The Courtyard [EVENT ROOM 3]

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The Iverstead Estate frames a massive courtyard at its center. Although slightly dusted with the evening's snow, it contains several flowing fountains and expertly maintained hedges in the shapes of mythical creatures. At its center, a marble statue of Iverstead himself stand upon a pedestal with a plaque at its base. The words carved upon its surface seem recently disturbed compared to the rest of the frost ridden surroundings. Blue roses, tough to the Salvic climate, bloom freely along the Courtyard's perimeter and a soft glow from the windows of the estate help to provide a romantic ambiance when paired with the moonlight above. The soft, lilting tunes of the ballroom carry quietly in the air, battled only by the silence of the eternal Salvic winter.

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Players must use Quote tags to indicate movement to another thread in the event.

Only the finest and most elaborate of nobility had been invited here, and those who had bargained their way through connection, blackmail, bribery and politics. From the most opulent of dukes to the lowest clerk in a distant parishioners office, these were both the powers that be ok Salvar and the visiting dignatories.

Upon finding that her daughter was already in Salvar and having caught an ear of the potential allies to be made and met so that perhaps the Gilded Lily could finally carve a slice from Salvar's icey grip, Philomel Van Der Aart had bought her way to influence affairs. Tonight trade deals would be negotiated, marriages would be arranged, and political understandings would come together that might or might not influence the entirety of Salvar for yet another year. Here, the Church of the Ethereal Sway held social power, and that implied difficulties, but at a base level because of how they were involved with all matters of life here it meant one single acquaintanceship or alliance might make or break a destiny.

Hair pinned back in a myriad of loops and curls, and dressed from top to hoof in a long-skirted, short-sleeved, satin, royal purple empire gown, overlaid by a lacey, crocheted black shawl, Celandine looked the part of a princess. Pinned as a brooch just below the catch of black lace at her throat a white lily made from silver and mother of pearl was the only clue to her ultimate alliance. Aside from that Celandine was but another young debutante here, one who had carefully hidden her goat legs, and took small steps if only to avoid attention. For those that had known Philomel in younger days they might mistake Celandine for her, but then they would be caught out by the very human ears and her piercing silvery eyes.

Coming into the wide courtyard at the centre of the house, the faun let her eyes roam across the scenery, taking in the roses, the topiary, the water features, the moonlit statue at the centre of all. There were few people here as yet, her being one of the first, but she found a quiet spot underneath the extended wing of a foliage dragon and close to the marble foot of Iverstead. Slowly she took out a small peacock mask from the clutch at her side, and held it hesitantly, not knowing when would be the right time or the right requirement to hide and reveal herself.

It shimmered beneath the dapled light, a mirage of purples, blues and greens. Two round holes served as spaces for eyes and a silk ribbon could be used to tie it about her head. She paused, looking up at the heroic pose of the lord and rolled her eyes a little.

"Awfully arrogant," she muttered.

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Felicity enters from the ball room.

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Felicity left the stuffy ballroom for the cold courtyard. With fanciful hedges and blue roses, the winding courtyard was dusted with powdered snow. It was strangely comforting, the cold. With no people in sight, Felicity bent down and pulled her high heels off. Bare feet felt the biting freeze of the stone pathway. It was still better than wearing these atrociously designed shoes.

With a sigh of relief, the redhead walked around the cold exterior. She felt far more comfortable out here, even if her dress still itched. Reaching and scratching her side as she strolled, she eventually turned the corner and saw... The peacock mask!

A young woman, younger than the half neanderthal herself, was mocking the statue of the lord who had invited them all here. Felicity took a glance over, pulling out her letter and comparing the similarities. Indeed, this must be the one. Satisfaction flooded Felicity for the first time that night as she approached her

"An individual with a peacock feather mask," Felicity greeted her, "I was told by a friend you would be here."

Still holding her high heels, she placed a hand on her hip with the hint of an amused smirk, "You sure mocking our host is a good idea?"

One hand triumphantly raised, the other resting on his hip, the statue of Iverstead truly was something of another time. Evoking ancient cultures which worshipped heroes he had dressed himself in traditional furred warwear, with the twisted pine coronet of a champion on his brow. One foot was resting on the head of an enemy, as if he had defeated them only just then, and he smiled with such pleasure and privilege that the only adjective that Celandine could think of to describe it was:

"Probably not," she admitted to the red-haired young lady who had waltzed up to her. From her tone and the way she had addressed her it was highly likely she thought very similar of the marble pose, and thus wouldn't have Celandine immediately expelled from the Ball.

Fingering the peacock mask she glanced from the statue to her new acquaintance and quickly remembered her manners.

"Greetings," she lowered herself into a perfect Salvaran curtsey. "Our host I am sure is a champion of the many."

Standing back up she smiled graciously. "I was specifically told to bring this mask to this Ball. My patron told me there would be good acquaintances to meet here. Pray, may I ask who you are, lady?"

