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Our protagonist, Lloyd, continues to be out of his own control, and unable to really... Do much of his own volition, even if he seems to be acting like himself most of the time. Magical mind control's a bitch.

Leigh, none the wiser as anyone else, fights alongside her beloved and the rest of Marrius' Group in what's expected to be the last major battle of this civil war. Dain's finest and those of the Groznyi are unable to stand to the might of Marrius' Group, even in the aftermath of an assassination.

Irene and Ansi look into the source of an assassin in the Order of Odo's capital building, the House of Odo. It is... Pretty much agreed that the felled foe's contract originated in the Groznyi's hands, but could that really be..?

Zlatan, also on the scene, may have some answers hidden away in that odd-talking brain of his, but for the moment he and his Advocate associate, thought to be known as Limin, have pulled aside fellow Marrius' Group member Une for a bit of an interview...

Ellen, meanwhile, is, on paper, having a very relaxing visit with a close friend, Duchess Victoria of Malva, along with her beloved Zoe. Despite this, however, she finds it hard to sit still when there's work to be done! The mere thought that Paula might prove problematic in the future still is... Earning her anxiety, and one of the people she's to be traveling with, a passive individual with a rather prominent neck-scar certainly doesn't ease the worries.

Whose perspective shall dominate the day?

>A. Leigh
>B. Irene
>C. Ansi
>D. Zlatan
>E. Ellen
>F. Another character (specify)

>>45605220
>C. Ansi

>>45605357
"Hmph... Alright, Ansi, let's keep our logic together and figure this shit out."

"You're... Talking to yourself," Irene tells you, before adding in a whisper, "people are staring."

"So the fuck what if they stare? I'm thinking!"

"Lower your voice," a guard, Garfield or some shit, you don't have time to remember, says. "We are conducting an investigation."

"I'm... Terribly sorry on behalf of my subordinate, Sir Gerfried," Irene says to the man with a polite bow. "He'll keep it down."

You sigh. "This has been a long-ass day is all."

"I know..." Irene looks around. "Say, have you seen Une anywhere? Don't tell me she's run off..."

>A. Probably off doing Une things
>B. She can make her own decisions
>C. Who cares
>D. Offer to search for her
>E. Write-in response

>>45605725
>A. Probably off doing Une things
>D. Offer to search for her

>>45606005
"Knowing her, probably on top of that archer we saw earlier or some other really inopportune bullshit."

Irene's eyes widen a bit. "Are you... Really so sure her priorities would be that off?"

"Cute girls, keeping that fucking spider happy, and gold, same priorities as it's always been with her," you respond. "Want me to go tell her to knock it off?"

"I'm... Not sure interrupting would be the appropriate thing to do if you're right..." Irene says, a bit uncomfortably.

You shake your head. "I was joking anyway. Think that archer went out into the battlefield up North anyway." You tap your chin in thought. "I wonder, though... No, no she wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Irene asks.

"I've gotta go find her." You start off.

"Wait, what are you-"

"Keep up the search! Look for ANYTHING conclusive!"

The finer details of an investigation now in Irene's clever hands, you find yourself focusing on making sure that Zlatan asshole's not gonna end up paying Une off to side with him whenever his cover's blown or something.

You're totally sure she'd do it.

Anyway, as you head into a hall, you encounter a woman in dark-turquoise-green(?) robes, short black hair, Advocate brooch pinned to her clothes... Examining herself with a pocket-sized folding mirror in one gloved hand. She waits outside a couple closed rooms in a mostly-empty hallway, away from the action of the investigation.

Noticing you arrive to provide her with company, she cocks an eyebrow. "Nothing to see here. Already checked myself."

>A. And she is
>B. And you should care because
>C. Ask if she's seen Une
>D. Write-in response
>E. Leave

>>45606312
What is A supposed to be saying?

>>45606491
a sort of way of asking "And you are?"

Not to say Ansi'll word it exactly like that, but it gets the point across.

