Shattered Crown: The Mill.

## Page 1

Part 5: Chapter 1

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel was relieved to start walking again, knowing the mill couldn't be far from there. Even with a cast on her leg, Kristen wasn't heavy, but he was unspeakably tired after running through that mist. Beside that, he wanted as much distance between himself and the King's men as possible. Still, despite these larger concerns, he was curious about all the newcomers. Enrico seemed very interesting, as did his teammates - so many young people. He wondered how they all ended up together.

Then there was Mr. Parrish's group, and Asbel definitely sensed a little animosity there. The young woman - Asbel couldn't remember her name for the life of him - was obviously trying to set Griffin on fire with her mind. As subtly as he could manage, paying no mind to the probably-unconscious Kristen he was carrying, he moved within earshot of Mr. Parrish and lowered his voice. "I don't mean to pry, but I can't help wondering whether the look you've been getting from your subordinate is normal or if she's planning to stick a knife in your back at the earliest opportunity. I ask this out of concern for your safety, of course."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Snowview, Fairhaven

Upon hearing Ryouki's question, Erick looked up to find him smiling and answered with a small laugh. "No, I felt it too. Kind of uncanny, actually." Watching Enrico and Tula fight, the whole situation really was bizarre - almost nostalgic. But if Tula was in Ryouki's position and Enrico was in Klaus's... Erick glanced over at Dimitry, eyes wide, before hastily averting his gaze. They had something in common, didn't they? How awesome was that?

When the group started moving forward, Erick couldn't help worrying about Evelyn's motives again. Even if Dimitry had been the one to suggest they get going, Evelyn had obviously taken that opportunity to dodge Griffin and Enrico's questions. Honestly, he didn't care which side she was on; if she kept evading everyone, though, that was never a good sign. Then there was that girl in Enrico's group. At one point, Erick could have sworn he caught her staring, and her voice sounded oddly familiar. Soon enough, though, he reminded himself not to get swept up in his thoughts at a time like this and brushed that aside.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Snowview, Fairhaven

After rounding only a few more corners, the mill was in plain sight, and Evelyn felt her every muscle tense in protest. Everything about this situation was precarious. Griffin and his people knew she was a secret officer and only suspected she might be involved in rebel activities, while Enrico and his people thought she was a rebel and had no idea she was a secret officer. At this point, everyone else probably wasn't sure what to think, if they even cared at that point. She almost felt bad for dragging them into all this, but she did intend to keep their options as open as possible. Truth be told, she was trying to keep their best interests in mind along with other, more important things.

Gunshots could still be heard from somewhere behind them, but Evelyn wasn't particularly worried about the knights and guards. If all else failed, she could reveal that she was an officer, and if that failed, she could shoot them. In that case, Alice would undoubtedly be furious, but that was an issue for later. Evelyn motioned to the ominous building ahead and addressed Enrico politely, though her expression was icier than usual. "Well, there it is. Though I doubt we'll run into any trouble," a blatant lie, "I suggest you keep your guard up." She couldn't hear anything from inside - at least not yet. Still, she knew those people would be expecting them, and that made her extremely nervous.

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Snowview, Fairhaven

A man approached Griffin as they trudged along the path to the mill. He was tall and looked as if he wouldn’t be able to lift a small rock from the ground, so it was a surprise to see him carrying a young woman in his arms. His hair was white and his pale skin was covered in scars. Griffin wondered what had happened for the man to receive those.

"I don't mean to pry.” The man spoke in a low voice. “But I can't help wondering whether the look you've been getting from your subordinate is normal or if she's planning to stick a knife in your back at the earliest opportunity. I ask this out of concern for your safety, of course." A wry smile broke on Griffins face as he cast a glance in Elizabeth’s direction.

“Oh,” he began in a humorous tone. “Believe me, it’s quite normal for Elizabeth to stare daggers at me. Whether she would actually knife me in my back is hard to say. But I wouldn’t put it past her.” Griffin sighed and spotted the mill up ahead. “She believes she would be a better leader than me. When Hiram made me an Officer, you should have seen her face.” He chuckled.

Evelyn's voice sounded from the front of the group. "Well, there it is. Though I doubt we'll run into any trouble, I suggest you keep your guard up." Griffin made sure he had all of his weapons. He took his revolvers out of their holsters and began checking them to make sure they were fully loaded. The rest of his group followed him.

Celaena - Assassin - Snowview Fairhaven

She stays in the back of the group, glancing at everyone making sure no one was paying too much attention to her, she pulls out a small picture with a red hair woman whose hair was a bit wavier than her own and green eyes, and a scary looking man with black hair that tied in the back with icy blue eyes; and in the woman's arms is a two year old with short messy red hair and icy blue eyes, her, in the arms of her mother with her father beside her. She stared at it for a moment, then quickly puts it away in her pants pocket. She see's the mill getting closer, knowing her leader would be in there, made her itch with anticipation. She could easily kill him, she could have killed him last night if she wanted to. But something made her pause, made her wait a bit longer before she'll finish her job and get the gold. However hanging with them, is fun to say the least and it gives her something to do. She sighs, now thinking how pathetic she is.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Snowview, Fairhaven

Dimitry moved toward Tula doing his best that he never had his back facing the rebels with Enrico. He did not look forward to spending any time around that lot, some looked barely adolescent, much less combat ready, even in the loosest terms of combat and ready. But they still had weapons, which made them a threat.

Tabaraamon stalked behind, head bowed, like he was praying. "Get lossed, if fighting starts in that mill I want you to be ready to surprise them." Dimitry hissed under his breath. The shadow nodded and vanished into thin air.

He was not looking toward to his next private conversation with Tula with happy anticipation. He didn't know how she responded to him going bat-shit a few minutes ago, but it might not go well.

The mill wasn't ominous at all, which was sarcasm. And why some of them cared which abandoned building they went into did not make Dimitry feel particularly safe. But at least the gunfire wasn't that close.

Tula Nikos

As Dimitry drew closer to her, Tula leaned slightly against him, moaning in exasperation. "I have never in my life felt ashamed of anything." She confessed. 'Anything. That's me, that's who I am. I have never felt shame...until now, and it really, really sucks ass. Ugh, I'm just...I wish we could stop for an hour and  you could just hold me." Tula ran a hand through her hair, pushing some fallen strands out of her eyes, that glanced at Enrico and his motley crew of kids for a brief moment, only to turn back to her boyfriend, and then the ominous mill.

--

Enrico Accosi

As they reached the mill, Enrico smiled in affirmation. "Thank you, dolcezza." He turned towards his group and gave the kids short commands, in the languages he knew, and then informed Eis to translate in Vallakian and Arabyan, the two languages Enrico was still in the process of learning and that Eis knew fluently. Turning back to Evelyn, his easy grin returned. "We'll go ahead and enter now." With a cock of his head, he and the Voce kids were on the move past the group and walked up to the mill's entrace, which was then locked.

Enrico turned to one of the two Kyushu kids. "Anata wa, heapin o motte imasu ka?" ((Do you have a hairpin?))

The girl Enrico spoke with shook her head and Enrico exhaled. "Qualcuno ha un tornante? Ypárchei kápoios pou échei mia fourkéta ? I need a hairpin or something, the door's-" ((Does anyone have a hairpin?))

With an eerie and loud click, the door creaked open just a crack, startling Eis and sending Enrico's blood to run cold.

 Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Snowview, Fairhaven

Griffin's description of Elizabeth's attitude toward him brought a small smile of amusement to Asbel's face - until a familiar name shocked him so suddenly that he almost dropped Kristen. With no small amount of effort, he readjusted the girl's position in his arms and rushed to catch up with Griffin again, his mouth agape as he fought to articulate his surprise. Wood's Men. Hiram. "Hiram Wood?" He blurted the words out in a rapid whisper directed at Griffin and looked to Boraci, who was now next to him rather than slightly behind.

Stranger still, Boraci didn't seem to share his shock, only responding with a cautioning look that obviously warned him not to spring his discovery on the group at a time like this. Asbel's eyes lowered as he processed this information, his mind reeling with questions. Could it be a coincidence? Boraci had asked him the day before if the last name had sounded familiar; he must have already made the connection. And after the events of the last few days - of the last five years, actually - Asbel knew better than to write things off as coincidences. But how could it be the same Hiram? With his own two eyes, Asbel had seen Lucas plunge a sword into the boy's chest and leave him dead in the sands. Hadn't he?

Before any sort of closure could be found, Asbel saw that he and the others had reached the mill's entrance, and Enrico was already opening the door. Danor stared at said door, obviously apprehensive, but Asbel didn't see anything to suggest she planned to flee. Even if she wanted to, she was carrying so much that it would hardly be possible to outrun someone. She watched Tabaraamon disappear, which - oddly enough - seemed to make her more uneasy. He guessed she had deemed the shadow man a powerful ally.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn stood still, arms crossed, while Enrico and his companions worked on getting the door open. Admittedly, she eavesdropped on Tula and Dimitry a little, but she couldn't hear much of their conversation. It was strange how Enrico's presence had shaken the former so much, and it made Evelyn curious about the woman's past. As soon as she heard the door unlock, however, her attention fixed solely on the task at hand. With the eeriness of the situation flying right over her head, she ignored Enrico's hesitation and leaned closer to the doorway, trying to peer through the small open space. "Hello?"

She reached out and pushed the door with her fingertips, meeting no resistance. Whoever had opened it would probably have had time to move out of sight, but she wasn't entirely sure they had. Once she had moved a little closer, she threw the door all the way against the wall, just in case someone was hiding behind it - nothing. She guessed they just didn't want to be seen just yet. "Everyone, get your weapons ready. I don't like this." Raising an eyebrow, she shot Enrico a look that clearly read "This should be interesting," then took a few steps into the dim building with her gun drawn and at the ready.

"If anyone's hiding in here," she shouted, "you should know that we're armed and pissed off. If you try something funny and get shot, it's all on you."

"Evelyn." She heard Erick scold her quietly from behind, his face tensed with worry, but paid no attention.

 Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

History seemed intent on repeating itself. How many more times would Silas find himself mixed in a battle, coughing up blood—or staring at the end of a barrel?

Yet more rebels approached them, slinking from the shadows.

"Voce," someone uttered. A woman stepped forward from the group opposing them and made some sort of signal with her hands, to which the others responded with a nod of their heads and the lowering their weapons. She towered over them, seeming to radiate strength and authority.

"We were told you would be here," she continued. "Don't worry. We won't shoot." Her gaze swept over them and for a split second, Silas thought it lingered on Ms. Luciole. "Why the Armed Forces can't take care of their own people is beyond me." She paused and shook her head. "We are the United People's Army."

Silas set his jaw, barely able to contain his wrath. If Wood's Men was responsible for their kidnapping, these people were responsible for the bombing. He was sure this time. What were they planning now? Had they really been lead into a trap?

"Let's get one thing straight: the only reason we're providing you shelter and not gunning you down from where you stand is because of our agreement. If you get in the way of our operation, consider it null and void."

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Outside the Old mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry breathed out slowly. "I don't really know what to say... If you need me to do anything, I will." He put his arm around her. "I'm sorry if I overreacted, what he did made me angrier than I have been in a very long time."

He was sort of frightened about how angry he had gotten, he had been moments away from shooting Enrico in the head. If the rebels hadn't been there he probably would have. It made him worry what he would do if someone actually injured Tula.

The fact that some one on the inside of the mill opened the door was worrying. The rebel's reaction to that was more worrying, he would have preferred there to be more of Enrico's people, because they didn't seem like much of a threat. He did not like an unknown factor, especially since the people inside the mill had an excellent defensive position.

He was more than happy to comply when Evelyn told everyone to prepare for combat, it showed some competence in their leader, though it did mean he had to let go of Tula.

When the who opened the mill spoke Dimitry got a very bad feeling about what was about to come. The people's army was a pack of idiots in his opinion, the worst sort of rebels, making up for their lack of combat ability and competent leadership with brute force and terror tactics. Though he felt that these people weren't the ones with the airships. If the people's army had airships Dimitry figured they would have used them to bomb Hydris.

He did not want to go into that mill, he wanted nothing to do with this group of rebels, he would much rather walk into a hellhound den, because at least hellhounds just attacked you, they didn't act welcoming first. He kept his pistol drawn, and his free hand quite close to one of the grenades on his belt.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - The road to Snowview, Fairhaven.

"No matter how fast you run... No matter how well you hide we will find you." Matthew said to himself and looked at the piece of paper he found in his pocket again. He hadn't written it, and he hadn't picked it up.

He turned it over and looked at the picture on the back again. He had never seen anything like it before, a skull biting down on a dagger while a snake twisted through the eye sockets and nose of the skull. It's style reminded him of some Caravaner tattoos, but that was all that he could recognize.

The man must have slipped it into his pocket when he threatened Matthew. So it was a threat. Maybe the image was some sort of coat of arms, or a insignia. Finding out what it was would be important, though he didn't know where he would find someone with the right knowledge.

He took another look at it before putting it back in his pocket, taking a long drink then climbing back onto his horse.

Griffin Parrish - Rebel Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

“Hiram Wood?” the pale man asked surprised. Griffin raised his eyebrow at him and nodded.

“Yeah, you know him?” Before he could answer they reached the mill. Everyone spoke in hushed tones. Griffin couldn’t see what was going on in the front of the group, but they quickly made their way through the doors. Evelyn had told them to ready their weapons and Griffin echoed the order to his small group. They all hefted their individual weapons, Griffin putting his revolvers away and pulling his sword from its sheath.

A new voice spoke from the front. “We have guests, show some manners.” Griffin readied for things to turn ugly. He strained his ears to hear anything. Deep within the dark corners of the mill he could hear movement. There were definitely people in there.

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Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Though Evelyn didn't like these United Army People, the woman's straightforwardness was refreshing, and Evelyn decided to be as courteous to her as possible while she had the opportunity. "Voce, you say?" When the redheaded girl stepped forward and joined the United People's Army members, chummy as could be, Evelyn nearly grimaced. She didn't like being left out of the loop, and she had no idea who Voce were; relatively small as they were, they were probably new, so at least that might explain the fact that they had been moving unnoticed despite her extra sets of eyes and ears.

She shook her head, raising her hands as if in surrender despite the fact that one of them still held a loaded gun. "In any case, if we really are your guests, I do hope that thinly veiled threat was directed only at our new friends here. We've only just arrived."

Erick took a sudden step forward upon hearing this, more flustered than she had ever seen him. "Evelyn, we've obviously walked into something bad. Let's get out of here."

"Well, it's a bit late for that," she whispered back. "Have you seen the state of things outside?"

"But I told you earlier," he said through clenched teeth, still hoarse from exposure to the fog. "Why can't we just keep moving? The door's still open, isn't it?"

Evelyn's voice rose in volume but she remained still as a statue, eyes fixed on the strangers ahead. "Settle down before you make a fool of yourself. I'll handle this."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn's dismissal of Erick's advice felt like a sharp slap to the face. He fell silent, tightly gripping the gun he had stolen from one of the guards the previous evening. If the King's men found that place with everyone inside, Erick could only pray his allies outnumbered them and that they could be forced to retreat. If everyone ended up captured, he would be powerless to help Ryouki, his siblings, or anyone else, because he'd be in the same boat. And what if Alice was among the attackers? What was she supposed to do? The thought of it all made Erick's head spin; why couldn't they just keep moving toward Hydris like they'd planned?

And when that girl had stepped forward and pulled her hood down, revealing her face, he'd once again felt that twinge of recognition from earlier. It was driving him nuts, but he had no idea what to do about it. Breathing a defeated sigh through his nose, he smiled sheepishly at the thought of how frazzled he probably looked. Situations like this, he remembered, were often simpler than they seemed. If Evelyn or one of these new guys did something that seemed off to Erick, he would treat them like any other threat. There was no need to complicate things.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor stood in the mill's doorway, lightly tapping one foot against the floor. She had no idea what was going on, to be honest, but it was comforting to know that most of the people around her didn't seem to either. Mr. Sutherlin in particular looked like his head was about to explode. He hadn't struck her as the stoic type at all, but what was he suddenly so afraid of? In any case, Danor had obviously gotten more than she bargained for by following these people. When she was told to ready her weapon, she set the unconscious girl's crutches against the nearest wall and drew her pistol, heart pounding.

United People's Army? She had heard about them - nasty bunch, always so senselessly aggressive. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could try to sneak one of her countless questions to the Grail man nearby, a sound from outside the mill startled her. Gunshots came in a flurry of noise, followed by panicked shouts and hurried commands, before abruptly stopping all at once. Those guards? Had something happened to them? The thought of other people - armed people - prowling around in that mist was actually a little unnerving to Danor, and she found herself inching her way further into the building.

Celaena - Assassin - Snowview Fairhaven

Celaena looked at the woman, and sighs. "Why must you be so rude?" She crosses her arms, "You guys can come in, they wont bite....most of the time" A small smirk appears on her lips as she studies the group. "Oh right, my name is Celaena Moonlight," she shrugs, "since Enrico was the only one who knew, might as well give myself a proper introduction" She gives them a small bow. She glances at Erick and narrows her eyes a bit, he gave her an unsettling feeling who was he...

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

The woman responded to Ms. Luciole with only a "hmph." She seemed to have noticed the commotion outside too and said, "Well? Get in before you attract undue attention. You're much more than we expected, but there should be enough room for you all inside." She turned to Ms. Moonlight, effectively dismissing them from her concern. "Have you finished scouting the area, Celaena?"

