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Giovanni might not be here, but there are still people in House Capricorn’s employ. You pick your way through the carnage and approach the House Capricorn representatives, ducking your head in a respectful bow.

“Ah, the Knight,” a man says, looking your way. “Hart, isn’t it? I worked with your father, briefly, years ago. It was quite the experience. I’m Martin Roselli. From the looks of it, you’re the only reason conspirators didn’t paint this room with our blood.”

>You worked with my dad?
>Do you have any idea who did this? Why?
>Whoever did this wanted to blame House Capricorn for it.
>Write in

>>45237228
>Do you have any idea who did this? Why?

>>45237228
>>Do you have any idea who did this? Why?

>Do you have any idea who did this? Why?

"I'm trying to put together a list of suspects," you explain. "Does House Capricorn have any idea who would do this? Or at least why?"

Martin scratches his beard. “Well isn’t that the question? The Zodiac Court doesn’t exactly have a shortage of enemies, Hart. The Open Palm, maybe. The Knights of the Round Table?” The look he gives you reminds me of the way your teachers would look at you in the middle of a spar or test.

You know both of the names he mentioned, of course. The Open Palm are a vaguely anarchist, loosely connected anti-Zodiac group made up mostly of disgruntled mages. They’ve been making waves recently after a cyber attack on House Leo, but you doubt that they’re organized (or ballsy) enough to go after Heirs.

The Knights of the Round Table are an entirely different beast. Made up of Knights fed up with the way Knights are bred, bought, and sold, they fight both for the freedom of their “brothers and sisters” and the destruction of the system that enslaves them. Small but tight-knit, they pick targets rarely but strike with brutal efficiency. This attack certainly fit their MO, but it would be the first time they worked with non-Knights.

>I’d say the Open Palm.
>Probably the Knights of the Round Table.
>Doesn’t fit either.
>Good talking to you.
>Write In

>(You always have the opportunity to lie. If you want to, just ass (Lie) to the end of your suggestion)

>>45237964
>Doesn’t fit either.

>(You always have the opportunity to lie. If you want to, just ass (Lie) to the end of your suggestion)
>just ass
Fuck

>>45237964
>>Good talking to you

>>45238096
Have you added yourself to the quest directory on twitter?

>>45238079
I'm betting on it being a new larger internal threat to the zodiacs.

>>45238160
Knew there was something I was forgetting. I'll do it now, thanks for the reminder.

>>45238268
I think there are only two voters here and we don't agree thus could be a while.

>>45238316
I'll give it 5 minutes, then roll if there's no tiebreaker

>>45238376
It will pick up once you have a few threads down just keep a consistent schedule and post to the quest discussion thread.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

1. Doesn’t fit either.
2. Good talking to you.

>Doesn’t fit either

“The Open Palm has never been this coordinated before,” you say, “and the Knights of the Round Table have only ever worked with Knights. Whoever set this up had Sorcerers and a shapechanger. It’s too big a departure from either group’s MO.”

“You make a fair point,” Martin admits. “But it’s not like I can go back to Florence and tell the King that I have no clue who’s trying to fuck him, you know?” He sighs and looks around the room. “Christ. I guess I should just be glad you showed up when you did. If any of the Heirs died…I should just be glad you showed up when you did.” He claps you on the shoulder and walks off, leaving you alone.

>Investigate the scene further.
>Get Isabella back to Spain.
>Speak to House Pisces.
>Speak to House Cancer.
>Write In.

>>45238550
>Investigate the scene further.

>>45238550
>>Investigate the scene further.

>Investigate the scene further

Now that the flurry of action has died down, you can get a clearer picture of the carnage. There are a few dead bodies lying on the ground, being investigated by the various Houses. Pisces is examining the gunmen who opened fire on the Heirs, Cancer the shapechanger, and Capricorn seems to be giving last rites to one of their own who died in the crossfire. You don’t want to get in anyone’s way, so you move towards the headless body of the fire-spitting woman Isabella killed to save you.

Yeah, way to go hotshot. What kind of bodyguard has to get their life saved by their own charge?

