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Floating off to the side, Mazera watches as the Knights of the Flower march into the courtyard, shortly followed by the king's children and their entourage. He floats himself over to them, alighting on the ground near the new king. He bows slightly, leaning on his staff as he does so."High Magister Jirren sends his regards, your majesty. He has given me the task of accompanying you given that he is rather occupied with matters of the state."

Turning to the Golden Rose, Mazera bows to him as well. "Welcome, I trust your trip was well?"

Edward nods to the knight standing before him.
"They are ready. We will be on our way shortly. I would like to spend more time mourning my father but... His last wishes were for us to find the rose. We both have our duties to the kingdom we must fulfill."

As the magister floats close, Edward turns, listening to him for a moment, opening his mouth to speak as he notices the man's apparent dislike of walking. He ponders his thoughts for a moment before breathing out slowly.
"I will have to thank the High Magister when we return."

Ser Hector nods in agreement at Edward before turning to Mazera. "Out trip was uneventful, but in our haste I fear we may have run our horses into the ground. We turned a days ride into one of several hours to get here so fast. We will require new ones," the man says turning once more to Edward.

Lorelai's excitement gets the best of her when Clarissa joins the royal entourage, and she can't help but to wave to her friend. One of the knights standing next to her notices and flashes her a stern look, and she immediately puts her arm back down. "Sorry," she whispers, to which she is promptly shushed. Formalities are the worst.

Edward motions for a servant to come over.
"We will need fresh horses for the knights that have just arrived before we leave. make sure that their horses are taken care of and fed while we're gone, it is the least we can do for the moment. I am sorry that you have just arrived and already we must leave, the ride must have been rough on you all. But the Rose takes priority. Our kingdom is vulnerable right now, and there will be some who will try to take advantage of that fact. We must retrieve the Rose as swiftly as possible."

"You heard the man, lads. Fresh mounts for the Knights of the Flower," Ser Bresda calls out to the servants. "Greetings, Ser Hector," the man says with respect. "I have no doubt that we have the means to bring this terrorizing group to justice with your Knights in our sortie."

With the arrival of the Knights of the Flower, Basil follows the others to welcome the knights, fluttering swiftly behind Ser Clarissa. The fairy smiles as the dazzling rays of sunlight graze his face, warming up his spirit. He spots the Golden Rose addressing the prince and decides to join the pair.

"Well, long time no see, Ser Hector. I hope you've been well. It's a shame that you've had to come for such a... heinous crime against the Crown. But enough small talk. We are all much too busy with preparations."

"Yes! Preparations." the man says as Basil brings the topic up. "I've unfortunately reached a point in my life where I would likely just slow you down if I accompanied you myself. Instead I have decided that Ser Lorelai here will be the one accompanying you Your Grace," Ser Hector says, pointing to Lorelai. "I'm sure the others will find and join the other search parties. I'll stay here to help with the organisational element to everything."

At least he's man enough to admit he's past his prime, Evaline thinks. She'd only met the Golden Rose a couple of times before. With the Rose safe for so long, the need for the Knights of the Flower was greatly diminished and there had rarely been more than one at Castle Amgard for most of Evaline's childhood.

Lorelai had been anxiously awaiting her assignment, but never did she expect that she would be accompanying the royal family themselves. "Me?" she says, surprised at the announcement, before walking over to her commander.

"Uh... greetings," she says with a wave, looking around at the people before her. Then it happens, her eyes catch sight of Basil fluttering in front of Ser Hector and she completely forgets all formality. Here eyes light up and a huge smile come across her face. "Are you a fairy!?" she says excitedly, though keeping her distance.

Edward nods to the woman once as he listens to her commander speak, but her sudden outburst catches him by surprise somewhat, and he turns from the woman to the fairy hovering about, then to the woman's commander with a rather quizzical look. He supposes that, hopeful, her energy will be useful.
"... Yes, Ser Lorelai. This is Ambassador Basil, from Feywald, he will be accompanying us also. It will be a pleasure to have you with us as well, Ser Lorelai. Ser Hector has likely told you about me and my sister so I will save the introductions for another time."
He stands straight, hand clenching his hilt periodically, unused to standing before so many men. His mind flashes to his father, wondering how he felt when making a show before his subjects. Could he have felt fear, stage fright?

She turns to face the prince, still wide-eyed, not really registering who he is in the face of such an extraordinary encounter. "Can I hold him?" she asks, before immediately turning her gaze back to Basil. "He's so cute!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a little, girl," Basil says, shocked at the knight's over-excitement. "I'm not a baby or puppy." Well, somebody took an extra dose of crazy with their milk this morning.

"Oh wow, it talks! I didn't even know fairies could talk. What's your name, little guy?" she asks, still excitedly.

Mazera chuckles at the young knight's enthusiasm over Basil. "Call him Tinkerbell. He loves it, I promise."

Edward watches the exchange between the knight and the fairy, wondering to himself just what he got saddled with. He glances at Ser Hector again, a bit concerned with the choice. Perhaps she would be better suited to guarding the castle or searching a city, some place that would be generally safer than out in the open world. But he has to trust the decision, and he will have to get along with each of these people, as he will likely be spending quite some time with them. Not for the first time since the night before had he hoped this was a dream, some nightmare. But every time he grips his sword, he knows it's real, and he has to keep his head up, his shoulders straight, and deal with what is being thrown at him. Showing weakness right now will just lead to more problems.

Basil silently fumes at Mazera. Stupid old man. Let's see how he likes this! With this, the fairy blows some pixie dust into the wizard's eyes and proceeds to flutter rapidly around the magister's space, a nuisance much like a fly on a summer's day. He impishly sticks his tongue out at Mazera before flashing a playful smile.

Having had his fun, the ambassador comes to a halt to address the Flower Knight's question. "Basil Broadleaf, Ambassador of Feywald. Ya know, the whole city of fairies in the Great Granwood?"

Wiping the dust off of his face, Mazera laughs and floats up into the air. "I can fly, I can fly! Thanks, Tink."

"So you're the ambassador?" Lorelai says, somewhat shocked that this fairy not only talks, but is apparently a member of the king's court. "I uh- hm," she pauses to gather her thoughts, not entirely sure how to react. As she does she notices the eyes on here and realizes just how inappropriate she is being.

"Ser Lorelai, nice to meet you," she says, holding her hand out for the man-fairy to shake, her face flush with embarrassment. Wow this is awkward. And exciting. I hope he wants to ride on my horse, maybe he will let me touch his wings. Why is there a fairy ambassador anyway? Don't they keep to themselves?

Ser Bresda grimaces silently to himself as he watches the exchange before him. "If we've all got the jitters out now, I'd recommend we formulate a plan of action and get to it. The King's killers gain ground every second we waste by dawdling," he says, his voice slightly irritated. One of his well-trusted scouts steps up, waiting patiently to speak to him. "What is it? Has the network any news of their activity?"

OOC

[SHOW]

Where's our lead to find bad guize?

Ser Hector seems to share Ser Bresda's opinion of the goings on however he too keeps it to himself, verbally at least. "Yes Ser," Bresda's Scout begins. "We have reports from Prybridge about a group of strange men, which makes sense with them reportedly leaving via Amgard's South Gate. However we don't know which side of the river they're on. We're not sure if the City Guard closed the bridge in time, if the Assassin's simply found another way across the river or if they even intended to cross the river. I'd say it'd make sense to send most of the search parties South and then to split up more at Prybridge," the man says.

Edward listens to the scout, gripping his sword a bit as he thinks over the idea of the Assassin's speed. He hopes the bridge was closed in time, but he feels as if that's not the case.
"That sounds like a sound plan, given what we know so far at least. Ser Bresda, do you think we should join the majority of the search parties there, or perhaps try another route?"

Lorelai is a bit relieved that attention has turned away from her and onto business. I guess it could have been a worse introduction. Hopefully the fairy likes me. I wonder who exactly these other people are, they seem pretty important and yet so casual. How odd. She listens carefully to their plans, not wholly aware of the situation but eager to soak it all in so she can be in the know as well.

"Yes, Your Grace, we should leave at once to Pybridge. From there, my men will have more information on our lead." He salutes his scout with a distinct gesture of his hands before nodding deferentially to him to dismiss him. "If there are no objections, let's mount up."

The Scout-Commander whistles sharply, sounding more like the call of a bird than any humanoid noise. A scout rounds one of the corners with a bay horse's, his hand leading it by a short lead attached to its bridle. Ser Bresda hastily takes the lead from the man and slides his hand gently across the mane of his mount.

Ok so that guy is Ser Bresda, and I guess he commands some number of men? The fairy is Basil. That kid must be royalty if he called him 'Your Grace.' Who are the others I wonder? Lorelai looks around as the men talk, not really sure what to do with her self. She glances over at Claire, who just seems to stand and listen as well. I wonder if she will be coming too.

Basil claps to summon one of the many servants on the castle grounds, requiring his mount if the party is to leave soon. "Bring me my trusted steed, my good man," the fairy says. The servant disappears and a moment later, rounds the corner, a leash in hand, and a playful corgi puppy trailing behind. The servant unleashes the dog and it goes barreling towards Basil, affectionately rubbing against the fairy ambassador. He scratches his steeds ear. "Well hiya, Clover. Ya miss me?"

Other servants appear bringing the horses of the other members of the groups, and those of other knights who have begun to appear in the courtyard. "Well let's get moving then shall we?" Evaline asks, greeting her horse with some stroking before jumping up into the saddle. As she waits for the others to follow suit, she leans forward to stroke her horse's neck. "Good boy, Taff," she says. Taff had been her main horse for a few years now.

Edward nods to Eveline as his horse, Sarah, is brought over. He adjusts the saddle slightly and lifts his blade up as he swings his leg over. He looks to the rest of the men and women forming scouting parties.
"We shall meet in Pybridge and hunt down the men that murdered our liege, and took the Rose from us. Be prepared for anything, we face no mere thieves today."
With that he starts to ride off, perhaps a bit ahead of the rest of his own scouting party, wanting to get away from so many eyes at the moment.

When the small dog is brought out, Lorelai can't help but smile a huge smile once more, but after seeing the others' reactions to her earlier outburst she holds her excitement in. Is the fairy really going to ride on a puppy? Oh, I hope he lets me pet it. It's so cute, how do they all take this so seriously?

She is a bit shocked when a new horse is brought to her to replace her own. I can't just leave Jessie here without me. She takes its reins reluctantly, but she ties Jessie's to this new steed's harness so it can follow along. "I know you're tired, girl, but you will be fine if I'm not on you," she says, comforting her own horse.

Turning to the others, and still sort of unsure of her position among them, she asks, "I've never been to Pybridge before, which way are we going?"

As another page brings his horse over, Mazera lands gently on the beast's back. "Ahh, it's good to see you again, Zephyra," he whispers, rubbing the side of his horse before turning to answer Lorelei's question. "Pybridge is south of us, at the moment."

He sighs and shakes his head as Prince Edward rides further away. "The rest of us had better get moving as well. The future king should not be riding off on his own."

Ser Bresda chuckles as the delightful corgi rushes onto the scene, entertained at the notion of it being the faerie's mount. He nods to Mazera's words, before speaking. "Aye -- Forward!" he calls out as he takes off. We'll be safe, my steed, he whispers to it as they gallop behind the young prince.

As the sun begins to rise above the horizon, the party sets off on the road for Prybridge, joined for now by the knights of two of the other search parties. Leaving the gates of the city, they ride out into the farmland surrounding Amgard. Large fields of grain stretch into the distance with the occasional mill or farmhouse dotting the landscape.

Evaline maneuvers her horse next to Lorelai, interested to get to know the female knight. "So, Ser Lorelai was it?" She asks with a smile. "What made you become a knight? From my experiences it must have been rather hard to do without people trying to stop you."

Lorelai turns suddenly at Evaline's words, a bit surprised as she had been quietly observing Basil and Clover while tuning everything else out. "Oh, yes, that's me," she responds, before looking Evaline over and noticing her armor. A fellow lady knight, how great! "Well I grew up an orphan helping out around a castle and the Marcheford family was pretty good friends with the lord there. Ser Clarissa would visit occasionally, and it was her example that inspired me to join the knights."

She quickly glances back at the fairy and his pet before facing Evaline once more. "What about you? What made you becoming a knight, Ser...?" She pauses a moment, thinking back to earlier, before finishing with, "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name."

Evaline chuckles slightly as Lorelai asks her name. "Well technically I'm not even a knight, but the idea came from stories my Father used to read me when I was younger," she says, a pang of sadness coming over her at the thought of her Father lying on the floor of the throne room. "That, and a certain amount of stubbornness," she adds with a smile, trying to keep her mind away from the image of her Father.

"I'm Princess Evaline," she finally says, answering the Knight's question with another smile.

Lorelai's eyes widen and once again her face turns red. "Oh, I didn't realize- ... I am sorry for your loss," is all she manages to say, returning the princess' forced smile with one of her own.

Not really knowing what else to say, she looks forward. I should say something else to take her mind off her father. Why did I even have to mention that? She is probably sad enough already. "I, uh, like your sword," she eventually spits out after some thought, glancing back to admire the craftsmanship.

Ser Bresda rides along as a brisk pace, pulling his horse next to Mazera. He gazes about at the fields of grain, his eyes steady and ever-searching for signs of danger or intrigue. "The Grand Magister could not join us?" he asks, curiously. "I would have figured him to mount up and lead the charge alongside the others."

"It is something of a jester's act to keep this country in good relations with our neighbors. They aren't exactly the most appreciative of the power that we hold with the Rose." Mazera replies, turning slightly to face the scout master. The Grand Magister deemed it necessary to stay behind in order to keep the work of our late king from falling to pieces. He elected to send me because he trusted my ability, I suppose."

Edward simply rides along at the front of the group, having rushed ahead earlier. He listens to the others though, as best as he can at least, and has pulled back slightly to hear what they're saying. It feels so odd for him that people can be so happy after such a tragedy, and he wonders if everyone isn't just denying that something sad happened, that they're trying to press on despite it. As he thinks on it he gently reaches forward, running his hand over Sarah's mane, letting her know that things are ok.

"Oh thank you," Evaline says as Lorelai turns the conversation towards her sword. "I much prefer the weigh of a two handed sword over that of a one handed one. As do you I see," she adds noticing Lorelai carrying a similar sized weapon. "Mine was made by the finest weapon smith in Amgard," she continues. "My Father had it commissioned for me as a present..."

"Well I have good faith in you then, Magister Mazera. Jirren is a good friend of mine and if he deems you skilled and experiences enough to be his understudy, then you must be so," Ser Bresda replies to his comrade. "I doubt our neighboring countries will lend us any aid to find the Rose... If anything, this shows our vulnerability, something they can follow up with. Our espionage will prove whether my worries are valid or not."

With the prince leading the group along, Basil rides up along-side him. He sprinkles pixie dust upon Clover, allowing the mount to fly level with the future king. "Hey, listen. Your father was a good man, and I'm sure you'll do a great job as king, but the important thing now is to not let this new stress get to you. Just remember that we're all here for you, Edward."

"Yes! Small weapons are fine, but why use one when you can use something bigger and more powerful? It would be a waste of talent." Lorelai is somewhat excited to meet another heavy weapons user, and another female one at that. It was rare enough that she met another lady knight, let alone one who shared her prowess with the larger weapons.