So that was it. It was either walk away now and brave out the fight in the gas cloud, or hole in with the bastards who got them into this mess and who knows what next. He didn't enjoy the feeling that he was being manipulated by some unknown person's whims. With a curse, Silas started to walk forward.

Kristen Mernoth - Wishing she wasn't Noble - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Kristen felt a chill run down her spine. If these rebels found out about her it would not go well for her. She didn't have friends among this group that would do anything to protect her, and Leif was incapacitated. She did her best to seem barely conscious, maybe they wouldn't take much notice in her.

There were people here that would probably be more hated by the rebels then her, Evelyn was one, Erick another. And her family was a small enough house that few people had heard of them, and almost no one would recognize that she was the daughter of Dale and Meredith Mernoth, since she looked more like her grandmother than either of her parents.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry made no change it his combative stance, and kept his pistol aimed in the general direction of the entrance to the mill, though not directly at anyone.

He could sense Tabaraamon was close, it was hard to explain the feeling, just a slight tug of uneasiness and a small chill running up his spine. The shadow would be hidden, waiting in case these rebels became hostile.

From what he had heard the people's army didn't like mercenaries, something about the fact that merchs didn't have any real loyalty. That was fine, Dimitry didn't like mobs of fervor-blind terrorists. So the disdain was mutual.

What he didn't like was Evelyn's response. She seemed eager to get inside, really eager. Too eager in fact. That made Dimitry uncomfortable, why would a member of the secret police want to buddy up with one of the most extremist rebel groups out there? The distant sound of fighting did not improve his mood, neither did the feeling that someone was watching him.

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

There was no real threat to their group if they were in the presence of more rebels. They were all one in purpose after all. But just in case things went south, and they usually did in these situations, Griffin kept his sword drawn and a hand hovering over the handle of his revolver. He examined the old mill and found no immediate threats. The only thing he was worried about was the King’s men finding them huddled in the abandoned building. But trying to push the paranoid thoughts away, he listened to the conversation intently.

 Celaena - Assassin- snowveiw fairhaven

"Of course I did, no real trouble. Well besides the painful fog and the knights." She shrugs, not particularly caring of the dangers outside. With grace she unties her cloak and pulls it off her shoulders, having it dangle over her arm. She exposes all the knives she has on her belt and who know what else she has hidden on her.

-Enrico Accosi-

At first, what registered in Enrico was shock, and then...then, he began to laugh. He laughed small and low at first, and suddenly harder and harder, sounding slightly feminine even but he didn't care in the slightest because of the high the momentous reveal gave him. Eis and the kids started to look scared, and he caught off looks from some of the others like the Kyushu family.
Tula looked mortified.

He bounced back-literally, from having arched his back backward as he laughed for a straight thirty seconds-and sauntered toward Celaena and the others from the United People's Army with one hand on each gun holster at his hips. "Dolcezza, sweetheart," He deepened his voice and used a suave tone as he drew closer. "This is not what myself and my men signed up for..." With a lightning fast motion, he simultaneously drew both, almost oversized, revolvers from his holsters and pressed each into Celaena's chest. "And I think you'll find that you're going to regret bringing knives to a gun fight, manipulative bastarda!"

Eis scolded him, and protected the anxious group. "ENRICO! You're being too rash! Back off before you really fuck this up-"
Enrico ignored the young man, and snarled. "So if you don't want me to pull any triggers, I suggest you discuss the real reason as to why you stupid people needed Voce's assistance, and now whatever bullshit I was briefed by fucking letter two weeks ago."

--

-Tula Nikos-

Tula eyed the scene with distaste, but a touch of nonchalance. "It's still so crazy," she muttered under her breath. "He hasn't changed a bit. Dear gods..."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Hearing the Army woman's words, Evelyn knew her cover was as good as blown. She looked over her shoulder at the group and motioned for them to follow her further into the building, peering over their heads at the open door behind them. "One of you may want to close that." She breathed a sigh, keeping her gun at the ready as she prepared to let everyone know - more or less - what they were really doing there, when Enrico suddenly lost it. Evelyn aimed her gun at him, unable to read his intentions, but kept silent. His subordinate seemed intent on calming him down, but it didn't appear to be working very well; in seconds, he had two guns against Celaena's chest.

Whatever was going on between Voce and the United People's Army, if someone started shooting, it would become her business as well as theirs. Involving herself then might just raise tensions, though, so she focused on her own people. "No one is to intervene unless I give the word," she told them, speaking to Dimitry in particular. "That includes your people, Griffin. For now, we're safer in here, but if someone starts a firefight, that's going to change very quickly."

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Well, so far, just about everything was going wrong. Evelyn was slowly but surely being forced into a figurative corner, Enrico was furious, and now they were all stuck with the United People's Army. Asbel had done work for them before, and they tended to be a pretty disagreeable bunch. And then there was Hiram... If Lucas could come back from the dead, Asbel was willing to believe that Hiram might have as well, but what did it all mean? Asbel wanted more than anything to question Griffin, but with things as tense as they were, he didn't even dare to speak. He just stayed as inconspicuous as possible and tried his best not to drop Kristen.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Recognition set Erick's eyes alight and he froze in place, shocked to the core. There was no longer a single doubt in his mind that this girl was the childhood friend he had lost ten years ago, and not only was she alive, she was on the enemy's side. His surroundings didn't even register until Enrico began laughing so hard that his entire body was racked with the effort, approaching Celaena and drawing his guns on her. Instinct took hold, and although Erick's gun remained lowered, his grip tightened around it as he shouted at Enrico. "Wait!" Shaking, he resisted the urge to step forward. "Lower your weapons!"

Evelyn's eyes shot a glare at him like two gleaming needles. "What did I just say?"

Erick's gaze darted between Evelyn and Celaena before eventually setting on Enrico, and he inched closer to Ryouki in a defensive stance. This wasn't right. He didn't trust Evelyn - never had - but there was a pattern to all this. Like a true secret officer, she was trying to play them.

Enrico Accosi

In retaliation, he pressed the cold metal harder against his target, pushing her back a step, only turning his head a slight degree in the source of the outcry. "And just why should I do that? This woman is your enemy, is she not? My men and I are not sure if she is ours just yet.."

Eis protested once more. "Just back off, sir."

"I'm waiting for her to talk!" He roared back at his subordinate.

 Jessica Stuart - Ambassador - Embassy, Hydris, Fairhaven.

Jessica sat in her office reading through the large binder of protocols her direct superior had sent her. It was what the council wanted, and as so often with the council there were some contradictions. Like the fact she was supposed to broker an arms deal with the king, but cut back on security forces cracking down on Grail gun runners selling to the rebels.

She had seen a estimate that there were all most five hundred Grail-El weapons entering Falcon's Reach every day, Many warehouses of older fire arms were starting to run low. It wasn't as if they were being recycled or destroyed, but reports of rebels equipped with Grail weapons were rare. They were going somewhere, and Jessica as well as most of the Government didn't know where that was.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

And Dimitry had thought this couldn't get any worse. They were on a knifes edge and a fire fight would not go well for any one. There were enough people within his group to put up a decent fight, and any fighting might attract who ever stalked the fog.

He was too far to hear what was going on, but body language and the pointing of weapons made it clear that the matter of discussion wasn't about incorrect uniform. He holstered his pistol and drew his rifle, the armor piercing bullets would be murderous in the crowd, and it was a far more intimidating weapon.

The rifle itself was nearly four feet long, and the heavy, almost cleaver like bayonet added another one and a half feet. All in all it was almost as long as he was tall, and he aimed the monstrosity directly at Enrico. At it didn't make much difference it would only take a five degree adjustment to aim it at the assassin, and little more to aim it at everyone else that could be a threat.

He was getting ready to make a run for it, how ever much he would be getting paid it wasn't enough. If they lived through this he would ask for a bonus, because he hadn't expected Evelyn to lead them into this mess. It almost seemed like it had been intentional.

## Page 3

Celaena - Assassin

When Enrico pushed his guns into her chest, she was stunned for a moment but then a smile, a sick twisted smile spread on her face. She glances at Erick for a moment, he seem familiar the empty void she had in her chest didn't feel so empty she felt like she knew him, however she can't think about that right now. Not when the emptiness inside of her made her the perfect assassin, nothing to loose, no fear of dying. She drew attention back to Enrico when he pushed her back a step, "Do you really think killing me is going to help?" She could just tell them that she was sent to kill the leader of the Untied People's Army, but then she'll have them against her, she could try to explain that it was just a job. It might just cause more problems, her smile disappears turning serious ignoring the blood thirsty beast that lies inside her, "I only joined three weeks ago, they barely trust me with anything. Killing me wont help." He was strong and seemed like a good person, she doesn't want to spill his blood. More so since there are kids, she would rather her blood to be spilled plus she doesn't fear death, "So go ahead and shoot me, it wont make a difference" She softly grabbed the barrels of his guns and pushed them deeper into her chest and adjust them so they would hit vital organs. "Shoot," Her voice softens a bit and stares right into Enrico eyes.