>>45606312
>A. And she is
>B. And you should care because

>>45606537
"Right, right, you..." You nod sagely a moment before asking, "so who the fuck are you and why should I care you've already looked?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy..." The Advocate raises her hands. "No need to be hostile... I'm an Advocate. You can call me Limin."

"So... Okay, you're good at arguing people out of jail. Doesn't mean you're good at looking for clues."

"The duties of an Advocate are quite varied, actually!" She opens up her mirror thing again, fixing her eyelashes before finally pocketing the damn thing, giving an exaggerated blink. "But, since I don't assume you have any talk setting besides 'rude,' I won't go too into detail."

"Mhm... So what's actually IN these rooms?" You ask.

"Just meeting rooms," she answers. "They're really out of the way, so my colleague and I have been using this one here," she indicates towards the door marginally closer to her, "to review what we know about this assassination."

"And the other one?"

"Just an empty room," she responds. "Boring as any old room back in Elza..."

>A. Write-in question
>B. Ask about this colleague
>C. Accuse her of ordering the hit
>D. Show yourself into one of the rooms (specify which)
>E. Leave

>>45606771
>B. Ask about this colleague

>>45606961
"Who's this colleague of yours?" You ask.

"My colleague? He's... You really should know who he is."

"And why should I? All you've done is say he exists and is most likely a dude."

"Very astute!" She says with an amused chuckle. "What I mean is... You know who this person is."

"Making it either Gerfried or Zlatan, and only one of those seems like the type not to jump to conclusions about this case."

Limin gives a slight, somewhat passive-aggressive clap. "Very good, very good! You're obviously referring to your client here."

"Uh huh..."

Her expression briefly turns more serious. "And the way you say 'jump to conclusions...' It tells me you think there's something off about this too, right?"

>A. What's it to her
>B. Yeah
>C. Not really, no
>D. Write-in response/question
>E. Leave
>F. Burst into one of the rooms (specify)

>>45607136
Vote time renewed.

>>45607136
>B. Yeah
>F. Burst into one of the rooms (The one she said her colleague was using)
I almost want to burst into the boring one because she might be bluffing, but I don't think she knows Ansi well enough to know he'd be suspicious and lie to him, which could *make* him suspicious if he wasn't already.

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>>45607523
"Mhm, yeah." Without skipping a beat, you walk past her and push open the door to the room she claims Zlatan to have been in.

"Not even going to knock?" Limin asks in a slightly offended tone, capturing your attention as the door is cracked open. "Say excuse me, ask if you can intrude..."

"You said this is some sketch-ass shit. I agreed. Zlatan's in here, so I figured I'd join in the conversation!"

"Right, right..." She laughs nervously. "You're just... A very intense young man, so I can't help but be... Offput by what you do?"

You roll your eyes before continuing to head in with Limin. You see Zlatan staring out an open window into a courtyard (right, right... You totally remembered this was the ground floor all along), inhaling through his nose without yet outwardly acknowledging either you or Limin. "Such a pretty evening it is, yes... A waste of a perfect night, all of this death, yes?"

"Bit warm for my tastes..." Limin mumbles as she waits beside you, your frame blocking the doorway.

>A. Write-in dialogue
>B. Straight-up accuse Zlatan of things
>C. Gotta agree with (person) on the weather
>D. Cut to the chase of their alleged conversation topic
>E. Leave
>F. Keep standing there like an asshole

>>45607847
>D. Cut to the chase of their alleged conversation topic

>>45607890
"So anyway, let's cut the bullshit. What's our theory on who hired this Peshkatz guy and why?"

"Well, the why is quite obvious, yes," Zlatan says, "since the Order's leadership is now dead."

"Ask a stupid question..." You mumble.

"Er... Were you heading in?" Limin asks.

"I was thinking about it!" You snap back before ultimately relenting and having a seat near the window, which Zlatan continues standing in front of as Limin finds her own seat.

"Right, right, yes..." Zlatan taps his hatted head. "Now, if it was not the Groznyi rebels who did this, it had to have been someone else..."

"Someone who would benefit from the council being eradicated..."

"Limin and I have our conclusion already, yes, but... We would like to hear yours from whatever logic we have so far. Perhaps it might give us new perspective. What faction might want kill the council of Odo?"

>A. Maybe it really was the Groznyi
>B. (use this to indicate lying about whatever your "conclusion" is)
>C. The Dain Empire
>D. The Council
>E. Someone else in the Order
>F. The duchies of Noba
>G. Accuse Zlatan!
>H. Write-in response

>>45608173
Renewed.

>>45608173
>E. Someone else in the Order
Out of the options, a power play by someone within the Order itself to take control of it taking advantage of the chaos of the rebellion and their coming assault seems the most likely to me.

Zlatan, of course, is still a potential guilty party regardless of who we think it is since his allegiances change like the tides, but don't say that out loud.

It's also the kind of thing Paula might do in order to get people loyal to her in higher positions of power if she's up to shenanigans in the order, and we don't know if she is IC. Don't say that either, or think it too loudly.

>>45608592
"Well, think about it. Guards around here usually run a pretty tight ship... People even brag about this place's super high security, right?"

"Yes, yes... I think I see what you are saying." Zlatan rubs his chin, still looking out the window.

"Lemme finish anyway. So my point is, we've been expecting this invasion a little while now, so... Naturally, more hands would be focused on defending the whole city than a few people. And someone on the inside would know this."

"So an inside job, you are calling it?"

Limin then adds, "I've never heard of the Groznyi using any amount of subtlety or cloak-and-dagger... If one of them was going to have someone killed, there'd be no doubt who planned it."

You nod, eyes looking between the two others in the room. "Mm. The first obvious suspects would be... Whoever takes over in the event that something should happen to the current council."

"That..." Zlatan says, "is a secret."

"A... secret," you repeat.

"Yes, yes... Each council member has a few successors named entirely in secret. Known only to themselves and select members of the committee of notary. Only to be revealed in the event of some tragedy like this..." After a pause, he adds, "and they have yet to get around to it."

"Right, so in other words, even if someone was going to rise in position from their demise, they wouldn't KNOW..."

"Probably wouldn't have solid motivation to hire someone out?" Limin asks.

>A. Not necessarily
>B. Right she is
>C. What about this committee
>D. What's so interesting about the window
>E. Write-in dialogue/action
>F. (Use this to indicate lying in an answer)

>>45608889
>C. What about this committee
>D. What's so interesting about the window

>>45608937
"And this committee of notary..."

"Yes, yes, we were considering looking into them as well..." Zlatan says. "It would be quite the horrible blow to this country if people whose entire job was handling binding documents made arrangements such as this, though..."

"It'd throw the entire country into disarray," Limin says, shaking her head. "It could mean a second wind for the Groznyi, how much disarray such a scandal would cause..."

"What a fuckin' mess..." You cock your head towards Zlatan. "What's so interesting out there anyway?"

"Hmm? Did I not explain this?" He turns and looks towards you. "It is simply a beautiful evening. I was using the break in conversation to admire it, and then I kept admiring it when conversation resumed, yes?"

>A. Sure, whatever
>B. Look out the window
>C. Leap out the window (again, it's first-story)
>D. Leave through the door, like a normal person
>E. So now what
>F. Write-in response
>G. Sit there and do nothing

>>45609117
>B. Look out the window
>E. So now what

>>45609156
"So, uh... Now what?" You ask, standing up.

"Not a clue," Zlatan says. "Honestly, the possibility that the truth could break this country... Makes it difficult to say if we should pursue the committee."

"Wait, Zlatan... Are you just saying that they win?" Limin asks. "If the committee was responsible, who's to say they didn't forge documents putting whoever they want on the council?" Her gloved fists ball up, and her normally-gratingly-high voice gets about an octave lower (though it's still quite a high voice). "Can we really let such... corrupt people put whoever they want in power?" The hypocrisy of this statement is lost on you, for reasons completely beyond your realm of knowledge. Still though, for a moment, you swear you'd heard that voice somewhere...

"Limin, Limin... You are an advocate, yes, but you have much to learn about how this world works. Sometimes... It may be for the best if the wrong person wins if it means not destroying the world, yes?"

"No! There's... Ends justifying the means, and then..." She catches herself and clams up.

"Eheh... Your own logic is failing you, is it not?" Zlatan sighs, finally moving from the window. "Those who wish to change the world... Must acknowledge when to fold them if we are to keep fighting, yes?"

While they have their... Weird little ominous conversation, you take a look out the window at long last. Reminding you of what you were looking for to begin with, you notice a woman with long, black hai-No, you're not going to beat around the bush here, you're certain you just saw Une exiting that courtyard.

>A. Ask if Zlatan or Limin noticed her
>B. Leap through the window and follow her
>C. Leave through the door and try to run into her from inside
>D. Write-in response
>E. Do nothing

>>45609449
>B. Leap through the window and follow her

>>45609449
>B. Leap through the window and follow her
Smell ya later.

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>>45609481
>>45609487
"Alright, have fun with that," you dismissively say before hopping through the window. JUST in case there's some deeper meaning to the fact that Une was presumably somewhere Zlatan's been watching intently for the past while, you figure "back turned on both of the sketchy-ass people you just spoke to" is as good a time as any to summon up a Mogall behind you, albeit waiting a couple of seconds before doing so, making some distance between you and the known ranged attacker.

The eyeball monster is still floating by the time you reach the door Une exited the courtyard through, and Zlatan seems to be just... Idly conversing with Limin, not even overtly paying attention to the courtyard.

So either you were wrong, or Zlatan is smart enough not to try to kill you right then and there.

The room Une enters is marked by the cloaked corpse in one corner, an arrow through the person's chest and much of the cloak burned. You figure this dead guy's the assassin, and she's currently examining the body.

"Why the mogall?" Une asks, immediately noticing your entrance. "Expecting a fight?"

>A. "You tell me"
>B. Ask, up-front, if she's taking any extra gold from Zlatan
>C. Ask where she's been
>D. Say rude things
>E. Write-in response
>F. Say nothing

>>45609702
>A. "You tell me."

>>45609702
>C. Ask where she's been

>>45609780
>>45609781
"You tell me. Where've you been all this time?"

"You're just gonna be a dick about this, and I've got too much of a headache to beat around the bush. What do you want?"

Right, right, Une's not the type to bullshit around. You're more likely to get attacked if she's up to nothing suspicious and annoy her than you are if you just straight-up tell her you're onto her. "You disappear for awhile and then you're in a courtyard outside the place Zlatan's chilling, but he seems content to not acknowledge you."

Putting up a token resistance, she says, "what's so sketchy about that?"

In a knowing tone, you glare and respond, "Une."

"Alright, alright..." She rubs her head, drawing her flask and taking a sip, smirking a bit. "Still, though, I can't just give away our client's secrets. Take a guess, make a theory. Why are things the way they were?"

>A. He knows as much as anyone her primary motivations
>B. He was introducing her to that cute Advocate
>C. Write-in response
>D. You don't have time for this either. Just threaten her

>>45609909
>A. He knows as much as anyone her primary motivations

>>45609909
>A. He knows as much as anyone her primary motivations
Yeah, I've got nothing beyond the obvious: girls, gold and spider accessories.

>>45610078
>>45610102
"Lemme just put out what we've both acknowledged countless times in the past... You're a bit of a greedy bitch."

"Mm." She finishes a longer drink from her flask (seriously, it's FRUIT JUICE in there. You know it's juice, she knows you know it's fruit), exhaling, "certainly know how to talk to a suspicious person. You're lucky I lost an eye last time I tried to kill you." She chuckles a bit, and you gotta admit it's pretty funny. Still, though, by your expression, "what? Kill ya to laugh?"

"It was funny. Anyway, moving on, I have no reason to think you WOULDN'T sell us all out in the event we turned on him, if he asked."

"You know me so well..." She shrugs. "I dunno, though, I also like living. Might've noticed that when I survived."

"So you're saying..."

"I'm saying he's offered me quite a lot of gold up-front to switch careers from mercenary to bodyguard." She produces a sizable pouch filled with something metal and presumably valuable, dangling it before her eyes. "Doesn't mean I'll actually do it. I dunno. We'll see."

"You are... Off-puttingly honest."

"You'd figure it out anyway. Be cool about this, alright? Keep it under wraps in case this falls through and I need to stick with you guys after all." She chuckles a bit, replacing the pouch with her flask once more.

You think you see why the two of them get along. To be honest, though, you're not entirely sure she'd genuinely go through with turning on all of you. This could all be a ruse...

>A. No
>B. Fuck No
>C. Sure, but you're watching her
>D. Immediately try to turn her in
>E. Ask her some questions about Zlatan's game plan (write-in dialogue)

>>45610249
>C. Sure, but you're watching her

>>45610249
>C. Sure, but you're watching her

>>45610344
>>45610352
"Yeah, sure, but you owe me."

"Whatever..."

"Seriously, if you end up trying to stick with this guy for real, you MIGHT get off with just being completely blind."

"Alright, alright, I get it." She sips her drink, groaning. Good-naturedly, she adds, "I hate you."

"I know."

"Anyway, this is the part where I get interrogated, right? Ask away." She shrugs. "Who knows, though. I just got the job, might not have been told anything."

>A. Write-in questions
>B. Just let Octo figure out what to write
>C. Don't ask anything

>>45610535
>>A. "What does Zlatan want you to do?"

>>45610535
>B. Just let Octo figure out what to write
Tired

>>45610578
>>45610607
"So... What's he want you to do, exactly?"

"My reputation precedes me, I guess. I don't need to remind you about that, do I?"

Right, yeah... As a bounty hunter, she was VERY good at two things: her job, and not sticking out.

"Here I'd thought that Clint destroyed my reputation back when he shot my damn eye out, but Zlatan must've figured he was speaking my language: a high-paying position where all I had to do was back someone up."

"Right, yeah... That's what being a bodyguard is." You shake your head and think of some other questions, "do you know his endgame here?"

"He's made it clear that he's not especially happy with the way the council runs things. Probably why he was down with being a double agent. From there, logic dictates he was up for some... Pretty extreme means of reform."

"How extreme?"

"Hell if I know. He didn't admit to assassinating anyone, but he did show me something else interesting that I think says 'extreme lengths.'" After a moment's pause to sip from her flask, noticing it being emptied and groaning, she continues, "witch pendant. He showed me he had a Witch Pendant. Didn't see if it had the Wulf mark on it or not, but he certainly has A witch pendant."

"Shit... Piecing that with the missing Wampyr staff, he's gotta be working with Paula."

"He didn't mention our missing princess by name, though. Probably thinks that's his biggest dirty secret or some garbage." She rolls her eyes. "The Advocate he's got on his side's in on whatever he's planning, though. And, uh, to sweeten the deal of my job change, they mentioned that I wouldn't be leaving Marrius' Group alone. He's got someone in our ranks."
>To be continued next thread

So much dramatic irony this thread.

Thanks for playing. As always, update twitter/ask.fm are qmgrandflocto, and I'll be around in-thread to chat for awhile.

>>45610800
Thanks for running.

>>45610831
Always a pleasure.

The ending there originally had a bit more of an elaborating conversation, but it amounted to "we'll make some shit up about how we learned all of this to tell Irene, then piece out who it might be with her." Stuff I figured wasn't worth splitting the endpost in two over, since it ended up exceeding character limit.