She bowed her head again, for all the sake of proprietary keeping up the formal words and demanour for now.

"I am Celandine Vaeron."

"Celandine?"

Well, ten millions questions flamed into Felicity's mind at once. Was Philomel much older than she appeared, when her daughter was nearly the same age as Felicity? No... no, that could not be right. Then why was Celandine a young woman instead of a child! This was confusing and creepy.

Felicity shooed the thoughts away as she observed the prim, proper girl. Her silver eyes pierced her with a twinkle of light. Was she more immature than she gave away? Felicity lowered her shoes to the ground then stood up again, nodding. "I'm Felicity. I'm... sort of... a friend, kind of, to the Nightingale of the Gilded Lady."

Felicity really did not consider Philomel a friend. She actually disliked the whore. However, as she was a friend to Shinsou, Felicity felt obligated to be friendly towards that faun.

Before anything else could be said, a loud speech rang from the ballroom. Felicity leaned closer towards that direction, taking in what she could hear of the lord's speech. When the orchestra started playing again, Felicity turned towards the Celandine again. "What are you doing out here? You hate the ballroom too?"

"A friend of the Nightingale of the Gilded Lily?"

Celandine took a step back and assessed this 'Felicity' up and down. Flaming red hair, an ornate and well-fitted dress, but one she seemed incredibly uncomfortable in. Smart shoes and she was sure that was a blade or two hidden under those skirts. Not that this 'Felicity' was the only one. Celandine had two knitting needles sharpened and hidden in her hair.

"You are not a Lily, certainly," she decided, frowning a little and fiddling with the fringes of her mask. There was a distinctive way a Lily held themselves - proud, resolute and with resolve. Indeed, this woman had such prowess, but she seemed to be a little ... Well all over the place. Or rather, out of place. Unsure of herself, of where she fit in the universe.

"I am out here because the 'Nightingale' wanted me to come to this Ball, and I thought it would be a delightful evening, yet ... It's loud."

She shrugged, straining to see through a passageway of the hedges and glimpsed the window of the ballroom. "It seems busier in there when I started to come out here."

Rolling back her shoulders she stood tall again and sighed, taking a curtsey.

"Fine. Fine. Greetings, how fare you this fine evening? I need your full name, your code name and what affiliations and your message, if you have one. Have you come to make discussion, bargains, or trade with the Gilded Lily?"

Oh how prim and proper she sounded. Rolling her eyes she scowled a little, still not used to all this responsibility.

Felicity listened to the frustrated girl with a sense of sympathy. Celandine had sass, a lot like Philomel. Felicity crossed her arms as the cold continued to bite her. A warrior of the Brotherhood of Castigers, Felicity felt overwhelmed and crushed by responsibility as well, in the beginning.

Especially when it all shattered before her.

Felicity looked down, her feet were numbing. Unable to risk her feet stepping without feeling, avoiding the possibility of bleeding, she bent down and placed the shoes back on.

"I bet it's warmer inside." Felicity stood up, pulling the see through hood over her head.

She turned towards the young faun, "You tend to crave escape from your problems too?" She leaned towards the girl, crossing her arms again. "I get it. You need relief from the tremendous burdens you carry. How do you escape though? I prefer hard adrenaline, the numbing of the heart to the raw senses of reality. Physical pain can override mental pain, and it's a relief."

Felicity turned to the direction of the door, motioning the girl to follow. "I know several people who have turned to drinking, or..." Felicity grimaced, then shook her head, "Pick your poison, how do you numb the weight of the pain?"

Felicity sighed, "Want my advice? Do what you can to have fun here. If your emotions are invested, so will your mission."

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AJ & ZJ enter from the ballroom

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The princes each took a deep breath of the cold night air. After the heat of the ballroom, the sudden temperature change was somewhat invigorating. They turned to one side and began to walk.

“So who was that pretty blonde you were dancing with?” AJ asked.

“Her name is Lady Olivia. Her father is a minor noble here in Salvar. She seemed quite interested in my title of ‘prince.’ For the life of me I could not seem to get her to talk of anything but what it must be like to be a prince and live in a castle. She didn’t seem to believe me it was much different than what her life is like. What have you been up to?”

“Absolutely nothing. I’m bored to death. Why did we even come? It’s not like this is a diplomatic mission or anything. It’s just a social gathering.”

ZJ scooped a handful of snow and started packing it into a ball. “I don’t know why you came, but I came for a change of scenery. Mom and Dad never let us go anywhere, so I came just to get away from home. You know Siela practically jumped at the chance of a ball with different faces. Did you see her? She won’t have to get her own drink or snack all night long.”

AJ laughed and started walking, swishing his hips extravagantly and speaking in a high pitched voice, “Oh, I think I need a drink.”

ZJ answered, bowing stiffly and speaking in a deeper voice, “Please, allow me. Don’t push yourself, I will fetch you anything you require.”

The boys laughed and paused near a fountain. “Girls! What silly creatures!” AJ chuckled.

“Indeed,” ZJ agreed, then without warning threw the snowball he’d been packing directly at his brother’s face. It landed square on his brother’s nose. Laughing, ZJ ran away as AJ scooped up a handful of snow and gave chase.

Celandine had barely begun to follow the red-haired girl (whom had flatly refused to answer her questions in the proper style, had broken all protocol and presumed to invite Celandine with her to the punch bowl, of all places) when there were three sounds.

The first was chatter, loudly of young people, laughing like her and Felicity were not - possibly mocking each other. It was terribly familiar at least.

The second was a woosh. A whizz of something flying through the air like a bolt from a crossbow but far less dangerous and more soft. Something akin to bladder-ball which the ladies of the Gilded Lily liked to play in their spare time.

And the third noise was a 'wumph'. This last sound was accompanied by a hard thump to the side of Celandine's head as something cold and wet crashed against her horn and her skull and then - Drys forbid - began to slide down her dress.

"Eek!" She squeaked, throwing up her hands. Her peacock mask went wild, cascading somewhere to the snow and foliage around her. Quickly she turned, trying to remember if she had had any sort of vision about being attacked tonight. But no - all her dreams had been about just meeting boring people and having to conduct business on her mother's behalf. None of them had suggested anything about being attacked.

Turning, she spied a pair of older teenagers, running and chuckling. They were throwing balls at each other - but not bladder-balls or moss-balls, but rather ones made of the snow itself.

Whumph. Something white and round landed near her again, and this time she clipped her hooves, bounding quickly out of the way.

"We're being attacked with snow!" Celandine freaked a little, going to tug on Felicity's sleeve. "Help!"

As he came around the corner, ZJ heard the squeal and subsequent shouting. He skidded to a halt. AJ came just as quickly, threw a snowball, and missed and sailed through the air directly at the ladies. Unfortunately for the boys, he was unable to stop before ramming right into his brother. They fell to the snow in a jumble of curse words and limbs.

“Ahh! Get off!”

“Sorry, sorry, ack! I’m trying! Just give me a moment!”

After a moment, ZJ extricated himself and got to his feet. “My apologies ladies, we didn’t realize anyone else was out here. Are you okay?” He asked politely as he began dusting snow off his clothes and out of his brown hair.

AJ also got to his feet, glowering at his brother. He still hadn’t noticed that they had company.

“What was that for!? Why’d you stop all of a sudd- Oh! Umm, hi! I’m Prince Aiden and this is my brother, Zevernus.”

Zevernus spied the fallen mask in the snow and bent to retrieve it, “I believe this belongs to one of you?” He dusted the snow off and held it out for its owner to take.

What? Snowballs?

Felicity' stood in a bit of a somber stuper as a snowball accidentally hit Celandine, then two boys crashed before them and apologized. Delayed reaction, likely due to how busted up she had been inside of late.

As one of the boys held out a mask, she noticed how rattled Celandine was. Over snowballs? Snowball fights were a favorite of children in Eiskalt, though the half-neanderthal had never been able to join because of her heritage. Snowball fights had been fun, when playing with her older cousin. Was this faun really confused about something like this?

She looked at Celandine with an amused smile, "You never heard of snowball fights?"

Felicity turned to the boys. Princes, huh? How quant. Still, they seemed nice enough. She gave them a nod of acknowledgment, but nothing more.

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The Dragon and Azza entering Courtyard from the Ballroom (click here).

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Rumors of the ‘Dragon’ of many colors had spread to the courtyard before the guest himself appeared. None of the rumors mentioned a girl. This was odd, as when the Dragon emerged from the crowded ballroom into the crisp night air, he dragged a silver-haired teenager by the arm.

Perhaps some wandering eyes caught a glimpse of this scene before the pair vanished behind a towering statue of Saint Nirwecz, his great hammer looming above. No doubt it would merely add to the ever-evolving, increasingly elaborate rumors.

From the courtyard, thuds of commotion sounded from the interior of the building. Attentions directed toward the ballroom where lights of chandeliers blew out. One became two, then three, until one by own, thuds preceded extinguished lights. The warm glow of the ballroom which washed over the exterior of the courtyard faded to an eerie cool glow of a moon high in the sky. Muffled screams carried into the courtyard until suddenly, the doors to the ballroom thrust open and a howl of wind cascaded into the open air. The fresh powder which coated the ground, bushes, and statue of Iverstead lifted into a temporary blizzard. Swirls of white whistled and whipped into the distance until silence crept over the courtyard.

Blue petals of roses now lay scattered all across the courtyard with nigh but a few still attached to their thorny bushes. Beneath the statue of Iverstead, small speckles of red wisped steam into the chilled night air.

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Guards rushed into the courtyard, pushing guests from their way as they quickly moved toward the two gates that lead outward to the rest of the estate. They framed the exits and crossed polearms with stern eyes staring toward the manor. No one would leave.

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A murder has occurred in the Ballroom.

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No sooner had her fingertips settled around the frame of her mask held out by the kind prince, than the chaos erupted.

Letting out a gasp Celandine ducked down behind a bush as shrapnel flew over their heads. Blue rose petals married with glass littered over the earth and snow, scattered like ashes. Quickly she dropped her mask once more, and reached out towards her new companions to join her behind the hefty unicorn of a hedge.

"Quick!" She cried as the guards ran out. "Get down in case there is-"

True enough, more rang out, and it was like an explosion but without the combustion. Noise, mess, screams, blood - it was suddenly alive in the party and not in a good way.

"Dammit!" She growled, looking around at the grass who now trapped them within the castle. There was another figure as well now, a man who looked part beast he was so grandly clothed.

"Mother is not going to like this," Celandine confessed to her new adventuring companions. "She's ... Well." She raised her eyebrows at Felicity and wriggled them. "She's Philomel. The Matriarch, Faun of fauns, fiesty. And I'm guessing she asked you to check up on me."

Oh no! Don't bleed! Don't bleed! Don't bleed!


Felicity leapt behind the bush next to Celandine. Terror flooded her, not because of the chaos itself, but all the glass. Blue flowers were sprinkled with shards as Felicity did her best to enter a position that would lesson her chances of bleeding. She simply could not bleed in Salvar.

Once the winds died down, guards raced around blocking the entrances. Chaos. Well, this night just got more interesting.

As Celandine rambled in concern, she looked up from the bush and into the ballroom. Shinsou?...

Felicity shuddered, looking down at the faun and nodding. "Yeah. I'm here to make sure you don't get hurt." But what about Shinsou!

Felicity looked up towards the ballroom again, peering into the chaos if guards and frightened glass. Longing to protect him was marred with her duty to Celandine. She had been here before, torn between Shinsou and something else. She had chosen the something else for a long time, only for her home to nearly perish. She was not going to make the same mistake again. Shinsou was her reason for breathing. Yet, she simply could not leave Philomel's first child.

"My mentor is in there..." She tugged at the faun's dress, turning pale in her panic over him, "I need to know he's alright!"

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Azza has been hauled behind the statue by the 'dragon :eek:' (Elijah)!

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Azza’s hands and knees were still smarting from hitting the polished stone floor, but at the very least she didn’t end up on her face. Even so, it was quite the blunder to have flung every single dessert. Wait! That wasn’t the most pressing matter. The ‘dragon’ looked to be really panicked and the man beside him, a sway agent from the looks of it, was practically purple while the veins of his temples were near bursting.

Before she could apologize however, she found her arm grabbed by the ‘dragon’ and him declaring that she was his niece! That was rather doubtful, but then again stranger things have happened in family bloodlines. Adding to his story, Azza nodded her head quickly as well before being dragged out into the courtyard by him. She managed to catch the glimpse of several others - are they throwing snowballs?

Azza didn’t have much time to contemplate it as the ‘dragon’ hauled her behind a rather large marble statue. The first words out of the mouth of the man behind the dragon mask had her frowning and scrunching up her face a little. She had an inkling that he was talking about her raw aura unless he meant it as some sort of odd flirting gesture. “Thank… you?” she eventually managed after calming herself a little as well.

When the ‘dragon’ took off his mask, Azza felt a clear knock of remembrance to when she first began to become aware of the world around her. The memory itself gave her a chuckle as she looked at the man’s face. With the moonlight and the snow reflecting the dim brilliance it was more than enough for Azza to recognize the man as the one from her dreams so long ago; back when she was still fragmented and unwhole.

Though by the looks of it, he had aged. Much more so than her even though both of them had grown older. “I see that time hasn’t exactly been kind to you, has it... ?” She never get his name did she? If she did she certainly couldn't recall.

Azza didn’t get much further than that when a sudden cacophony of noise and gusting winds began to buffet the surrounding. Glass shattered, screams echoed, and above all the feeling of panic. Something in Azza’s chest tightened as she resisted the urge to use a barrier, but this was an attack, wasn’t it?

Then just as quickly it was over. Looking around the courtyard while confusion settled in, she could have sworn something rustled past her and the ‘dragon’ on the other side of the statue just as the guards began to shout to block the exits. That no one was to leave. That Lord Iverstead was dead. Glancing over to the unmasked ‘dragon,’ she whispered, “I’m guessing this isn’t normal, or is it just a Salvarian thing?”

((for clarity's sake: blue is ZJ, red is AJ))


The young princes dropped to the ground instinctively as the howling wind exploded out of the manor doors. They looked at each other, concern clear on their faces as they got to their feet. Before they could check on the ladies, guards rushed past and took their positions at the gate.

“What the *&$%^#$*#& is going on?” AJ cursed, forgetting his manners for a moment.

“Language,” ZJ chided absentmindedly. He looked around and noted that aside from the scattered glass and rose petals, the courtyard was largely unharmed. He could hear the chaos inside the ballroom. Worry over his mother and sister clouded his blue eyes.

Mom and Siela are still in there.

I know. Stay or go?

I’ll go, you stay.

The exchange between the identical twins took no more than a few seconds of looks. It was a “language” all their own formed in toddlerhood. With a nod to each other, the boys separated. AJ approached the unicorn-shaped topiary. ZJ dusted off the last bit of snow from his shoulders and went inside the ballroom to check on his mother and sister.

“Are you ladies, alright?” AJ asked. “I think it's safe to come out, now. Sorry about the snowballs earlier. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. It looks like the party has just gotten quite a bit more interesting.”

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AJ remains in the courtyard. ZJ moves to the ballroom

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Eli and Azza. Bunnies approved.

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Glass shattered. Shouting, stomping boots. A murder! Hidden away behind the statue, the dragon and fake ‘niece’ stood still and silent for a long moment. At last, Elijah broke the silence. He elected, as was his way, to ignore the obvious bedlam erupting around them.

“So we have met?” He narrowed his eyes at the strange girl, her horns and silver hair and wings like something out of a dream. “Wait.” He scowled at what she’d said. “What do you mean time hasn’t been kind? I’m not that old!”

“Then time really hasn’t been kind.” Despite the chaos unfolding, a smirk flashed across her face.

The Dragon laughed. In spite of everything, an earnest chuckle bubbled up from his chest.

“No, they really haven’t, have they?” He sniffed, running a hand across the lines on his forehead, the scar running from his eye to jaw, and the pits of old healed blisters along his cheeks. “I know you, don’t I? From where?”

“Ah, well.” The girl shifted on her feet, wings twitching behind her. “From a dream.” She looked away. “Maybe. It was…”

“...a long time ago.” Of course. That was why he felt an instinctual drive to protect her; he had done it before, while sojourning through dreams. He smiled. “I remember you. You were a lot younger then. I spent months trying to track you down afterwards, to make sure you were okay, but I never found you.” She opened her mouth to speak, but Eli cut her off, leaning in closer.

“My employer sent me to this ball on a mission.” He slipped his mask back on, his voice dropping to a whisper. “She said I was supposed to meet someone, that I would know them.” He barked a laugh. “It must be you!”

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "W-what mission? What were you sent to do?"

He glanced about, taking stock of the scene. Shattered glass, cries of murder inside. Guards locking down the exits. He couldn't hear everything, but he caught enough panicked words to piece together the situation. A brick settled in his stomach. "Something that will get a lot harder if his lordship is dead."

"Aiden James Dracosius, son of Jasmine Dracosius, Prince of Moriah, brother to Zavernus and Siela. Your mother was an Ixian Knight for sometime, until Sei's Infamous Coup."

She was cut off from her recitation of the teal-blue haired boy's accolades as a guard shouted something over their heads. She frowned, looking up in time to see a small platoon march rapidly in double time into the ballroom. Spying through the broken windows she saw that room was in utter chaos, brought about by the murder of their very host.

"Why would someone kill him in plain view of everyone else?" She asked, frowning as she looked from Felicity to Aiden. Taking a moment she smiled anxiously before holding out her hand to the young prince.

"Celandine Vaeron, daughter of the Matriarch, Philomel Van Der Aart of the Gilded Lily. Sorry I know a lot about anyone of note. I read - a lot."

Reaching back to where she dropped her peacock mask she waited until the guards had hurried into the room, before she sat back.

"You need to find your mentor? Shinsou Vaan Osiris, right? The one she doesn't stop going on about." She rolled her eyes. Everyone and everyone's mum knew Philomel was obsessed with the Leader of the Brotherhood.

"Bah. I'm not my mum," she looked pointedly from one to the other. "And sorry for reacting like that to the snowballs. I've never seen snow."

Frustration bit Felicity like the bite of a Salvic winter. She scowled, mentally cursing how prim and proper Celandine was. Did she have no idea of the danger here! Felicity had to find Shinsou! She had to find him now!

"I'm going to find him!" Felicity barked above the pleasantries the teens were sharing. She darted through the gardens, towards the ballroom. She once again struggled to balance in the high heels. With glass crunching beneath her steps, however, she dared not remove her shoes. In her haste, and struggle not to twist her ankle, she bolted behind a statue and found herself on the course of crashing into two more people!

Felicity grasped the statue pulling herself back. Her purple dress swooshed lavishly despite her panicked appearance. Felicity was inches from a taller, older man and a young woman with... horns? Felicity's eyes darted between the two individuals. Still clenching the statue, she took a step back, her gaze piercing past them and to the entrance. Shinsou!

"I'm sorry," Felicity muttered, not focusing on them, "At least I didn't crash into you. Heh."

Rehtul enters the scene.

"Great, and now we're all stuck in here. I knew I should have ignored that stupid invitation. Oh no, Rehtul, it'd be rude not to send at least one emissary from the family to this Lord. Why don't you go? Enjoy yourself, have a good time! Sure, mom, why not?!" The ice mage kicked at a loose stone on the pavement of the porch overlooking the courtyard. Finally tired of wandering around under the watchful eyes of the castle guards, Rehtul stopped and leaned against one of the railings over the yard below.

"Seriously..." he muttered under his breath. "The hell were they thinking, sending me of all people?"

He felt more than saw a redheaded young woman that he recognize almost careen into a pair of people nearby. He raised an eyebrow.

"Felicity's here? Probably on some kind of errand with Shinsou, if I were to guess," he said to himself. Elsewhere was a faun who looked rather familiar to him. There was only one he had met, and that memory was fuzzy.

Without much else he could think to do, Rehtul made his way down into the courtyard, white coat flapping in the slight breeze.

"Oi, Felicity! What're you doing here?" He was loud enough that anyone nearby would be able to overhear him.

In the past several minutes Azza had interacted with more people than the several hours she had spent eating and wandering around the ballroom proper. The woman who nearly crashed into her and the ‘dragon’ was saying her apologies to then try and run off again. It was true that Azza did recognize the ‘dragon’s’ face, but she didn’t exactly want to be left alone with him either. “Wait! They’re locking everything down. What’s the rush?”

The sudden question gave the fiery-haired woman a second to pause as her sight darted back and forth between Azza and the ballroom. Figuring she had a few seconds she answered, “My mentor came here for business, and I wanted to keep him safe. So, I came. And I regret every second of it."

“Oh, me too! Well, my mentor dragged me here and then disappeared - apparently she was going to meet the lord in his room, but I don’t think that’s happening now.”

Off to the side her ‘masked’ savior just looked at the obviously agitated woman and Azza with what felt like exasperation in its purest form. “You’re really light-hearted about all this aren’t you? Did no one at this party attend on their own initiative?"

Just as Azza was about to respond another voice called out; one that Azza could have sworn she had heard before years ago. "Oi, Felicity! What're you doing here?" Oh, so that was her name?

Whatever was happening in the mansion right now Azza felt that she was probably better off not experiencing it especially with the numerous Sway agents and guards now arriving on scene. “Well, it’s been grand and all, but I guess like Felicity I should probably find my mentor too.” Grinning at the ‘dragon’ she offered, “And uh, I guess good luck with your mission.” With that and a small wave Azza excused herself to head towards the nearby walls as quietly as she could, but by Coil’s Breath she couldn’t remember snow sounding this crunchy.

Azza had only jumped up onto the wall to begin ‘climbing’ before she felt a hand grab her ankle and yank her back. She yelped as she fell onto someone just as a group of guards rounded the corner. A quick twist of her body and head later and she caught sight of a very familiar mask again. “Oh you wanted to come too?”

Aiden chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with one hand, “Yep, that’s me, AJ. Though don’t mention the Knights to Mom. She thinks of them as something of a black spot on the family history.”

He paused to think, muttering to himself while Celandine addressed Felicity, “Pretty bold to make such a move amidst so many people. I’d be interested to know how the killer got their weapon past the door. Sounds like one of the chandeliers fell, so maybe they used that as a distraction?”

He looked up quickly as Felicity made her sudden departure. He looked after her quizzically for a moment. Then turned his attention back to Celandine.

“Celandine,” he repeated to help cement the name in his mind, “that’s a lovely name. I didn’t know my family was in books elsewhere in the world. Wait, never seen snow?”

The idea shocked him. Being from a tropical island, he’d never had the opportunity to play in it, but his parents had told him stories of playing in the snow at other times of their lives, so it wasn’t completely foreign to him. Where could she be from that snow was that much of a novelty?

“It seems there’s quite the hullabaloo going on inside. Did you want to go see what it’s about? Or would you like to learn how to make the perfect snowball or a snowman?”

If he had his pick, AJ would go for playing in the snow. Murder mysteries sounded like grown-up work and he was much more interested in being a teenager playing in the snow. However, he was not without manners and would defer to his company.

Too many people. Too loud. Some other stranger had called in their direction, and now the silver-haired, horned girl was trying to run off and get herself killed.

Elijah grabbed her by the ankle and she fell. Onto him. They crashed into a heap on the frozen ground. A cluster of household guards and Sway agents continued on by, vanishing through a side door into the manor. With the coast clear, he released the breath he’d held. It came out in a long, aggravated sigh.

“You…” He pushed the girl off of him and regained his feat, brushing off dirt and snow. His masked face turned to regard the red-haired newcomer, apparently named Felicity. “Both of you, are so loud.”

Azza picked herself up as well. “I’ve been pretty quiet…”

“Not your voice.” He breathed deep and opened the eyes behind his eyes. His gaze pierced the aether. The silver-haired one still blazed like a sunrise. Felicity, on the other hand, churned like a thunderstorm. Arcs of energy coursing through her very essence. Cracking, flashing, roaring. He blinked, bringing his vision back to the material plane.

“Listen to me.” The Dragon’s voice whispered like a sword through the air. “I don’t know either of you.” He shrugged at the silver-haired girl from a decade-old dream. “For the most part.But you are both in terrible danger. You don’t know this place. The lord of the manor is dead and his guards and the agents of the Ethereal Sway are on high alert. You are both magically gifted, but your powers scream in the aether. The Sway will see it. I need to get you both…”

“Ahem, if I may…” It was the man who had called out to Felicity. Blue hair, scholarly in both garb and physique, and clearly nosy. Three strikes right away.

“No,” Elijah snapped from behind the mask. “The last thing I need is…” He trailed off as residual traces of the aether filtered into his eyes. He caught a glimpse of the man’s aura. Cold, sharp, still. And, thank the gods, quiet. “Is anyone at this party not a mage?”

"Oh I learn quickly," she admitted, "I can read books quite fast, and generally have good muscle memory. And a good memory," she shrugged a little, smiling and proud of her ability that was in truth a goddess' blessing but could be explained by natural skill. "My mother has access to the universities and best libraries of Radasanth. I have used it to my benefit."

She shifted, frowning as she watched Felicity scarper away. The other people in the courtyard, now very visible over the shorter shrubberies, seemed to be just as disturbed as everyone else. She stood up taller, at least as much as her short height would allow and adjusted her skirts to hide the goat legs which would surely cause too much trouble. Pursing her lips she looked at the ballroom, trying to think of if she had dreamt of anything last night that could hint at this chaos.

Moving to the side sightly she caught an image through the window of a chandelier that had collapsed, spilling fine crystal pieces over the floor and out through the window to the Courtyard. She frowned a moment as a flash of a dead body dressed in a sheet and someone howling tears over it came to her. Lightly she gasped.

"It's true. The host of this palace is dead! Gosh! We should head in, yes."

Then she looked at her new adventuring companion, smiling at him and then spotting a blue-haired new person. She tilted her head, thinking him interesting. In a louder voice she said so that all could hear:

"Although making a snowman perhaps would be rather fun first."

Murder. There had been a murder.

No sooner had the chandelier begun to crash than Stare was bodily swept up in a flurry of fabric and arms, her patron and employer picking her up with no words but a sharp gasp. The world tilted, it moved and measured and swung, and they were suddenly stepping through the void of reality from where they had been idly standing silent and unknown at the side of the ballroom to a point beyond. Outside. In the snow, where the tall building of the palace was now in the distance and the sound of panic and guards could be heard calamitous.

Pushing herself away from his strong arms, Stare the kenku turned to glare at the white-haired elegant form of the god trapped in human form, whose instinct had only been to protect her.

"Vitruvion!" She yelled at him like a disappointed mother. "What - what did you do?"

"Got us out of there," he frowned, confused, gesturing at the large house surrounded by white. Snow still fell and he was sure some of it would be soon blossoming red with blood. "There was a murder, in case you did not notice, dearest."

She shook her head furiously. "Yes, I get you got us out of danger, but - but we're miles away!" She turned to stare at the building, her brow furrowing low over her eyes and her beak snapping with annoyance.

"You didn't even give me a chance to See!"

"Forgive me," the god frowned, folding his arms over his chest. Indeed, these days they treated each other as equals but it still did not stop his desire to protect her above all else. "There was a bloody chandelier falling from the ceiling, in case you didn't notice. I'm sorry for you know getting you out of danger."

"Take us back!" She growled, turning back to him and half ascending his body to get back into his arms. "We're the best solution to finding the murderer and you know it. I can literally see if they're guilty."

"You make a lot of demands these days," the god frowned heavily, but he eagerly wrapped his arms around her. He waited a moment, watching the guards take up positions about the walls as tiny pinpricks above the battlements.

"Go," she prodded him in the chest with a scaley claw.

He chuckled a little and then warped reality once more, transporting them from that little snow-topped hill directly into the courtyard before the glass doors leading to the ballroom.

"Howdy," said the dark-feathered bird shrugging down from the immaculate and beautiful pale humanoid. "Whose dead? We're here to help."

Felicity turned around to see a very familiar face. A welcomed, friendly face when her world was so cruel and cold. "Rehtul!"

A strand of hair slipped over and away from her eye scar as she ran up to the ice mage and eagerly hugged him.

"Is anyone at this party not a mage?”

Felicity let go of Rehtul and turned to the masked man, snark edging through her voice, "I am far from a mage," she whispered, "But what powers I do have, I can't control very well." Felicity tilted her head towards Rehtul, "He knows."

Felicity did take an anxious look around before returning her attention to the conversation, "I've been to Salvar before. The Sway is far from hospitable. The only reason I'm here now is because of my mentor, and meeting Rehtul here is the one thing keeping me from regretting it."