-Enrico Accosi-

As she begged for her death, Enrico's expression drew inward in a frown of false concern. "Oh, you are simply a tart-"

"Stop talking and back out of what isn't your business, you swine!" Tula called out then, causing Enrico to crane his neck around to see her and the monster of her beau pointing a rifle right at him.
He whistled at the large weapon. "Qualcuno ha un pene piccolo."
Tula scoffed, and retorted back in defensive anger. "E 'più grosso del tuo, cara mia."

Enrico burned red and then glanced back at Celaena, who still wore a pleading expression. He backed away, but still had his large revolvers ready and aimed, one at Dimitry, and the other towards Celaena and the United People's Army. Enrico narrowed his eyes at Celaena. "I still need answers. I don't care how long you've been with these people, Miss Moonlight, because you seem to know a hell of a lot more than I do."

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Standing incredibly still, Silas looked back to Mr. Accosi as he heard him whip out his guns and threaten Ms. Moonlight. He was anxious to widen distance between them but at such close proximity, he was afraid the slightest movement might set all these trigger-happy groups off.

Her people tensed, one of them stepping forward and wearing a mask of pure rage. "What the hell are you—"

The woman next to Ms. Moonlight silenced him with a raise of her hand, not once taking her eyes' off Mr. Accosi. When he backed away, she finally spoke. "That's enough. We don't need the assistance of a bunch of kids. The United People's Army had only informed us that they had new recruits in the area and that we were to keep them out of harm's way," she snorted a laugh, "to a certain extent, at least—in exchange for rations and maintaining the truce. I don't know why they need you either and frankly, I don't care. Why don't you ask them yourself? You must have been planning to join them at their base."

Her tone was mild for the conversation. If by mild, you meant a dog being pulled back by the leash. Still, any level of restraint from them was a cause of confusion for Silas. Intolerant, hostile; they were known to be the die for your cause, die before helping the enemy sort. He could almost see the same feeling in the expressions of the people behind her, as if they were wondering why she was answering them at all.

"Now if you could resist killing one of my men, you won't have to kiss your last chance at sanctuary goodbye. I guarantee you won't get away with it. No one messes with the United People's Army. Just ask Wood's Men." Now there was the aggression he knew.

-Enrico Accosi-

He put away the gun aimed at the United People's Army as he listened, but kept the other aimed at Dimitry still. But as they spoke, his anger began to flare within. "We may be young, but we have more of a cause in our hearts than your cold asses." Enrico snarled. "Don't be surprised at how much larger Voce's numbers are than that Wood's Men, or how much brighter our fire is."

Eis spoke up, voice shaking slightly. "Put down the other gun, sir!"

Enrico growled back at the young man. "This one's personal!"

-Tula Nikos-

"Calm down!" Tula raised her voice sharply, and Enrico seemed to listen a bit, catching her eye briefly. She scoffed. "For me?" She raised her eyebrows, exhausted with her ex's shenanigans.

Enrico snapped back. "Tell him to put his away too. There are children here."
Tula growled back, offended. "I could say the same thing about you!"
Enrico's grip on the gun tightened, finger itching over the trigger. "He's got to go, belissima sirena. You broke your promise to me for this Sand fool." ((Beautiful mermaid))
Beginning to get a migraine, Tula moaned in aggravation. "Please, PLEASE, don't bring this up right now-"

Enrico balanced back on both his feet, but kept his gun ready and aimed at Dimitry, and taunted the Caravaner. "You want to hear a story, cazzo? Because this one, I think you'll get a very nice laugh. I know I did!" His tone was intended to be joking, but came out sinister.
Tula's voice struggled to be stern, and she almost begged. "Enrico, shut your damn mouth..."
He glanced back at the United People's Army, and then back to Tula and Dimitry, and laughed. "How embarrassing for you, sirena. In front of your friends, and total strangers! Important, very important revolutionaries...you have to deal with your psychotic ex making such a scene, telling everyone how you abandoned me and your sisters to become a soldier, how you promised us you'd come back and bust us out of prison back to Grecia and somehow failed to remember, and how you promised ME that I was your constant, your prize, your prince-"
"ENOUGH!" Tula screamed, tears breaking through. Caught, Tula screamed again at the room. "I HOPE YOU ALL KILL EACH OTHER!" The Grecian stormed out of the mill, crying, and fell to her knees outside. She collapsed to the dusty ground, and buried herself into her knees.

--

-Enrico Accosi-

The room stirred after Tula left, hanging an awkward silence over the room for a brief few seconds, and Enrico broke it by lighting a cigarette and placing it between his teeth before cocking the gun at Dimitry again. "Well, it's what the lady wants..."

The tallest of the Kyushu family took a stand then, stepping forward hesitantly at first, but then reached somewhere and flicked out something sharp and metallic at a lightening quick speed.

At first, Enrico was confused, but then felt a sharp pain in his leg. Blood dripped from the upper part of his ankle and he collapsed to the ground. He shouted at the tall man. "Che cazzo?!!" ((What the fuck?!!))
The tall man glared down at Enrico. "I've seen enough of this song and dance before, and I'm sick of seeing it again. You call yourself a leader? Shut the hell up and listen to your teammates for once. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two and not land yourself in trouble."
One of his sisters, girly and with dyed hair, tensed and tried to pull the tall man back. "Ryouki..."
The tall man, Ryouki, resisted. "Mister Accosi, I would rather you didn't heed Miss Nikos's request and kill everyone." He turned to Dimitry. "You too, Dimitry."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Her mind racing, Evelyn listened as each party made its opinion of the other abundantly clear; even Kristen attempted to persuade Enrico to lower his weapons. Making an alliance out of these people was going to be challenging, to put it mildly, but that was nothing new. As Enrico and Tula argued, however, the exchange ending with a crying Tula storming out of the building, Evelyn's finger looped around the trigger. "Someone, go after her."

The young Grail woman was first to move, Evelyn noticed, making her way a little closer to Dimitry rather than the exit. Meanwhile, Dimitry was now the main focus of Enrico's rage, which was now a cold, concentrated, and very dangerous aggression. Evelyn had seen it before, and she refused to allow it one step further.

Before she could speak, however, the man suddenly collapsed to the ground with a throwing knife in his leg; Ryouki had taken a stand. A slight grin tugging at her lips, she slowly nodded in agreement as he spoke.

Deciding it was best to try her own hand at negotiation then, she too addressed Enrico. "If you shoot Dimitry, Mr. Accosi, you'll lose a powerful ally and gain some very, very dangerous enemies. Now, I couldn't care less if you lower your weapons, but if you'll only listen for a while, I think we can all reach an understanding. I'll even go first." She allowed the idea to sink in for a moment. "I can guarantee, Enrico, that this is something you want to hear. But if you lay a finger on one of my companions, you'll never know what it is."

Erick seemed deeply disturbed by Celaena's words but snapped out of his daze when Ryouki threw the knife, startled and watching Enrico intently in case he made a move. As Evelyn spoke, she noticed that his expression became increasingly strained. She couldn't explain his sudden outburst when Celaena was threatened, but she could practically hear the gears turning in his head; maybe he was paying more attention than she had thought.

Danor Arkaitz - What the hell just happened? - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

These people were unbelievable: loud, reckless, and probably carrying more baggage than the train those United People's Army jerks had blown up. Danor couldn't get enough of it. She took a few steps closer to Dimitry, making a point to appear as nonthreatening as possible. Danor couldn't allow that woman to stay out there; Evelyn knew it wasn't safe, and he probably did too. "Will you go after your lover or should I?"

Enrico Accosi

He tended to his wounded ankle-well, more like prodded it with a finger to see how deep the cut ran. The knife buried itself almost to the bone, which made Enrico feel both impressed, and pissed off at Ryouki's talent.

When Evelyn now began to scold his behaviour, he listened intently, and on edge. His eyes narrowed at her as he struggled to stand and one of the girls in his squad from Italio handed her weapon to Eis and started to try and dress the wound with a decently sized strip of fabric as Enrico pulled himself up off the ground. "Gratzie..." He muttered so she alone could hear him. In the common language, he responded to Evelyn. "I'll listen. I'll obviously not be happy about it, but if there's really something in it for me as you say..." Enrico rolled his shoulders back and crossed his arms over his chest. ((Thank you))

Celaena - Assassin

She blinks a few times to clear her vision, the fog must have affected more than she thought... She watches the situation unfold, she should've left when she had the chance. However this whole scheme of things is amusing and the boy with the black hair with the green in it, gave her an uneasy feeling, she doesn't like it when she gets a feeling about something and then leaves, she has to know who he is. She smiles a tiny bit when Enrico, calmed down just a bit. "Well since we are going to have a conversation now, how about some drinks?" Glances at the kids, "and milk or something else for the younger ones?"

## Page 4

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

He was more than startled when Ryouki threw his knife, the five years since he had last seem the man must have been rather difficult, but losing a limb probably changed people. It was a good throw, much better than anything Dimitry could have pulled off, and he did feel a sense of satisfaction seeing Enrico's expression of surprise and agony.

Enrico's rant toward Tula made the simmering emotions in Dimitry almost boil over, and he had nearly shot the man while he lay on the floor, but he forced himself to take control. Let the bastard live through the pain of a knife wound in the leg, which was still better than he deserved.

He turned to the Grail woman and sighed. "I'll go out. If it's time to move on and we aren't back, tell them not to wait up."

With that Dimitry headed out of the mill to where Tula half sat half lay on the ground. For a few seconds he awkwardly stood nearby as he tried to think of something to say, but couldn't think of anything. He pulled off his gloves and jammed them into is pockets before crouching next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

Celaena - Assassin

After everyone seemed to calm down, she drags a few old wooden tables that were there and pulls a few chairs that she found. Since there wasn't enough she made them some chairs out of sand bags, "Ta-da~ I have made the council table" She smiles and stretches, pulling out a bottle of wine from her folded cloak, "hmm.. we need glasses..." She turns her back to them, setting the bottle down and goes to find some glasses, looking through the cupboards.

Tula Nikos-

A warm hand on her shoulder startled her, and Tula turned to see Dimitry there to console her. The tears that stopped momentarily came back, as she felt touched by his concern. "How can you still..." She took in breath to try and calm her shaking voice. "How can you even look at me?"

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

"If there's nothing else," the woman said sharply, "we'll be in the other room. I will tolerate no more incidents from any of you." She stabbed a finger at the makeshift table. "One bottle is all you get. Don't waste our supplies." She then turned to the man she cut off and to Ms. Moonlight. "Ringo, Celaena, be sure to watch them." On the way to the door, she awkwardly patted the latter's shoulder. "Good job today."

What now? Silas thought. They were safe from the outside, but how long did they have to wait? Were they to just sit quietly and drink away the hour? He looked to Ms. Luciole and his expression became grim. What exactly had she wanted to share back there? Perhaps it was time to finish what they started outside the mill.

 Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Out side Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

"Because I would have done the exact same thing if I had the chance. An opportunity to start anew? To leave behind a broken past? I would have killed for that." Dimitry said, though admittedly he killed for a lot of things.

"I've betrayed men who were like brothers to me. I left them so I wouldn't have to face the consequences for my actions." He continued.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon watched from the shadows, nearly invisible as the strange woman proceeded to set up a table and start trying to set it. In all his centuries of observing human behavior he had never seen anyone do something like this, and that made him think the woman was completely insane or planning something. The latter seemed unlikely, the whole preceding incident did not seem like something someone fully in their mind would pull.

Celaena - Assassin

Celaena finds a glass, and reaches out to touch it and as soon as she did it crumbled, her face overcame with shock then great sadness that the glass broke. She looks to see if there were other glasses with a pout.

Tula Nikos-

Tula shook her head. "I wasn't abandoning my past. I accepted Viktor's proposal to get out of going to jail. Becoming a soldier was my easy way out, and when it happened, that was the one time that my sisters and Enrico were not my first consideration."

She brushed away tears and faced Dimitry. "The worst part about all this is that I think I may still have feelings for Enrico, and that scares me because I know what it can do to you, and what it's doing to me in turn." Tula's hands were clutched over her sternum in agony.

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Their group kept quiet as things began to unfold and opinions were being spoken. Truly, how hard was it to just get along with one another? But struggling to have patience, Griffin waited. He made a quick statement before things could get ugly again. “As rebels we are all one in purpose, are we not? It wouldn’t do us any good if we go killing each other.” He sunk back to where he was and waited for what Evelyn was about to say.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

A sigh escaped Evelyn's chest as alcohol - just what this morning was missing - was introduced to the situation and the United People's Army filed out of the room. As tempting as it was, she deemed it best to keep her senses sharp for this conversation. She caught a grim look from Mr. Reid and flashed him a small and (hopefully) reassuring grin in return, knowing he was more worried than she was. Griffin seemed uneasy as well, annoyed by the arguing, and stepped up to make his opinion known. "Exactly," she agreed. "That would be a terrible waste."

Clearing the panic of the earlier confrontation from her mind, she raised her voice for everyone in the room to hear. Though, given the size of the place, that wasn't difficult. "Well, since Dimitry and Tula are elsewhere at the moment, I'll start with something they already know." Her gaze landing on Enrico, who was struggling to stand despite his wounded leg, she reached into a small pocket inside her coat and produced a tiny silver pin. "In case any of you youngsters are unfamiliar with this, it means I work for the political police. Please keep in mind, however, that I have no intention of turning you in."

Erick spoke then, his voice dull. "And you don't intend to take the rest of us in for questioning like you said you would, do you?"

"That's correct. I won't be escorting you to Hydris." The man's eyes lowered, his jaw clenching tight as a vice. "I do apologize for misleading you all, but I did it for a reason."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick hadn't wanted to shoot anyone this much in five years. He should never have gone along with Evelyn's schemes in the first place - and then there was Celaena. After nearly a decade of silence, she finally showed her face, and she was working for the United People's Army?

Knowing by then that Evelyn almost certainly had a plan for them, Erick looked to Ryouki and lowered his voice almost to a whisper. "What do you want to do?" Whether they stuck around or not, they would be taking serious risks, and Ryouki had kept his thoughts on their situation to himself for a while.

Evelyn spoke again, and Erick caught her stealing a glance at him as she spoke. "Of course, I would understand if any of you were reluctant to take part in this. Some of you are wounded, and perhaps others would simply prefer not to break any laws. Be that as it may, I'll still offer you my protection, as I'd much rather have you here than risk letting you cause trouble with the information I'm giving you. If you absolutely must leave, though, see me in private. We'll talk."

The small woman with the eye patch - one of the only people to actually sit down so far - waved her hand to snag Evelyn's attention, waiting to speak until it had. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just followed you people here from the inn. Am I included in all this?"

Evelyn quirked an eyebrow. "You have a gun, don't you?"

"I do."

"You're included. Welcome to the team."

## Page 5

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Out side the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry stiffened slightly when Tula said that she still might have feelings for Enrico. He didn't known if his movement was noticeable, but he expected it was.

He would kill that bastard, chop his damned head off if need be. Tula was right to be afraid of what it would do to him, he didn't have much holding him in reality, and he knew it. He had seen what happened if he slipped into the grip of his god.

He snapped back into the present and noticed Tula clutching her chest. "What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowveiw, Fairhaven.

Leif lay there, glowering at the ceiling, angry at the stupidity of it all. Here he was, in a foreign land, surrounded by honorless foreigners, armed with the cast around his arm and a bad attitude, wearing little more than another cast around most of his body. If only his brothers could see him now. What an embarrassment.

At least they stopped trying to kill each other. They seemed to do that a lot. Pointed guns at each other and shouted but never really did anything. He was surprised none of them challenged another to a duel, at least then they could settle their differences like reasonable people, with a couple of swift strikes to the head from a large bunt object, or shoot at each other, what ever worked for them.

The perspective really irritated him. He had run out of things on the ceiling to count, and he only saw the heads of people who walked past, and only the tall ones. He couldn't hear what was being said, though he could hear the tones.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Old Mill, Snowveiw, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon appeared next to Evelyn, intentionally making a flashy entrance, boiling out of the floor before forming from twisted tendrils of mist. In his hands sat his gigantic two handed sword, the white, bone like blade pointed directly at her throat. "So you mean to tell me that this was all a trick? Why? To get a bunch of innocents killed? Or to recruit a good percentage of the waste heros?" He hissed, voice tinged with disgust and anger.

"If it's the later, congratulations, you've almost got the full set. Problem is you've brought some of the most dangerous people in the land together, betrayed their trust, and now think they will not turn you into hellhound food."

Celaena - Assassin

Celaena soon found some glasses, and filled them with wine. Silently listening to them, every so often glancing at the door where the leader went through then at Erick. She sighs, who the heck was he, he gave her a weird feeling. "Wine is ready~ Sit, drink....or stand and glare at each other that works too...."

Enrico Accosi

Enrico listened, taking in the revelation that Evelyn was actually on his side, and silently poured himself a glass of wine right in front of Celaena. He stared at her, glancing over her apperance briefly as he took a slow pull and then sank into one of the "chairs" with his legs propped up on the table.

"So all these people that Tula was with..." Enrico questioned. "Are they all with you?"

Tula Nikos

Tula trembled visibly. "E-Everything! I'm just so emotionally shaken right now..." She made a serious effort to try and relax her breathing, her heart rate that felt like a hurricane without an eye. "I need...I think I just need closure. I'm delusional. He...He does that to women, to me...well, he did, years ago." Tula pushed back a large amount of hair that had fallen into her eyes, and looked up at Dimitry. She sighed, affectionately, and wiped away more of the tears that came. "I must be such a headache to everyone right now. But hey, not my fault it's a small ass world that gets smaller every day."

 Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

"As rebels we are all one in purpose, are we not? It wouldn’t do us any good if we go killing each other."

"Don't lump us together with your kind," the man—Ringo—hissed, a great deal of pride underlying his tone. "All you other rebels might as well be on the same side as the king as far as I'm concerned; good for nothin'. If we had just been more careful yesterday," Silas saw his gaze fall on the room his allies went to, "we would have been able to leave you to rot."

Ms. Moonlight had finished arranging some of their chairs, but Silas refused to take a seat. He only crossed his arms and looked expectedly at Ms. Luciole as he waited for her to explain herself. His stance visibly rigid, brimming with annoyance and fear. It took a moment to process her words when it came. For the first few seconds, his mind was numb. Thoughts traveled discordantly from place to place.

It was horror that first crept up on him. Then the fury came, swift and fast.

Why did he only get two choices every time, the bad and the worse one?

There was no way he could travel with them. He would be supporting a group who seemed intent on bringing the nation to ruin. Even if he agreed with what they were doing, his body was nowhere capable of keeping up. He was right in thinking earlier that more danger would follow them as they went along.

On the other hand, there was no way he could survive on his own. He had no food, no medicine, no weapons, no money. He couldn't possibly make it to Braile on empty pockets, not to mention in the stirrings of a rebellion.

He fell back a step. Would she even let them go if they decided to leave? With the information they wielded, there was no way she could. They would be killed.

"Why indeed," Silas grated, watching as the Shadowed One held Ms. Luciole by the sword. "Why would any of you side with them?"

He turned to his fellow hostages, knowing that they at least should be feeling equally betrayed. "You do realize that any good or normal facet of your lives would be gone. The king—" he swallowed, "the king could use some improvement, but whatever bad deeds, or lack of thereof, he's done in the years he's taken up the throne has been nothing compared to what the rebels have wrought in the last two days. They recruit children in their little war games, they take civilians like us captive, they blow up the trains and cities we have managed to rebuild since the war..."

He snapped his attention back to Ms. Luciole. "If this is how you solve our problems, if this is the future I should expect should you actually succeed in your goals, I have two words for you: Fuck. Off."

A sudden pain erupted from the area of his jaw and he found himself being grabbed by the collar. It was Ringo. "What was that, pisspot? Was that the thanks we get for our effort against evil, for the lives we risked and lost?"

Celaena - Assassin

She looks at Enrico and mumbles under her breath, "To be honest, I'm with no one." A mischievous smile appears on her face, "I'm just here temporarily, though... the man with the green in his hair... do you know him?"

 Enrico Accosi

He growled from his low sitting position at the man who ranted off at Evelyn. "Hey, pesca, watch your tongue! There are children here!" Eis glared at him, but Enrico only responded with a nonchalant sip of wine. ((peach))

"I could say the same thing about you, sir." Eis muttered. "But you don't care in the slightest..."

Enrico murmured back. "I only swear in my language. The youngest here is probably 14 years old. Stop nagging me, you're not my mother." Then, he ruffled up Eis's hair in a scolding manner.

 Enrico glanced at Celaena again and asked quietly. "What's the green-haired boy to you, belleza? You've got me curious, or a little jealous."

   Celaena - Assassin

She giggles quietly then her face grew stern, "I don't know, he seems familiar to me, but everyone I known is dead. Its unsettling to say the least" she speaks so no one else can hear, not caring of the others conversation since it didn't really involve her.

Enrico Accosi

Enrico smiled at Celaena, keeping up their side banter. It was entertaining, and after the barrage of pent-up sexual tension that was rudely interrupted with tears, Enrico needed a slight distraction. "Same here, cara mia. I don't blame you for your interest." He swirled the last drop of wine left around in his glass. "Shame there's only one bottle. I'd be getting up for a second drink about now if there was. Lord knows I need it..."

 Celaena - Assassin

With a smirk she pulls out a small flask, and pours it into his glass, "Whiskey should help, I use it to sleep." She shrugs and smiles, however when she pulled out the flask the small little drawing she had of her parents fell out as well.

-Enrico Accosi-

"Whiskey? To sleep?" Enrico's eyes widened in slight surprise, and then he sighed. "What a strange woman you are, Miss Moonlight." He took a pull of whiskey and allowed the burning sensation to manifest in the back of his throat.
He caught the sound of something fluttering to the floor, but paid it no mind as he eyed the people around him.

## Page 6

Celaena - Assassin

Once she noticed her picture fell, she quickly picks it up and tucks it away carefully. "Is it really that strange? If you only knew, then you would understand." She sighs softly and takes a sip of whiskey herself.

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Griffin didn’t take what Evelyn said as a surprise. From the very first moment they met he knew there was something she was hiding. He nodded his head in silence. Another man spoke, this time against rebels and their actions the past couple of days. He understood the man’s point of view and looked at him intently. The civilians would be caught in the middle of all of the fighting, and Griffin understood that. But as far as Wood’s Men went, they tried to protect the civilians at all cost when things went ugly.

“Although there are some rebel groups out there who do things in their own manner, don’t pool all of them together. The cause of this rebellion still stands firm. We stand against the foolish tyrant who fails to lead his people the right way again and again. We stand for the welfare of the people of this kingdom, something the precious King could care less about. If there is to be change, there has to be actions taken. Unless we want to stand around being led by a foolish man, then I suggest we make a move. But we should do it as peacefully as possible. And if there comes a time where we have to defend ourselves for what we believe, then we will.” Griffin took in a deep breath and stared at all of them sternly. He had had enough of all of them fighting. If anything was to be done, they had to be united.

Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Silas couldn't help but gawk at every one of them, unable to believe what he was hearing. It was almost comical how the rebels' level of foolishness seemed to surprise him time and time again. To hear them speak was to actually wish upon himself physical harm.

"Was I not clear enough?" He looked to the remainder of the United People's Army to Wood's Men to Ms. Luciole. "You bombed us, you kidnapped us, and you tricked us. You all 'claim' to be so good, yet I see a very obvious contradiction, don't you? If it still hasn't penetrated your thick skulls, let me simplify it for you: why would I want to trade a tyrant for more tyrants? An idiot for more idiots? Nothing has led me to believe that this... this uprising is more than empty promises, able to provide a better life than the one the king has provided—ah."

Ringo had slammed him against the wall, apparently fed up with his denouncement of their activities. Silas should have seen it coming. He should have stopped when his fist connected with the side of his face. But it was as if the floodgates were opened, and every complaint he had about these criminals came pouring out.

He was overcome with nausea on impact. When he tried to choke it back with a cough, a rattling sound could be heard distinctly from his chest. His skin crawled and his ears rang. When he realized what was happening, his eyes flashed with dread. He never felt so light-headed, not since he was a child. Little black dots swarmed his vision, the corners of his sight fading into black. In mere moments, the ground came under him and he went limp.

Evelyn Luciole - Probably in big trouble - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn flinched when her peripheral vision caught Tabaraamon materializing from thin air, his blade aimed at her throat. She froze, taking a deep breath and letting her eyes slip shut for a few moments. She had to stay calm - choose her words carefully. In response to the shadow's threat, she gave a small nod. "Yes, I have. But if you would just let me explain why I did it-" When Silas began speaking, Evelyn could practically feel her blood boiling, and her hands twitched at her sides as she struggled to hold her tongue. The Army man grabbed Silas by the collar and Griffin spoke again, still keeping a cool head, while Evelyn made a point to collect herself as well in an attempt to keep things from escalating any further.

Before she could respond, however, Silas began raving again, furious. The Army member had had enough of the man's rants and slammed him against the wall, evidently trying to beat the opinions right out of him. In a matter of moments, Mr. Reid shuddered as if a ghost had passed through him and went limp, slouched against the wall in a heap. Her eyebrows raising in surprise, she was speechless for a moment or two. "Is he alive?"

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Without a word, Asbel made a wide half-circle around Tabaraamon and Evelyn and carefully set Kristen down in one of the chairs across the room; his arms were practically numb by that point. He watched Evelyn from the table, wondering if he should intervene. Boraci had moved himself and Leif away from the door as well, silently observing and probably weighing his options.

When Silas began ranting again, earning himself a punch in the face before fainting and dropping to the floor like a rag doll, Asbel decided he had had enough as well. He made his way over to the Army gentleman, both hands hanging at his sides, and looked him straight in the eyes. "Maybe if you came up with a more compelling counterargument than the business end of your fist," he offered, his tone as mellow as ever, "your lot wouldn't have to blow things up in order to get their message across."

"Asbel," Evelyn interjected, "be quiet."

Wearing an utterly miserable expression, Asbel knelt down to move Silas into a less neck cramp-inducing position, laying the man down and turning him onto his side. "Seems he's alive. Please, continue."

