My Problem Is Now Your Problem

"My Problem Is Now Your Problem" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
Barely two months after getting the throne and I already have to uproot him…
Stonegit did not like that thought. But there was nothing to be done about it. The general warning had gone out about Rhenco, his lack of dying, his trickery and, thanks to Sven, his weakness against fire. But Egil didn’t know everything. Now too much had happened and the risk was too high. He would have to relocate his family for their safety…and tell him why…
Drawing deeply on a cigar on his way to the new King’s main-chambers, Stonegit ground it out on a candle plate as he passed by, and pushed himself inside. He nodded to the regular guards who substituted him during his breaks, quietly signaling them that they could go home. 
“Egil…” He greeted, already sounding a little strange, almost as if he were popping in for a visit as opposed to his regular shift. “Do you have a minute…?”
His heart thudded in his chest. How many times had he walked into a Haddock’s throne room with those words on his mouth or in his mind…every time it happened he felt both twenty years younger, and older than he had ever been.
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His eyes were red. He didn’t have to look in the mirror to confirm it. He knew. He could feel pain throbbing behind his eyes along with a horrible sense of fatigue. That always came with red eyes.
He thought he’d slept, but maybe it’d been more fitful than he realized.
It took him a moment to recognize the voice speaking to him. Took a moment longer to register what’d been said. He’d been pacing around the throne room, doing nothing but fretting half this morning, wearing a crown on his head that didn’t belong and failing to act upon the duties that came with it.
“Oh. Uh. Stonegit. Y-yeah. Yeah, I’m not busy.” He shrugged. It was intended to be a nonchalant gesture, but it turned out looking more like a beleaguered slump. 
@moe-lazyeye 
It broke Stonegit’s heart to see him like this. But it was just as well, what was one more thing to help someone not sleep at night?
“Alright…” Stonegit said, finding himself unable to say ‘good,’ and then took a breath. “I have some bad news…I fear all of us need to lay low for a while.” His lip twitched. 
The only beings alive that knew what happened were Mera…and Nala…Stonegit prayed he’d be able to get through this without burdening Egil as well. 
“You remember the reports of the madman named Rhenco? I’m afraid he will come you, your siblings, and your children…”
“Um. Who?” Egil blinked. He vaguely recalled letters. The name ‘Rhenco’ had been there, hadn’t it? 
He hadn’t paid any attention to those letters.
“Look, I’m a - I’m a king?” His statement was equal parts declaration and incredulity. “I’m a king.” He said it more confidently that time. “And that means that, well, everyone’s after me.” He smirked. “That’s the point of guards like you, yeah?”
And this is why I took it upon myself to inform Mera and let all the kids know myself…
The situation was not funny.
But Stonegit couldn’t help but duck his head and smile. He felt terrible for Egil. He was in a place wrought with difficulty and stress, brought on by tragedy no less. But the boy brought the old bodyguard joy none the less just by being himself. 
He shook his head a little and raised his eyes. “Aye…that I am. As always.” His face then became serious. “Unfortunately this one isn’t as clean cut. Rhenco is a sorcerer that, despite how easily he is killed, always comes back. He has a hist- a…a habit of coming after monarchs and their friends and families. Killing him is all part of his game. He…recently confronted me and I…made him a little angry…Long story short. We need to relocate to a safe house. All of us.”
“Okay whoa. Hold up. Hold up, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on here.” Egil squinted. “Move to a safe house? Isn’t that like, a little extreme? I’m not going to run around hiding just because you couldn’t keep your temper in check.”
He said this, without any recognition of the double-standard his temper often went out of check.
“And. Again. Guards. Weapons. Castle. Protection. I’m safe here.” 
Stonegit closed his eyes. “I pissed him off because I kept my temper in check.” He said patiently. “Rhenco is a sadistic man who thrives on the torment of others. And as I stated, weapons will not solve this problem because he consistently rejuvenates himself post mortal injury.”
He pressed his hands together. He knew Egil needed background information. But he also knew trying to fully explain all of this in one go would be an information overload. “Egil please. We can talk in high detail after we secure ourselves. For now, know that there is this man whom I’ve just described out there. Castles, blades, and guards is exactly what he wants his targets to rely on. Now, I need you to think of your kids…please allow me to take you to a place where he shouldn’t be able to find us.”
Egil waved his hands. “And yeah? Moving locations isn’t going to change anything, is it? Wherever I am, there will only be the same types of defenses to protect myself. I’d rather be in a place that’s safer - here - than another place that won’t offer anything more. There’s no point moving.” 
At this moment he paused, and a slight bit of concern hit his eyes. “But like. If you want to speak to the others. Jonas. Avara. Sindri. Cara. By all means, do that. If Avara thinks it’s safer for the kids to be down wherever you’ve got a place, I mean, I’m not gonna argue with her, she and them can go.”
Thank Hel my first sign of reason!
Stonegit took the offer and ran with it. He nodded his head. “I’ll let her know.” He paused and then walked up to stand beside him. “Egil…I still worry for you. I can’t protect you and your kids at the same time unless we are under, or at least close to under the same roof. The protections with this safe house lie with obscurity, and less on fortifications that Rhenco will notice.” He swallowed as he gently reached out a hand to grab his arm reassuringly, and looked him in the eyes. “Will you reconsider? For me? I’ll tell you whatever you need and want to know in detail afterwards and you can make your own choice without my inhibiting afterwards. But just for a few days…will you allow me this? I promise it will not be a waste of time.”