"Mine was a gift from Ser Clarissa's father when I became a knight. It's the only gift I've ever really gotten, actually, so I try to take extra special care of it." She glances over at Evaline's sword more closely, before adding, "perhaps they were made by the same smith, who knows?" She gives her new friend a smile, hoping it will cheer her up some.

Edward looks to Basil as he closes in, managing a slight grimace.
"I'm not worried about that Basil. I know he was a good man. Being King will wait until I get the Rose back."
He looks back at the group behind him with a small sigh.
"I just worry if I'm not showing the right emotions to the people. What should I feel? Rage, sorrow? How can I when the kingdom is at risk? Not to mention getting in front of so many people amplifies that feeling. So many eyes are on me now. I have to adjust fast or they will take it as a sign of weakness."

"There's a chance they could be. Once we have the Rose and return to Amgard we'll have to try and find the smith," Evaline says, genuinely interested to know if they wield sister swords. "Hopefully it won't be too long before we're back," she adds, turning to look behind them at the castle city, now just a faint dot on the horizon.

"I hope we find the Rose quickly too, but I'd also kind of like to see more of the country," Lorelai responds, more thinking aloud than anything. "There are so many places I've never been. Are there any places you are hoping to see while we are searching? Personally I'd most like to see Feywald."

"Yes, I hope to surpass his expectations." Mazera says, bowing in his saddle slightly. "I fear you may be correct with your assumptions about our neighbors, Ser Bresda. Amaranthia has never been very popular with the threat of the Rose hanging over everyone. Hopefully Thalon remains friendly," he continues, frowning slightly, before slipping into a more pensive look. "Their northern coast is quite the sight to see."

The fairy dismounts from his steed and flutters over to the prince's shoulder, taking a seat on the armor."After this tragic event, no one is going to blame you for showing emotion. Leaders with genuine emotion are often some of the greatest in history." He rises and zips back to Clover, sayings, "Just look above the people you're addressing. You won't have to see their eyes and they won't know the difference." With this, Basil turns his attention back to the path in front of him, but Clover instead moves near the prince's face and playfully licks it, tail wagging.

Edward cracks a smile at the corgi and the fairy's words.
"Thank you Basil. I'm sure it will hit me when we go to rest. But for now, I'll be strong. I can't have my sister toy with me for being a crybaby now can I?"
In his mind he hopes that they find the rose quickly, before thoughts of his father crack his shell. If he breaks halfway through the journey... Well, it might be poor timing and his men will lose hope. And that's something he has to avoid.

Chapter 3: Prybridge

The small talk continues for much of the day, which remains uneventful likely due to the relative safety of the vicinity of the capital and the size of the party. They ride as fast as they can without wearing out the horses and the town of Prybridge comes into view as the sun begins to near the horizon, turning the sky a violent shade of red and orange. The town is considerably smaller than the capital, little more than a couple of villages either side of The Weeping River, with a wooden bridge spanning the water. Evaline remains unimpressed with having passed through the place on almost every journey she'd made around the Kingdom. The same would likely be the case for Torrenford and then Calstone, where the roads finally opened up travellers' choices of location. The old crumbling stone walls of the town do however provide a welcome change of scenery from the rolling fields of the Amgardia Valley.

As the party nears the wall, the large wooden gates creaked as they open inward, revealing a couple of guardsmen armed with pikes. One of the men steps forward. "Welcome to Prybridge," he says before glancing at the banners carried by some of the Knights. "Your Grace," he adds with a bow, which is copied by his companion. "We've been expecting you since we were visited by your scouts this morning."

With a nod, Edward acknowledges the man. He looks over the small gathering, hoping there are more men looking than just this here, after all, the assassin's broke through the castle guard. These few men would stand no chance.
"Thank you for the welcome. Have you found anything of the men we are looking for?"

Ser Bresda dismounts and leads his horse up to the gates, listening to the guardsman speak. "And my scouts," he adds to the Prince's inquiry. "Do any of them still remain here?"