The woman is dressed in a power suit, light blue shirt. She must’ve been pretending to be one of the local neutral ground moderators. You check over her body for identifying birthmarks or tattoos, but find nothing…wait.

Something on her side catches your eye, so you pull her shirt up to get a better look. There’s a small tattoo of a flaming spear there, one you don’t recognize. You commit it to memory and then stand back up, wiping the feel of dead body from your fingertips.

“Did you find anything?” Isabella asks, making her way to you from the other end of the room. She keeps her eyes solidly fixed on the wall or ceiling as she talks, careful not to look at any of the bodies. Has she ever seen them before? Has she ever killed before?

The concept seems foreign to you, but you don’t comment on it. “Maybe,” you say instead. “A tattoo of a flaming spear. It doesn’t mean anything to me though.”

“Mercenary companies sometimes have marks like that,” Isabella suggests. “Flames, skulls, macho stuff. I’ll check it out once we get back to the estate.”

>We should go.
>Talk to House Pisces.
>Talk to House Capricorn.
>Write In.

>>45238875
>We should go.

>>45238875
>Talk to House Pisces.
>Talk to House Cancer.

>>45238875
>>We should go.

>>45238875
>We should go
Nothing here. We can ask the others later if we need something.

So is magic common knowledge, or this is on of those Secret World kind of deals?

>>45239063
Secret World, although the secret is a bit bigger than most masquerade type deals. The Court has been colluding with higher powers to keep things under wraps for years now, because they like their shadows.

>We should go.

“Speaking of the estate, we should get back to it,” you say. “Lord Aries is probably going to want to see you.”

“My father is in Moscow,” Isabella says. “Which is good, because he hates company and we’ll be having quite a bit of it.” She doesn’t resist as you guide her to the car, careful to check for any potential threats.

The car ride back to the airport is quiet, terse. Isabella sits in the back, tapping away at her phone, and you keep your eyes locked on the street outside, determined not to let any potential follow-up attacks find their mark. The plane is already prepped by the time you reach the airport, and is in the air less than a minute after Isabella boards.

You take a seat and let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding. The city begins to shrink outside your window as you climb higher and higher into the air, further and further away from the disaster of your first big assignment.

“I never thanked you,” Isabella says suddenly, shocking you out of your thoughts. “For what you did. I…” she swallows. “Would probably be dead if not for you.”

>You saved me too.
>Just doing my job.
>Are you all right?
>Write In.

>>45239285
>You saved me too.
>Are you all right?
I failed miserably, you shouldn't have had to protect me. I swear to atone for it.

>>45239285
>You saved me too.
What? No no no, I am the one who should say that.

>>45239285
>>You saved me too.
It was my screw up, you shouldn't of had to protect me.

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>You saved me too.
>Are you all right?

You frown. “What? No. I’m the one who should be saying that. That’s my line. I’m the one that failed miserably, you shouldn’t have had to protect me. I’ll make it up to you.”

Isabella shakes her head. “No! I mean, yes. I mean…” she hides her face behind her hands for a moment before resurfacing. “You didn’t need to fail miserably. I can take care of myself. Not that, like, I don’t need you, but I don’t need you to /just/ protect me. I can protect- I can help you too.”

You’re not exactly sure what to think about that. None of the classes back at camp had ever gone over what to do when your charge also wanted to protect you. Right now, you would gladly have traded “how to kill a vampire class #1001” for just one piece of advice on how to handle this situation.

“Look, are you all right?” You ask instead. “Not just physically. I mean, that was heavy back there. Are you going to be okay?”

“I…think,” Isabella says, looking out the window. “I’ve fought people before, but I’ve never done anything…like that.” She draws her legs up to her stomach. “Have…have you?”

>Yes.
>Not before today. (lie)
>It doesn’t matter.
>Write In.

>>45239753
>>Yes.

>>45239753
>Yes.

>>45239753
>Yes
It's an occupation hazard.

>Yes.

“I have,” you admit. “It’s an…an occupational hazard. I was young. I can’t remember how old exactly.”

Isabella puts a hand to her mouth. “That’s terrible.”

“Why?” You honestly don’t see any big deal in it. All Knights kill – it’s in the job description. You got your first kill in camp because it was better there than in the field. Admittedly, if Isabella is actually suffering from PTSD, your experience makes you a bit unqualified to help.

But she seems to be holding together well enough. “You shouldn’t have to kill someone as a kid,” she says. “Your childhood was…taken from you, I guess.” She pauses. “Did you hate it there? At the camp…we hear stories, or at least I did.”

>I hated it.
>It was home.
>It doesn’t matter.
>Write In.

>>45240171
>It was home.

>>45240171
>Write In
"I don't know, did you hate it where you were?"
Let's try to move the discussion somewhere else.

If she really clings to the topic, tell her we are sorry because we were trained for it, and she shouldn't have gone trough it.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

1. It was home.
2. Write In

>It was home.

You shift uncomfortably in your seat. “I don’t know, did you hate it where you were? It was my home. It wasn’t easy…we were always working at something…but it was my home.”

You both fall silent for a while at that. You’re not sure what Isabella is thinking – sometimes she’s looking down at her phone, sometimes out the window, sometimes at you. You have your own phone, of course, but the only contacts are Isabella and Lord Aries. You don’t even have any apps.

>What was your childhood like?
>What do you think of the other heirs?
>Wait in silence.
>Write In.

>>45240847
>What was your childhood like?

>>45240847
>What was your childhood like?
Please say happy, and think of something else.

>>45240847
>>What do you think of the other heirs?
Sup Gally

>What was your childhood like?

“So, uh, what was your childhood like?” You ask, desperate to get the attention off you and your own childhood. (Or lack thereof?)

Isabella leans her head against the window and smiles slightly. “What, the private jet and estate in the Spanish countryside didn’t give it away?” She asks, and you have to chuckle a little at that. “It was busy. I had to learn math, and science, and languages…so many languages. I’m trilingual, officially, but I’m working my way through French right now. You have to be able to speak at least three to even function within the Court, although Italian is the official language right now.”

You nod. You also speak Italian – sort of. But you’d rather keep the focus on Isabella right now.

“But it was good,” Isabella says. “Travelling, meeting people, learning…I love to learn. And the magic. I’ve never loved anything as much as I’ve loved magic. It’s like…it’s like this light inside you, keeping you warm, and when you cast spells its like letting that light out, showing people…the real you.” She turns away, but you’re fairly sure you catch a blush on her face. “Sorry. I can get carried away, when I’m talking about things like this.”

>I don’t mind.
>So what do you think about the other Heirs?
>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)
>Write In.

>>45241599
>I don’t mind.

>I don’t mind.

“Oh. That’s good. That’s good then.” She smiles. “I’ve never really had people my age around. The other Heirs have their escorts, and I’ve had a few, but they’ve never quite worked out. I have a good feeling about you though,” she assures you. “I mean, we’ve already saved each others lives, so I figure we’re way ahead of the curve.”

You grin. “So what’s the plan now?”

“Well, when we land, I’ll get the estate ready for Lucas, Jana and Hakim,” Isabella says. “We’ll discuss what happened back in Atlanta and what we’re going to do about it. I’ll want to speak to the others before we get hard and fast plans, but I’ve got some ideas.” She points to her head. “There up there. You know. Cooking.”

>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)
>So what do you think about the other Heirs?
>Write In.

>>45241086
Sup anon. Hope you're enjoying the quest!

>>45242301
>So what do you think about the other Heirs?

>So what do you think about the other Heirs?

“So what do you think about them? The Heirs.”

Isabella shrugs. “That’s kind of a big question. Lucas and Jana and Hakim? Or all of them?”

“Whoever you want to talk about. I don’t want to overwhelm you,” you say. “I know their names and titles and stuff, but I’ve never met anyone who really /knows/ them before.”

“Well, the relationship between us all is…weird,” Isabella says, making vague gestures with her hands. “We’re all family friends, and even though we’re all jetting around the world all the time, there are only so many super high class resorts, you know? It’s a very weird group. They’re my…friends.” She shakes her head. “It’s weird. Jana and Hakim are super insular, even amongst their own escorts. You know twins.”

You shrug. Sibling Knights are never trained together, to prevent family ties. You don’t think Isabella would be too happy about that though. You’ve met people who were /like/ twins…you think.

“But otherwise they’re okay. Jana can be standoffish. And…traditional. Please don’t be offended if she’s not exactly…nice to you.”

You shrug again.

“Hakim is cool though. Lucas…he acts like a tool, but he isn’t, deep down. Really deep down. Most of his escorts are just straight up tools though. And Giovanni…” she pauses for a long, long time. “There’s not really anyone like Giovanni. You’ll just have to meet him. Oh! Piper is really nice, I love her. You’d like her too, I’m sure. And you’ll meet the others eventually.”

>Ask about Jana and Hakim
>Ask about Lucas
>Ask about Giovanni
>Ask about Piper
>Ask about the other Heirs
>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)
>Write In.

>>45242928
>>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)

>>45242928
>>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)

>>45242928
>>Ask about Piper

>We should get some rest. (End plane ride)

“I’m sure I will,” you say. “We should probably get some rest though, before we get back to Spain.”

Isabella stretches out and yawns. “That’s probably a good idea. Night James. Sorta.”

“Goodnight. Sorta.”

>CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve leveled up!

General Rules

Rolls are done by 3 people rolling 1d20, with the best roll taken. Critical fails override all rolls except for critical successes. Your character is defined by three mechanics, attributes, skills, and feats.

Attributes modify skills and basic rolls (breaking down a door would be a Strength check, for example). You gain 1 attribute point on level up, and can slowly train them in your spare time. Every 5 points you put into an attribute, you get a related feat for free.

Skills modify more specific rolls. You gain 5 skill points on level up and can train them in your spare time. The skills listed below are not the only skills – if you want to put skill points into something like medicine or blacksmithing, feel free.

Feats offer various bonuses. You gain a feat every even level, whenever you put 5 points into an attribute, or after performing great deeds. Special clothing/artifacts can give you temporary feats.

Skill Descriptions

Melee (Strength) – Proficiency with melee weaponry
Forging (Strength) – Basic blacksmithing
Ranged (Dexterity) – Proficiency with ranged/thrown weaponry
Driving (Dexterity) – Driving any land vehicle (water vehicles take -2 penalty, air vehicles require additional training)
Unarmed (Toughness) – Proficiency with unarmed fighting/weaponry
Concentration (Toughness) – Resist pain/psychic attacks
Lore (Wits) – Magical knowledge beyond a standard Knight education
Knight’s Nose (Wits) – Your ability to smell magic
Persuade (Charm) – Convince someone
Intimidate (Charm) – Scare someone

>You have ONE attribute point
>You have FIVE skill points
>You have ONE feat.

James Hart (Level 1 Human Knight)

Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Toughness: 5
Wits: 2
Charm: 2

Melee (S): 2
Forging (S): 2
Ranged (D): 2
Driving (D): 2
Unarmed (T): 5
Concentration (T): 5
Lore (W): 2
Knight’s Nose (W): 2
Persuade (C): 2
Intimidate (C): 2

Feats:

Quick-draw – Drawing any weapon is a free action
By Your Side – When within sight of your charge, gain +1 S and +2 T (can be changed 1/day, default is Isabella)
Bloodhound (I) – Expand your Knight’s Nose range from 10 feet to 20 feet.
Zodietiquette – When dealing with members of the Zodiac Court, gain +1 C

>>45243483
>Wits
>Knight’s Nose (W)
>Bloodhound (I) – Expand your Knight’s Nose range from 10 feet to 20 feet.

>>45243527
I concur with this anon. Gotta be able to sniff out trouble

>>45243483
>Toughness
>Unarmed
>By Your Side

playing to our strengths

I'm writing now - this update will take a bit because it's longer. Thanks for sticking with the quest so far!