It stung Evelyn to see the resentful look Asbel gave her as he spoke, but she continued regardless. "Everyone, the point of all this was to speak and listen. Don't shut me out just yet." She looked to Erick, her voice lowering. "Tell me, how old were you when the King made you his personal guard dog? Sixteen? Seventeen?" Erick's eyes widened with shock, and Evelyn filled the silence again before he could reply. "I've served the King for almost five years just for this opportunity, and I know who he is. He may not be as outwardly aggressive as some of the rebels - yet - but he's scared, stupid, and selfish. Our kingdom as it is now is a disaster waiting to happen. He wanted us to hide from the Wastes until it went away! If you think a ruler like that is our most favorable option, you're fooling yourself. We can do better than this."

She surveyed the room, her gaze catching on Silas and Asbel. "I'm no villain. Like I said, you can play as minimal a role in this as you like. I'll still do my best to keep you all out of harm's way. Whether you like it or not, though, the revolution is here, and I'd like to end it as quickly and cleanly as possible; no matter your political standing, surely you can sympathize with that."

The Grail woman chimed in next, obviously concerned. "What makes you think you can get these people to cooperate? It's been less than one hour and I'm already seeing a lot of animosity."

"Well, I'm sure this has been a considerable shock, but once you're done pointing your weapons at me and slapping each other around, I'd be happy to try and help you reach an understanding - a compromise, perhaps."

"Compromise can't solve everything," she warned.

"Then I'll try their approach and wave my gun at them." The woman chuckled and shook her head in response, and Evelyn returned her attention to the rest of the room, trying to forget she had a blade pointed at her throat. "I can help you all make this kingdom into something better if you let me."

"You're insane," Erick muttered.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "Hardly."

Enrico Accosi

Enrico soon paid attention at the sound of that peach-haired man being slammed against the wall and caught sight of him collapsing to the floor. A man with white hair from the other group confirmed that he was still alive, which irked Enrico a little, but he was satisfied with the man being unconcious. After all, now he wouldn't have to hear him quip about the cause being foolish.

Evelyn began to explain her stance on the issue, and Enrico found her more and more interesting. Wouldn't mind seeing her as the new face of the country.

--

Ryouki Sato

"Erick," Ryouki quietly attempted to assuage his boyfriend's shock. "there's a method to her point...I think."  He glanced at his sisters, who were listening with intent, and saw Tsukiko looking at Evelyn in rapture, at the edge of her seat with soft pink tinting her cheeks. He sighed, and began to adjust his hair's tail, which had become loose after running away from the gas cloud.

 Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon's expression remained what it normally was, narrowed eyes, mouth open in a skull's grin. His voice was far from emotionless, drenched in disdain and hatred. "Silencing those who disagree with you? Seems like you learned much more than the kings personality during your time in the police. What about being a manipulative psychopath? Or is that natural?"

One of the rebels lunged at Tabaraamon shouting "who are you to." He didn't finish his sentence since the shadow grabbed him by the throat and tossed him across the room.

"That's the problem with you people, always turning to violence. And I know, that's coming from the guy holding a sword toward someone's throat, but that's because it's my job. The job you hired me to do." He directed the last sentence at Evelyn.
"Because it's a package deal, me and Dimitry, that's why it costs so much. And unfortunately you never specified that we were supposed to protect them against everyone but you. So as soon as you no longer pose a threat to the civilians I'll put my sword away."

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Out side Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry sighed. "You're not being a headache. I mean, Asbel was a headache on the trip, getting possessed by a shade and all that makes some one a headache."

"As for what to do about Enrico, I don't know what to suggest. I never had that sort of issue." He did have a suggestion, though 'cave his skull in' was probably not what Tula was looking for.

He crouched lower and put an arm around her. "Look, we could go back in there and get involved in this rebellion, or we could leave. I don't know exactly where we would go, but somewhere that doesn't have a government that wants us dead, or problems with its own people."

-Enrico Accosi-

Enrico eyes the ghostly figure who had Evelyn at knifepoint. /He comes with that Dimitry? I hope Tula's aware of her new plaything's baggage./

--

-Tula Nikos-

"Gods, do I want to run away..." Tula breathed. "But I still need to at least talk to Enrico. I...I need closure..." She leaned into Dimitry. "It makes me wonder if any of my other girls are still around, Enrico showing up. Nadie, Margaritári, Fálaina...I just need answers, and I don't think I can pry him away from this new cause he's latched himself onto."

She sighed. "Dimitry, I don't think this place you're talking about even exists." Tula felt all her hope diminish, never having felt so low in years.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn warily eyed the rebel who had been tossed across the room after stupidly lunging at Tabaraamon. He didn't seem to be moving, so she hoped he was just knocked out. Admittedly, though, Tabaraamon's insults did get under her skin a little, and her mind soon drifted back to them. "Oh, for pity's sake, I was only joking. I'm not going to 'silence' anyone. If you've got something to say, I'll listen, but my listening skills usually improve when I'm not being held at sword-point."

She scowled at the shadow, annoyed by his choice of words. "And I'm not a psychopath! I may not regret deceiving you, but I do feel at least a little guilty. If you really think I'm a threat to these people, though, then fine. Just don't slit my throat before I have a chance to prove you wrong. In my defense, the only time I've pointed a gun at anyone in this room was when I thought Mr. Accosi was going to shoot your buddy."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick looked to Ryouki with surprise, wondering if they might actually end up working with this woman. If they did, Erick would definitely lose his job, but that would happen anyway if the rebels won, wouldn't it? So if he didn't help, the only outcome that might justify that choice would mean the defeat of the rebels and the arrest of Ryouki's siblings - and Celaena. Would it really be the right decision to resist these people? All that aside, though, he didn't intend to abandon Ryouki. If he saw promise in Evelyn's argument, Erick was content to roll with whatever figurative (and possibly literal) punches that sent their way.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon let his sword disperse. "You are no threat to me anyway. You could fight me your entire life and only die tired. What I wish to say is simple. You let the civilians make their own choice, if they stay or go. If you try to prevent them from leaving I will kill you and anyone that assists you. Now, any rebel that physically assaults some one that disagrees with them will loose a hand. Or an arm, anyone that commits unprovoked murder will die, in the worst way imaginable.

"Now. I hope that we can now have a civilized conversation instead of posturing for dominance like hellhounds during the mating season." Tabaraamon growled and slowly moved to a corner of the room where he could watch every one with relative ease.

The fact he had to do this irritated him, but these rebels irritated him more. Something about them reminded him of certain people from long ago, people Tabaraamon had killed. Their pig headed selfishness, almost religious obsession with their cause, their willingness to kill anyone that disagreed with them, it was a lot like the old cult of the seven, a group of idiots that worshiped the seven riders.

He hoped Dimitry didn't decide to join this pack of fools, or at least he didn't drag the him and the rest of the seven into it.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Out side Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

"We could always go to Vallak, I have an open ended invitation to the hall of an old friend of mine there. Never took him up on it, but he's supposed to be a rather big deal there, should have a decent place to stay." Dimitry said, remembering the first time he met Audun and his merry band of ax swinging explorers. It was that or go see if Lucas had made any progress on rebuilding his kingdom. He had liked Lucas, up until he killed Hiram.

"As for closure, do what you think is right. If I could find closure on half the things I've done I'd be a happier, less paranoid person." That being said, any attempt to find closure with some of the people from his past would have ended badly.

Celaena- Assassin

She listens to them talk but doesn't really pay too much to know what they were talking about, honestly, why can't they kill the king if they hate him so much. She sighs, oh well not her business anyways nor does she really care. Plus king or no king an assassin is always looked down on, no friends and family or a place to call home she is a ghost in this world. Which for a assassin is a good thing, no one to stab you in the back. Although looking at these group of people, kinda made her want to get a friend or two, maybe its worth all the drama, just so your not alone by the end of the day. She takes a long sip from her flask, like that would ever happen.

## Page 7

Tula Nikos

Tula nodded. "Believe me, while I have the chance, I'm taking it." She straightened her posture and wiped away her tears. "I'll...I'll speak with Enrico, come to a conclusion if I can. After that, maybe we can try Vallak? That sounds nice, settling for a while somewhere where no one's coming after me dead or alive..."

--

Enrico Accosi

Out of the corner of his eye, Enrico saw Celaena take another pull from her flask. His eyes flitted to the now empty wine glass he held, and he whispered to her. "Hey, um...you want to maybe get a drink with me later? Lord knows I need more alcohol in my system before that ghost guy, Dimitry, or Tula chew my head off."

 Celaena - Assassin

"Only if you can drag my ass back here," She says with a giggle, needing to get drunk. "oh and you have to pay for it cuz I'm broke." She sighs as her stomach growls a bit, and she mutters a cuss word or two at her stomach for growling.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

As Tabaraamon explained his terms, Evelyn made a face as if she'd just caught a bad smell in the room, but she eventually complied. "Fine. Stay, go, whatever you like. A civilized conversation suits me just fine." Annoyed and exhausted, she threw an accusatory finger in Celaena's direction. "Don't you dare get any of my people drunk."