Rehtul struggled not to let his spine snap in Felicity's grasp. When she finally let him go in order to answer the masked man standing in front of her, he frowned. Apparently everyone here was either affected by or actively studied magic. He stroked his chin as he thought of how best to word his response, but then thought better of it. If his intuition was correct, he'd need more proof before he'd bring it up to anyone else. Besides, he wasn't sure he could trust the man in front of him.

He shrugged before turning to Felicity, "So do you know these two?" He then turned his attention to the unmasked one and kind of just stared at her for a few moments.

"You're not that young lady that used to follow that immortal pain in the ass around, are you? What was the name... Azza?"

It was only happenstance that the man's name was Rehtul, right? What seemed to be eons ago now, Azza had called someone 'Uncle Rehtul' once upon a time. There was never much interaction between them and as such he was just another 'uncle' or 'auntie' in the Ixian Castle to Azza. But when the blue haired mage turned to her and mentioned the person who could only be her adoptive father and then her name without being told, the young woman was sure of it.

Azza let out an embarrassed laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck lightly. "Yeah. It's been a long time hasn't it, Uncle Rehtul?" Glancing towards the ballroom to take stock of the pandemonium, Azza returned her attention to Rehtul again with a wistful smile. “There’s a lot I’d like to ask, but I don’t think this is the time for it.” Several more soldiers marched out with one of them directing the others. From the looks of it they were beginning to comb the gardens and courtyard.

Looking at everyone else, she shrugged. “It’s probably our last chance to run and not get caught up in all this mess.” Then again, if Rehtul’s luck was anything like the other Ixian’s she knew, they were already probably knee-deep in the muck.

Confused and uncertain the two beings looked to one another, the crow and the humanoid god exchanging cursory glances and then a grunt. There was action, and life, and almost too much of it that that they were ignored, becoming nothing but another figure amongst the snow-capped hedges.

"If there are no clues here," Stare said, "I suggest we head to elsewhere to see who might be guilty."

Lightly, she tugged on Vitruvion's sleeve. "Let us go elsewhere and see if anyone knows of someone who would wish to harm the man."

As they stepped away from the scattered group in the courtyard they saw the panic calming in the ballroom. The woman who had initially screamed about her lord dying wasn't oblivious. The guests still walked and ran, to keep everyone at bay, but there was so many capable mages here.

"Who would benefit from his death? Does he have an heir?" Stare asked.

"We need to interview staff," the white-haired man said, starting towards the ballroom. His cane rapped on the floor. She followed quickly with some dignity and determination. "With those who gave him food and those who cooked tonight. Do we even know how he died?"

Quote:

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Stare and Vitruvion head to the ballroom to interview staff.

---

“Snowman first, it is!” AJ smiled. “The first thing to making a good snowman is using the right kind of snow.”

As he spoke he lead the way to an area with untouched snow. “Sometimes snow is super light and fluffy. That kind of snow is no good; it doesn’t hold any form…”

He squatted down and began piling snow up into a pile, “This snow however, is perfect. It’s a little wet so it sticks together really well. But you don’t have to pack it particularly hard to get it to hold shape. If it’s too wet, it’s really easy to pack it into an iceball. Great for distance throwing, not so much for getting hit with…”

He prattled on about snow as he happily guided Cel in building a snowman. In short order they had a small man of snow.

“Ordinarily, I’d say to use sticks for arms and rocks or lumps of coal to make the eyes and mouth, but I don’t think breaking off branches in the garden would be appreciated.”

He looked around and noted that guardsmen were working their way through the garden. “Perhaps we should go inside. There might be a little more information now about what’s going on. I think my mother would prefer it if I were closer anyway.”

He dusted a stray bit of snow from his knees and straightened up properly. He politely offered his arm and led the way back inside the manor.

Quote:

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AJ and Celandine move to the Ballroom

---

Elijah brushed himself off and re-donned his mask. The leering dragon visage turned to regard the three strangers each in turn.

To the white-haired demon, “You let yourself get dragged to a place you don’t belong, and instead of realizing the dangers, you treated it like a Coronian gala.”

To the red-haired haired woman with the storm raging inside. “You bring a cacophony of magic you can’t control into a den of fanatical witch hunters, and lack the sense to be terrified.”

At last, to the icy mage. “And I don’t know you, but I’m sure there’s something to criticize.”

“This has been fun.” You’re all going to get killed. “Best of luck with… whatever this is.” With that, the dragon slipped away, timing his departure between guard patrols. Off he went to… somewhere.

Flamebird receives 200 EXP
Celandine receives 120 EXP
Dracosius receives 80 EMXP
Chris receives 100 EXP
orphans receives 80 EXP
Star receives 40 EXP
Rehtul receives 50 EXP

150 GP will be awarded for all members who participated across the event. Anyone already rewarded for another event thread will be ineligible for further GP rewards.

EXP and GP added