>Wits +1
>Knight’s Nose +5
>Bloodhound (1)

James Hart (Level 2 Human Knight)

Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Toughness: 5
Wits: 3
Charm: 2

Melee (S): 2
Forging (S): 2
Ranged (D): 2
Driving (D): 2
Unarmed (T): 5
Concentration (T): 5
Lore (W): 2
Knight’s Nose (W): 8
Persuade (C): 2
Intimidate (C): 2

Bloodhound (I) (Range = 20 ft.)

It’s several hours before the two of you arrive in Valencia, but luckily it’s not long from there to the estate. The Aries estate is less a house than a palace, spreading out across acres and acres of prime oceanfront property. Isabella retreats into her room almost immediately upon arriving, but not before getting the extensive staff to being preparing the house for the arrival of the other Heirs.

You head to your room, which is downright destitute by estate standards but easily the nicest room you’ve ever called yours. After showering and changing out of your spell-resistant but uncomfortable formalwear, you slip into something more comfortable and run through your exercises.

By the time you’ve finished and gotten back to the living room, the other Heirs have already arrived. Lucas, Hakim, and Jana seem to be talking together, and their escorts are intermingling – after watching them for a bit you can se that Isabella was right – there’s awkwardness, but also a strong undercurrent of familiarity. Old friends by circumstance rather than choice, but old friends nonetheless. Nobody seems to notice you, so you sit in silence until Isabella arrives.

(cont.)

You have to admit, she looks better after some sleep and a shower. Her hair is done up in a bun and she’s wearing a t-shirt and some pants, but when she walks into the room she radiates presence. You can smell the barest tinge of magic on her, amplifying herself, and all heads swivel to focus on her as she walks into the room.

“Thank you all for coming,” she says, smiling. “We should adjoin to the conference room.”

The conference room is where Lord Aries typically entertains larger number of guests, a large square table surrounded with large, comfortable chairs. The Heirs and their escorts file in, with Isabella taking her position at the head of the table, Pisces sitting on the right, and Cancer sitting on the left. You take a position outside the door, but Isabella waves you in and directs you to the seat just to her right.

“All right,” she says once everyone is seated. “I don’t think there’s any need for ceremony. We all know why we’re here.”

“We know what we’re talking about, but we’re not sure why we’re still talking about it,” Jana says, tapping a finger on the table. “We were attacked on neutral ground, by un unknown perpetrator.”

“Who hired a shapechanger to pin the blame on House Capricorn,” Hakim adds.

“That’s a great point,” Lucas says, kicking his feet up onto the table. “I’m not sure I understand keeping this from Capricorn. If Giovanni finds out that we didn’t tell him, he’s going to be pissed.”

“That’s why Giovanni isn’t going to find out,” Isabella explains. “We all know that he’s not the most…subtle of us, and his involvement in such a delicate matter would only serve to hurt our investigation.”

“Our investigation?” Jana asks, arching an eyebrow.
(cont.)

“We’re all going to be investigating it anyway,” Isabella says. “Why not pool our resources? This is a problem that affects all of us.”

Lucas clears his throat. “If this is a problem that affects all of us, then we should include all of us. I get leaving Giovanni out, fine, okay. But the others can help.”

>Lucas is right.
>We should keep this small.
>Stay silent.
>Write In.

(Sorry for the delay everyone, I’m completely free for the rest of the night.)

>>45245313
>>Stay silent.

>>45245313
>Stay silent.

>>45245313
>Stay silent.

>Stay Silent

“I do plan on involving everyone, when the time is right,” Isabella explains. “At the very least, we need to talk to Piper and Shishi.”

“Oh! Dibs on Shishi,” Lucas calls immediately, raising his hand. His escorts snicker amongst themselves.

Isabella rolls her eyes. “Look, we’re all at least seventeen. We’ve all gone through our rituals. We need to start taking our jobs as future Lords and Ladies of the Zodiac Court seriously. That means you too, Lucas.”

Lucas gives Hakim a pleading look he doesn’t return. “Fine,” he says finally. “I’ll do whatever you think is best. You’re the smartest one here, we all know it.”

“She’s also the youngest one here,” Hakim says. “I understand that you’ve gone through your rituals, and I appreciate that you’re taking this seriously, Isabella. But what you’re proposing is going to take time, and coordination, and Jana and I are facing a crisis back in Abu Dhabi. We can’t be devoting resources to an investigation like this during such a critical time.”

Lucas groans loudly. “Is that that succession thing again? I don’t know why you guys haven’t taken my advice-”

“Because my sister and I do not consider Game of Thrones to be a reliable guide to Zodiac Politics and-”

“Okay, QUIET!” Isabella roars, and whatever spells she’s weaving to boost her presence amps up to about a thousand. You actually gag from the power of it, steadying yourself on the table to recover. Eric seems similarly disturbed, clutching his head and reaching for a bottle of water. “This isn’t accomplishing anything!” She takes a deep breath, and the force of her presence fades back to normal. “Hakim. Jana. I understand the position you’re in. If there’s anything I can do to assist House Pisces, just let me know.”
(cont.)

Hakim and Jana share a long look, and you’re fairly sure you catch a whiff of mental magic from them. Finally, Jana looks back towards Isabella. “I assume, despite the informal manner this meeting has been carried, that nothing we say leaves this room.”

Isabella nods. “Of course.”

“Our uncle needs to be killed,” Jana says, eliciting a ripple of surprise from her escorts. “Hakim and I have talked about this many times, and come to the agreement that his death is necessary. Your new Knight,” she says, motioning at you, “has proven himself to be resourceful, if a bit green. Lend him to us.”

Isabella gives you an uneasy look, but before she can say anything, Lucas chimes in.

“Fuck that, I was gonna ask to borrow the Knight,” he says. “Look, Jana, sending an assassin after your uncle is hardcore Game of Thrones. I’ve got the perfect guy. Let me take the Knight wherever Isabella wants me to go, and I’ll have your uncle dead like...that.” He snaps for emphasis.

Jana and Hakim exchange another look. “That…would be acceptable,” Jana finally says. “I will leave it up to Isabella to decide. The Knight is her property, after all.”

“He isn’t,” Isabella says immediately. “James…James isn’t my property. He can make this decision on his own.” She turns to you. “James, I’m sorry to put you on the spot like this. You can either go to Abu Dhabi, and take care of Jana and Hakim’s uncle, or you can accompany Lucas to…” she pauses, “Beijing to meet with Princess Shishi.”

Lucas pumps his fist in celebration.

>Abu Dhabi.
>Beijing.
>Let Isabella decide.
>Write In.

>>45245988
>Beijing.
They should deal with their uncle themselves in head on combat as honour dictates
(or something a knight would say).
Can we decide not to get with either?

>>45245988
Before agreeing to anything I'd rather have an explanation of what will be required of me. And why.

>>45246088
This.

>>45245988
Can we say no to both cold blood murder
helping someone who isn't isabella
isn't our job and what purpose is there in going to beijing.

>>45246058
>They should deal with their uncle themselves in head on combat as honour dictates
Generally, tradition would say that an honor duel is the way to go. Jana and Hakim are avoiding this option for a reason you don't know.

>Can we decide not to get with either?
Yes, but I'd need a good reason and a persuade roll.

>>45246088
I don't want to get too meta but I can give you an overview. Abu Dhabi would be pretty much "here's the city, kill this guy any way you can." Beijing would be "Shishi has a specific need, satisfy it with Lucas or alone or whatever.

I will say that Beijing would be a lot more political (unless you choose to go super political in Abu Dhabi).

>>45246145
You can always say no. The suggested responses are just the most obvious course, I'm thinking now that I should've included a "decline both" option. That's my bad.

>>45246279
Don't worry about it we can always do writeins,
if the twins are to weak to seize power we shouldn't give it to them.

>>45245988
No to both we would leave Isabella without proper guard and we are a knight not an assassin or errand boy.

>>45245988
>Abu Dhabi.

>>45246213
Could we ask what's in it for us/Isabella?
I mean, we could play it up to raise our boss' status among the circle.

>>45245988
oh i would like to cancel this >>45246058
since i switched to this >>45246345

>>45245988
>Beijing.