Egil sighed. He lifted a hand and used it to rub at his brow near the bridge of his nose. “Look. I’ve got to do this thing called ‘leading.’ Heard of it? I was sort of born into this job, now living this job. Gotta do it. And gotta do it here, that’s where it happens. Don’t you think I’ve wanted to run and hide from like… all of this?” He gestured frustratedly to the throne room. “But I gotta be here. That’s where and how being king happens, otherwise I’m just.. you know, gone, and not doing what I’m supposed to. 
“It’s the least I can do for him, you know?” Egil didn’t need to say his father’s name aloud. It was clear who “him” was.
Stonegit gripped a little tighter to the kings arm as if to give him stability. Of course he wouldn’t want to retreat in any way. He was so much like his father.
He spoke carefully. “You’re brave Egil…and loyal to your duty, and I couldn’t be prouder of you for that. …but. Even Gareth had to retreat at times. Once to the very dungeon that imprisoned us. I promise you, your absence from this room will not stop you from your duties…it’ll just make them a little more complicated for a time.”
Moderation Stonegit…he’s still a Haddock. Whatever middle ground you meet them on will be rugged and winding…but still in the middle.
Stonegit exhaled. “One week.” He offered. “Join me in the safe house for one week and then you and I will return here, and your children and siblings left safe.”
“One week? I suppose that’s doable.” Egil didn’t seem to like that Stonegit had proposed something reasonable. “One week, to make sure my wife and kids and, well, probably nephew too, are all situated. They can stay longer? I’ll just be down to make sure they’re comfortable. And then back here. Should I um… talk to… talk to Jonas about this?” 
“Nothing about this ought to be a secret from family. So yes.” Stonegit answered. “They can stay as long as Rhenco is a threat. And I, on my honor as a guard, will find a way to neutralize this threat. Despite how unconventional of a threat to deal with it is.”
Egil smirked, an uneven grin with one side of his lips rising higher than the other. “Oh, of course you are. Wouldn’t expect nothing else from you.” 
He reached up and patted Stonegit on the shoulder. 
Then, as though trying to focus harder, he turned around. It seemed like he was looking for his brother in this room. “Jonas has got to be in this building somewhere. Should we go find him now? Like, he might even be with Avara, honestly, and then we could talk to everyone.”
A little while later Stonegit found himself reaching up to rap his knuckles lightly on the outside of Jonas’s door, before he took a step back to settle beside Egil once again.
@battleofthegroundeddungeon
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The door opened at once. Jonas glanced at the two individuals outside his door, then ushered them in. “Stonegit,” he said, as way of greeting. The word also worked as an invitation to ask what he was doing here.
“So, Stonegit’s been telling me about this guy named Rhenco…” Egil began.
Jonas cut him off. “Right. Are we here to talk about the game plan?” He was immediately business. He didn’t need Egil’s explanation; clearly he was prepared to have this conversation already.
Egil gawked. “Wait, what? You’re saying you knew about -”
“You didn’t?”
“Look, I’ve been busy…”
“Busy enough not to care about a madman that threatens the security of not just you and the royal family, but many broader communities as well?” He stared Egil down. The king wilted. Observers would have assumed that he, rather than Egil, were the eldest, the one in charge.
@moe-lazyeye 
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit rubbed the back of his neck. The man was used to lecturing Egil in private, but never in public.
That said, he was also in no mood to defend the young King’s obvious negligence, despite the understandable strain he was under. So he moved on with the conversation. “Yes, Jonas, we do have a plan. It’s not much of one but due to how complicated this issue is, it’s the only one we’ve been left with. I have a safe house, one he shouldn’t notice where we can all lay low until we find a solution.”
He paused, and then tilted his head. “Egil and I will only be there for a week however…”
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“That couldn’t be more illogical,” Jonas said straight at Egil, criticizing the length of stay. 
He then turned to Stonegit, focusing on the person with sense in this situation. “I’d be interested to know more information regarding the safe house. If there are any more extra security precautions we can devise together, it could be a good place to retreat.”
He glanced over at Egil, and said pointedly in his brother’s direction, “A retreated king is better than a dead one.”
Egil flinched. 
moe-lazyeye
Stonegit stepped between them and set his hands on either of their torsos as if to separate them from their respective scrutiny.
The comment had probably hurt him as much as it had Egil. But he didnt hold it against Jonas. They were all dealing with Haddock’s death in their own way. None of it was easy.
“Jonas…” he said, his voice implying a need for patience and grace. “Egil…” he then added in turn, his voice implying that now would be a great time to focus on paying attention to avoid further, and perhaps deserving, backlash. “There are extra precautions. Wards and sigils that make the location uninteresting, opposite of what he would find attractive, and so on. We can, of course, discuss it more at location.”
battleofthegroundeddungeon
Jonas nodded. “Absolutely. I’d be interested in looking into the security myself. Do you have all the supplies you need to make this a sustainable living area for a period of time, or do we need to begin transporting that to location?”
moe-lazyeye
“I dont have anything stocked right now, so yes, the transportation of resources is the first priority along with us removing ourselves from here.” His lips pressed together as he thought of Blunt insisting on staying behind to throw the man off their trail. “We have limited time.”
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“What other preparations do we need?” Jonas asked, at the same time Egil said, “We need all the kids to go down there.”
moe-lazyeye
“None for now.” Stonegit said with a note of urgency. “For now we just need to grab everyone and go.”
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Act I
Category:Events
Category:Egil Ander Haddock
Category:Jonas Aerin Haddock
Category:Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss