted to look for a library.

As the guide led the King-less party down the palace walls, Siegfried watched the back profile of his kingdom's Jack closely. At the end of the day these were him and X's decisions as royalty; Siegfried was only his advisor. His job was to advise, not to decide. He just hoped that the Jack and King heeded his and his co-workers advice. They needed to keep their kingdom in best interests, any other kingdom came second. They had to win. The door to the meeting room stood as the last step before they started the game, and As Frey smiled back at them he looked on with a complete poker face, violet eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he ran through a plan of conduct. "And so white makes its move…" he muttered, and the door opened moments later.

Frey introduced himself and Siegfried took the opportunity to scan the room subtly. Not very many people were present already, in fact there were only three people in the room. Two Queens and a Jack, which Siegfried gave no acknowledgement as he made his way behind Frey when he moved and took a standing position behind his employer as he sat in his seat. As he stood silent, his mind wandered as usual to various topics. What did the other kingdoms want? Would this go smoothly? Where were the others royals? How do I win? Only the Queen and Jack were present in the heart's side, and only the Queen on the Diamond side. Their own King was missing as well, but that wasn't new. In any case, he had the feeling that this meeting was going to be interesting. This was his first time after all. Gloved hands found each other behind his back, and Siegfried began to silently wait for the rest of the royals.
 
Guineverre Victoria y Blanca


"While it will be delightful if King Valentines attends the meeting, I won't be surprised if he doesn't." The Queen of Hearts replied to her Jack with a perfect lie. Truth was, she would be more delighted if the King of Oaf missed the meeting and sent his fair-spoken personal assistant instead. "The Clubs have always been fond of sending representatives instead of coming themselves, regardless the nature of the conference." She lightly shook her head as she recalled the grand meeting eight years ago. The famous All Hands on Deck, when the coalition got reformed after more or less a century.

The Clubs' consistency was almost funny. Back then, the former Queen of Clubs, who was well known for her madness, sent a low ranker in her stead since she apparently got shot and couldn't make it to Arandel. Five years later, the King of Clubs, who was also sadly well known for his madness, did the exact same thing but for a different reason: he had a date with pigeons. Right before the Valencia war.

Thankfully, before Guin could grow even more pissed, Twig directed her attention to the Jack of Clubs. She met Jack Frey before he was... well, a Jack. To be more specific, she was the one who put him in place with the help of the Jokers and Iris Bastille, the personal assistant whom she was thinking of earlier. "He's hopefully on his way-" the creak of the door as it was pushed open caught her mid-sentence.

'Speaking of the devil...'


A polite smile automatically tugged on the Queen's lips as she regarded the newly arrived Jack with a nod, subsequently giving one to his advisor as well. According to Sanguis' report, his name was Siegfried Rothschild. He was apparently useful at making it seem like Jack Frey knew what he was doing. She wasn't surprised the blood mage brought him along. Gods know the reigning Club royalties were only good at fighting and pretending.

"Welcome, Jack Frey and associate." She greeted before motioning to the said royalty's assigned seat. They didn't really designate any for assistants since it was supposed to be a royal meeting, but Guin thought it would be very inhospitable if they made him stand up for the entire duration. She snapped her fingers once and a diaphanous, blue chair made out of mana materialized beside Frey's seat. She gestured towards her magical construct and looked at Siegfried, "Please take your seat. We weren't informed about your arrival, apologies."

"The Hearts have been very busy with rebuilding. I'm sure you're all doing the same so I'm not gonna bore you with the details."
She responded to Frey's question before tilting her head to the side. "Might I ask where are the rest of your royalties? We've been waiting for a bit."

The Prophet The Prophet Colorless Spectrum Colorless Spectrum Coyote Hart Coyote Hart TPBx TPBx
 
1596683835600.png

Vinna

The need to prove herself had long been ingrained deep within Vinna's very core, forced to outshine the discoveries her parents had spent years chasing. Any scrap of attention she might have wrenched from the brilliant and easily distracted minds had come from overexertion, an unhealthy pattern that had been conditioned into the young magic user. Earning a surprising scholarship into the school still left her feeling like something of an imposter among her much more talented and wealthy peers. Of course, her 'special' treatment of being closely babysat by the headmaster was also a cause for some anxiety, she truly didn't have much room for error.

A gentle knock had Vinna turning his mismatched eyes towards the very present headmaster she'd just been internally debating. Several stages of grief and shame washed over Vinna as she tried to assess just how long he’d been waiting for her to notice him, she truly had lost her ability to keep an eye on her surroundings. White and blue eyes shot to the book in his hand and then back up to his face, the humor registering just in time. A small smile would find her as the flush of shame quickly faded away, relieved he wasn’t annoyed with her inconveniencing the staff. Part of her knew the heavy hint being passed down was born from concern, much in the way Declan seemed intent on feeding her whenever he was visiting. Vinna would of course never be ungrateful for the extra act in care, counting it as a type of penance for the day she spent touring him around campus under the assumption he was a fellow student. If two of her educators were expressing concern over her habits, she would simply have to change them if she wanted a reprieve.

“Perhaps I’m growing a little too reliant on others to feed me” Vinna replied, doing her best to redirect her own anxiety into some form of humor. In the months spent with Alaric, he’d yet to be unkind or even impatient towards her, though she was only just venturing into adding the gentlest hint of something playful in her words. A small pause would follow as she realized her comment may raise more unintended questions, she would choose to gloss over another possible faux pas and quiet down so he could speak.
Focusing on the tome once more as Alaric brought it closer, placing the volume among her already borrowed stack. Once her expression changed, dropping from a smile borne from a defense mechanism to outright surprise at the valuable literature being offered.

“Oh wow” Vinna managed, dumbly, as she pulled the book closer and gently opened the cover as though she was wrestling with a need to devour the tome instantly. Some self control would hold out as she realized diving into reading might come off as rude, the book was shut almost as quickly as she’d opened it. Opting instead to hold the item close to her chest as Alaric chose to further throw her through a loop with an offer to put her magic into practical use. The thing she’d been forbidden from doing when outside of his care, a wise overall choice when considering the safety of her classmates.
A few small catastrophes and mild trauma had landed her under such close supervision and Vinna was quite eager to prove she could put her near drowning in study to good use. She was still filled with a fresh wave of outright embarrassment whenever she passed by the blackened stones that had led to her being pushed into a more intensive education.

Vinna had learned just how little the school appreciated acts of vandalism, intentional or not, though she was fairly sure no one had appreciated her completely removing a functional workspace so soon after the school had opened.

Part of her wondered if she wouldn’t receive some type of invoice in the future, or perhaps she simply belonged to Alaric and she would spend postgraduate days working off the debt she was quickly racking up. One classroom within a calendar year seemed like an impressively low rate of sheer chaos following her, though she was wise enough to keep that information from slipping out. Common sense would keep her from using her track record as some type of silver lining or mark of improvement, well aware the new facility was something the Hearts General likely cherished.

“Thank you-I-Yes, that sounds great” Vinna was crashing and burning whilst her mind seemed keen on rounding several memories before connecting her voice to her thoughts. Forcing herself to stop and actually take a breath, Vinna managed to find some hold over her quickly racing mind. She was almost positive Alaric thought she was a little too tightly wound by this point, likely because she hadn’t truly relaxed since she’d come to the school. Her room was something of a crash nest of literature and blankets, leaving her little room to actually unwind or escape her own study habits. Some type of crash course in calming down for a few minutes would need to find its way into her schedule if she planned to keep working this hard and surviving the next few years.

“Thank you, I’d really like the opportunity to put all of this reading to use” She would manage to form something of an intelligent reply, well aware of how tired she had left herself. An inward groan would follow the realization that these were the exact side effects she’d been continually warned against when neglecting her schedule. Of course she would need to press on and take up her training, lest she prove her mentor right about yet again. As long as she could at least maintain something of a poker face, she wasn’t risking a stern talking to. Putting her nervous energy into quickly gathering her things and of course Alaric’s tome, Vinna was ready to follow after the general to whatever space he deemed disposable enough to subject to a few rounds of disaster.
BreezeCatcher BreezeCatcher
 
Cilantro.png
"My name's not Dave," Cilantro corrected, "It's Cilantro. Mark that well."

Cilantro snickered quietly at his unintentional name pun before turning away from King Valentine and shoving the last morsel of his doughnut into his mouth. This had been a horrifying conversation, to say the least. He had come in angry at first, now he was just disappointed and disgusted that there were people as apathetic of other people's suffering as King Valentine. At first, Cilantro was angry that nobles, whose money and wealth came at the expense of the poor, could see themselves as heroic by solving the injustices their own existence created. Now he knew that there were worse people. People who could look at people facing injustices and go 'meh, not my problem.' People who see a child sacrificed as a ritual for more power because of the brutal magiocracy; people who see literal enslavement; people who see someone being tortured with no way out; people who see all that and just go: 'meh, not my problem.' They were the real cancers of society.

Cilantro lit a small flame in his hand and glared daggers down at it. That fire was proof of his hellish experience. People like King Valentine would sit contently around if Cilantro were to face that hell once more. With a loud exhale of air, Cilantro clenched his fist, extinguishing the fire. The Jokers would eliminate them. Both nobles who flaunted their magic and the power it had over the people, and nobles who looked at injustice with apathy, the Jokers would cleanse them all.

"See ya around, King Valentine," Cilantro said with ominous cheerfulness before walking away. He would've liked to kill the King, but Cilantro's fighting capabilities wouldn't have accommodated it. He fought best when the enemy made the opening move. Besides, there was too much of a chance that a guard would intervene.

When he was out of range of the King, Cilantro slammed his foot into a wall, then immediately regretted it when pain shot up his ankle. Damn it all! He had been too reckless. He had let all his passion and zeal overtake him. If Myles, Cass, or Declan knew of what just happened, they'd undoubtedly all gang up on him and kill him.

Cilantro bounced around on one foot as he gripped the foot he slammed into a wall. A few people looked his way before going back to their daily tasks, and a servant even asked if he needed any help.

"Nope! Just practicing single-footed hopscotch!" Cilantro said, smiling through the pain.

LazyDaze LazyDaze
 
A small, sinister smirk formed on Wysteia's face as she held her gaze on Nathaniel. "...Do not weep for the dead," she said with a dark smile before Vier's voice cut through her persona and brought her back to reality. "Yes, I'll discuss our plan of action once we're actually aboard the ship." Before boarding the ship she was certain the one named Elijah was speaking to herself. Wysteria could have sworn she even saw a crab, but why would a crab be on someone be talking to a crab? Why would a crab be on someone's shoulders instead of on someone's plate? There were several Club recipes involving crab that didn't involve them being on one's shoulder. Wysteria somehow managed to keep her mouth from watering as she turned to head toward the main deck. "W-we will get ready to set sail, but before we do, me and the Naval Captain will brief you on the info on the deck. Wysteria beckoned the "special forces unit", to follow her on deck. It was a fairly short walk, but longer than one would expect to saunter on a ship which was only a testament to it's size. On the deck, the Navy Captain Nautilus was chewing out some henchmen for taking an unauthorized lunch break. He quickly turned around and waved toward the approaching group.

"Captain Nautilus," Wysteria said regally. "These mostly fine people, will be comprising the special forces party."

Captain Nautilius looked them over, judging their character more so than their ability. To deck someone in the face. "If this mission is as dangerous as it appears to be, we will need all the help we can get." He finally said before unrolling a map while Wysteria effortlessly conjured up a cloud to act as a table in the center of them all. The Captain placed the map on the cloud and begin to make notes while he spoke. "Alright, I'll be quick so we can give this vessel it's first official mission. I'm sure Wysteria told you all, but we're hunting an artifact...the Trident to be exact. Rumors state that it is said on a mirage island that pops up ever so often."

"At first it was only that... a rumor," Wysteria began. "However, pirate activity had grown abnormally just when the rumors were starting to reach our ears. Of course we had to act accordingly. I was originally sent here to deal with that problem."

"Right, she and the navy did a damn good job and pirate activity has declined tremendously. However, safer seas weren't the only thing we found. With all the naval activity, and captured pirates, we had received living testimony of a mirage island from both navy officer and pirates alike. Having something like that confirmed is as good as confirming the trident itself."

"There was just one problem..."

"The island does not have a fixed location. The testimonies have originated from many parts of the sea attached to the Club Kingdom borders, but no one is quite sure where exactly it is. Now that the ocean's are relatively clear, we are going to implement operation PLEASE GODS LET THE CLUBS GET SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S LUCKY! Sounds badass I know..."

"I didn't have a say in the name..."

"....Ahem, the militaries navy will cast a "net" across the ocean, searching for the trident and they will then send word back to us should they find the island. We even have a few specialist who can sense mana just in case it emits a signal. Of course, we will be one of 5 ships permitted to deviate from patrol routes just so we aren't left open to any potential attacks..."

"To simplify, the plan is essential the clubs casting the largest net they could find with their eyes closed, hoping we catch the desired crab....(why did I say crab...I meant to say fish). Anyway, we are the main force, and were constructed to specifically complete this mission. Everyone is here for a reason, and you will serve a great role in this venture. We should be ready to set sail now that you all know that we have no idea what we're doing..." Wysteria said with a sigh, lightly dabbing her forehead with a handkerchief.


SweetRose SweetRose AI10100 AI10100 Colorless Spectrum Colorless Spectrum
 
Myles Rein.png
"Nervous? Hell naw!" Myles boasted, "I'm pumped and ready for this battle!"

It was a bald-faced lie. Perhaps Myles' heart and mind didn't know it beneath the layers of acting, but Myles was more than a bit nervous. This could be the day that Cilantro's ideals went one step closer to being employed. It could be the day that peace, unity, and nonviolence began to prevail rather than discord, division, and death. While this wasn't an 'all or nothing' attempt, a lot rode on the outcome of this mission. The Jokers could move forward and begin implementing their system, or they might have to go back to the drawing board. And Myles had a feeling that he probably couldn't survive another five years of planning.

Discord, Division, and Death... Myles liked how they had alliteration. Perhaps they could be known as Myles Rein's Three Big No-No Ds.

"Guns! Cars! Neutralization! Telecommunication! Other weird Argossian shit that I'm not allowed to talk about! This is going to be awesome!" Myles alternated between pumping his left fist and right fist in the air between each exclamation. He didn't care that he was looking like an absolute idiot. Only Declan would see that, as Myles had checked to make sure there wasn't anybody else near them. Myles also knew that Declan was as trustworthy as he was handsome, so Declan could undoubtedly be trusted to keep Myles's idiotic scene a secret. And as for the chip bowl, well, it was balanced on his head, miraculously not spilling anything. "Now all we need are titty books!"

Myles was glad that there was someone as accepting of Argossian tech as Declan. He also decided that he would continue to explore and recreate Argossian cuisine, even if he was far better at making coffee than making food and even if Declan was the only one cheering him on. Perhaps making his own udon recipe might actually be a good idea.

"Say, for this battle, can you hook me up with a bayonet fixed with the shazam that you've been working on the past few years?" Myles requested as he grabbed the chip bowl off of his head and took another chip. He was still astounded that the Jokers had been able to recreate the Argossian tech even the Argossians valued and treasured. Status aside, it would make for a good way to shorten the gap between the magical and the magicless.

AI10100 AI10100
 
T O L L A M B E R , V I E R
Location: Vistus, Club Kingdom
Interactions: LazyDaze LazyDaze SweetRose SweetRose

Nathaniel felt a shiver down his spine once again as Wysteria spoke. He took a step back, as if hiding from the admittedly smaller frame of the telepath. As the Special Forces Captain urged them to enter the ship, her group followed. She eyed the other mercenary and her companion... companions, she should say. The crab she was carrying seems to be able to understand her to an extent since Elijah seemed to be communicated with it. Oh, how Vier wished there was a way for her to speak to animals as well. It would be another arduous task, however, and she had found one to do it for her. It was a shame that he couldn't come during adventures due to his... physical incapabilities.

She slowly nodded as she took in the information... which was practically nothing. They were going to be out at sea until someone reports to having seen the island and then they all rush towards the island to try and get it. It wasn't like they could do anything else due to the unpredictability of the island's appearances. "So, until the appearance of the island, we'll just keep patrolling." The mercenary muttered to herself, nodding. She supposed there was no harm in resting. And if they encounter pirates, then she would finally have the taste of action she missed for the past few years. "There are many mercenaries in my guild who wish to claim an artefact as well." She mused, idly remembering a few brave, or stupid, souls who chase after rumors. "Most of the time, they go on with nothing but hearsay. This is nothing new for active hunters." Though this time, they had an entire kingdom's worth of resources to get this trident, unlike poor mercenaries who only had the quests to keep them afloat.

"Or in other words, yeah, we're used to having no plans at all." Nathaniel barked out a laugh before he could be stopped by their telepath. "Got a quick question, you said that no one's been able to get close to the island... so how are we gonna do it?" For all of his joking nature, it was a fair question. It had been in the Clubs waters for a long time yet no one ever claimed the artefact. How were they going to be able to circumvent this problem?
 

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