>>45246369
It feels like she doesn't want us to go and i doubt these people care to return the favour unless they get something

Okay this is a pretty big/confusing vote (totally my fault) and the way I see it we're currently at a three way tie between

>>45246345
Decline Both
>>45246359
Abu Dhabi
>>45246393
Beijing

I really don't want to settle this by rolling so I'm going to go with this anon's suggestion for now: >>45246369

Writing.

>>45246369

You stand. All eyes on you – honestly, it’s making you a bit uncomfortable. Public speaking wasn’t something they ever bothered to teach you at camp.

“I’ll be honest – both options would require me to leave Isabella, and protecting her is my primary job. I’m going to need to know that wherever I go, I’ll be serving House Aries. I need to know what we gain from this transaction.”

Jana practically leaps to her feet. “You would gain our respect, you-”

“Jana,” Hakim cuts in, “Knight Hart is simply trying to protect his House. Surely you can understand that.”

Jana takes clenches her jaw. “Fine. If our Uncle dies, his daughter – my dearest brother’s betrothed – will no longer be needed in House Pisces. She is a skilled Sorceress, especially when it comes to contacting the spirits of the dead. Let her be your Princess’ escort, if you give us what we want.” Hakim nods, apparently appeased.

“Well shit, what can I say to that kind of offer?” Lucas asks. “Hmmm…come to Beijing with me, and I’ll give you a get out of jail free card.”

“This isn’t a game, Lucas,” Isabella says, frowning.

Lucas holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I’m not playing. Next time you get into trouble with someone in the Court – and you will – I’ll take the blame.”

Isabella glances at you. “Those are fair offers,” she admits. “But you don’t need to do any of this if you don’t want to. I can find a use for you closer to me, I’m sure.”

>Abu Dhabi
>Beijing
>Decline Both
>Write In.

>>45247093
Man, I'm more to a mind to press them for more since we almost have them over a barrel, but that shit might not be what our boss wants...

>>45247093
>Decline Both
These are things for us not our boss she wouldn't want another guard and gains nothing from lucas.

>>45247093
Does it have to happen right this instant or could it takes a few months?

>>45247456
The decision needs to be made now.

The quest itself isn't going to happen immediately but it will be soon - Abu Dhabi is a bit more time-sensitive. Neither quest should take more than a few in-game days.

>Decline Both

“Both tempting offers, but…I should stay with Isabella.” And with that, you take a seat, your moment in the spotlight done – for now.

“Jana looks murderous – Hakim just disappointed. For a moment, Lucas looks like he hasn’t got a care in the world, and then he slams his hand so hard on the table that you can feel it vibrate. “FUCK!” He roars.

Everyone stares. “He’s kind of got a gambling problem,” one of Lucas’ escorts explains.

“It’s not a problem,” Lucas says from where he’s buried his face in his arms.

“It’s a problem.”

“Well then, I suppose that concludes this meeting,” Hakim says, standing. “Jana and I will deal with my uncle on our own. If we still feel inclined to be a part of this investigation when we’re finished, we will contact you, Isabella.”

“Yeah, I guess I’d better go too,” Lucas groans. “I’ll stay at a hotel. Head out to Beijing and see Shishi in the morning.”

“It was good seeing all of you again,” Isabella says as they leave. The escorts give their goodbyes, both to Isabella and each other, and then there’s silence.

Isabella collapses into her chair. “Well, that could’ve gone better,” she says. “Could’ve gone worse too though. You did good, standing up for yourself. Not an easy thing to do.”

“I just hope I didn’t hurt your chances of putting this together,” you say.

“No, no. Hakim and Jana will come around. And Lucas is just happy for the excuse to go to China. Besides, I have a job for you. One where you can stick close to me.” Isabella smiles at you, and you smile back. Whatever she has in mind, you’re sure you can handle it.

>END OF THREAD 2

And that’s it for today. Thanks for participating everyone, I’m hoping to get thread 3 up tomorrow at around 6 pm EST. I’ll stick around for 30 minutes or so to answer questions y’all might have, and I hope you’re enjoying the quest so far!