Asbel stood up straight(ish) and glanced at the rebel who'd been thrown across the room, though he made no indication that he meant to go to him. Apparently, he was done helping people for the day. He gave Evelyn a withering look. "Your turn."

With a sigh, she made her way over to the fallen Army man, her mind wandering as she checked for a pulse. "So!" Her voice was loud enough to echo through the huge room, obviously not meant just for Asbel. "We're stuck in here for now while Doctor takes care of his or her business outside, so let's all just have a good, long think about what side we're on, hm? Try to get along, maybe?"

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor rose from her seat in order to give the redhead and her new friend some privacy, realizing she needed some privacy herself. The gravity of the situation was sinking in little by little, threatening to crush her. This predicament was probably the most dangerous she'd ever encountered, but there was also a great deal of potential. Maybe these rebels were just the push her research needed: the perfect opportunity to show it off. She was sure these people would find it useful. Not now, though. She hardly knew them, after all, and this wasn't something to be entrusted to just anyone. Unless they could prove themselves to be something other than the reckless idiots she currently took them for, it was best to hold her tongue.

In an attempt to calm her nerves, she made her way back to Leif, once again folding her arms over the side of his cart. "Hello. It's me again. You never did tell me how you ended up in that cast, did you?"

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

"Well," Erick finally said, glancing up at Ryouki. "What are you thinking? Do you want to stay with them?" He had a feeling he already knew what Ryouki's answer would be, but guessing was rarely a good idea in situations like this. Besides, he would jump at anything that might distract him from how much he wanted to confront Celaena. Now wasn't the time.

Silas Reid - Sack of Potatoes - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Silas heard their voices first, pulling him back from the murky pit of his subconscious. His eyes fluttered open, taking in blurry shapes against the dim lighting of the room. He felt as if someone had cracked his head open and filled it weights.

Goddamn it, he fainted. Although Ringo's little beating might have played some part, he guessed it had more to do with the stress of his emotions and the onslaught of his affliction. It had to have happened sometime, but at least he didn't have to explain himself for now.

They were still arguing about what the rebels had done, which meant he hadn't been out for long. His memory seemed to be working fine, given a couple groggy seconds, and he didn't feel any blood. He should be getting up again after ten to twenty minutes. If he was determined enough, he could try for five.

He gave no blatant indication he was awake, choosing to stay down and quietly fester in his anger. Like Ms. Luciole suggested, he had to think carefully about what he was going to do next. When he got up, he couldn't falter.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Out side of the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

"Well, let's get this done with, maybe everyone has stopped pointing fire arms at each other by now." Dimitry said as he stood up. He would have Tabaraamon tell him what happened later, maybe get some new information about these people, but before that he had to let Tula and Enrico talk it out. He was not looking forward to that.

He unslung his rifle from his back and rested it comfortably on his shoulder. "I'll be there if you need me. Otherwise I'll stay out of it." Dimitry said and began slowly walking toward the door.

Leif Regnar - Least useful Bodyguard ever - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Leif rotated his eyes so he could watch the Grail woman. "No I haven't told you. And you haven't told me why you have an eye patch."

"I got this cast in that theater in Lynne, I was shot in the back with one of those scatter guns, then a ceiling support fell and dislocated my shoulder and broke a few ribs." He said slowly, once he was finished he watched her intently, waiting for her to tell how she lost her eye.

Celaena - Assassin

She rolls her eyes at Evelyn, "Fine, I wasn't planning on it anyways," she sighs, "I'm going to the attic if anyone needs me." She gets up and walks up the creaky stairs to the attic besides their conversation had nothing to do with her. She glances through a small window, ah tonight's her birthday she thought to herself as she sits on the floor and takes another sip of her whiskey, "Happy birthday mum, I hope you and dad are having fun in heaven" She mutters under breath then chuckles softly, "gosh I must sound stupid..." She curls up where she sat and pulls out the small drawing of her family, and her nose and cheeks turn red as she slowly starts to cry.....

Ryouki Sato

"I'm...I'm not sure if even they're going to stay together. Taiyo wants to go off on her own to find Mom, Usami wants absolutely nothing to do with me, and Tsukiko..." He eyed her daydreamy expression out of his peripheral vision. "She's just distracted." He tightened his ponytail and sighed. "I'm just lost and want to listen to what everyone has to say before I make a decision."

--

Tula Nikos

Tula rose and followed suit. As they entered, she immediately caught Enrico's attention. She put a finger to her lips before he could call her out, and beckoned him over to follow her to a private area of the room.

The Italian slung an arm around her waist and smirked, tugging at Tula's heartstrings. "Infine venire intorno?" ((Finally come around?))

Tula wriggled out of his touch and responded in his language. "Enrico, tutto quello che voglio fare è parlare con te su-" ((Enrico, all I want to do is talk-))

"Riguardo cosa? Abbiamo tutto il tempo che si vuole, sirena." ((About what? We have as much time as you want, mermaid.))

Tula glanced back at Dimitry briefly, trying to hide her guilty conscience, and then she turned back to Enrico. "Solo ... Ho bisogno di un aggiornamento. Ho bisogno di sapere che cosa sei stato fino a." ((Just...I need an update. I need to know what you've been up to. ))

Enrico blinked, startled slightly, and then pretended to use a concerned tone. "Ho avuto la sensazione che non sarebbe rimasto fedele a cazzo." ((I had a feeling you wouldn't stay loyal to that dickhead.))

Tula glared. "Io resto fedele a Dimitry, smesso illudendo voi stessi." ((I am staying loyal to Dimitry, quit deluding yourself.))

"Penso che tu sei quello delirante." Enrico quirked a brow and laughed softly. ((I think you're the delusional one.))

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

When her eyepatch was mentioned, Danor grinned and gave a small nod of her head, but she initially let the subject drop in favor of hearing Leif's own story. Once he had started explaining, each word that came out of his mouth seemed to push Danor's eyebrows up a little higher. "A ceiling support fell on you? That's..." She shook her head. "You have my sympathy."

Her gaze wandered, and she half-expected Leif to speak again or simply let the conversation fizzle out, but she soon noticed the man staring expectantly in her direction. Realizing he expected her to provide an explanation for her own injury, she laughed sheepishly, her eye wandering the near-empty expanse of the room. "I walked right into that, didn't I?" She waved a hand in front of her face. "Happens all the time, I'm afraid."

Letting a defeated sigh escape her chest, she recounted the events that led to her missing eye, hoping to sum them up as delicately as possible. "It happened at the end of the War, five years ago. Some Karasu managed to get below deck through a hole in the hull. They hid; no one knew they were there until we started moving to a safer area of the ship." She chuckled humorlessly. "And then everyone knew they were there." Danor finally looked to Leif again, trying to downplay her discomfort. "Fill in the blanks with whatever you like."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick stared down at the ground, nodding in agreement with Ryouki as he considered their best options. Somehow, he felt they had both too many and not enough. "Would it help if we had a talk with them? At the very least, I'm not sure it's best to let Usami stew like that; he doesn't look any less pissed off than when we left the inn to me." He paused, grateful for the clear air all over again as he took a deep breath in and out. When he spoke next, his words came more slowly. "Sorry. We have time. I guess we don't have to figure all this out right away, do we?"

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

When Tula and Dimitry reentered the room, Evelyn rose to her feet, her attention instantly leaving the unconscious rebel at her feet. "All better?" Going by Tula's expression and the fact that she made a beeline for Enrico once she was inside, probably not. Having realized this, she let the question fall aside. "In case you hadn't figured it out already, we're not going to Hydris. Though, thanks to Dimitry's traveling companion, you two are free to leave if you want to. I trust you to figure it out amongst yourselves, but I'm open to questions if you have any."

Evelyn noticed Celaena taking her leave with a few dismissive words in her direction, and her eyes followed the girl until she had moved out of sight. What a curious girl. Asbel's voice jarred her from her thoughts, and she quickly turned to meet his eyes. "Do you actually have a plan?"

"I always have a plan," she answered.

"Nothing the rest of us need to know, then, I'm assuming?"

Surprised by Asbel's barbed tone, there was a brief pause before Evelyn's reply came. "Not right this second." She would give everyone some time to adjust and pull themselves together; obviously, they needed it. After that, they had a revolution to discuss.

Part 5 - Chapter 2

Hiram Wood – Leader of Wood’s Men – Abandoned Building, Glassvale, Lynne

“And you would trust Griffin with this, sir?” Tarrin asked with concern. Griffin was a good kid, but he didn’t think that he was fit for the job. Tarrin knew Elizabeth wasn’t fond of him either. She was a good candidate for Officer. But then Griffin came along and Hiram had decided to give him the position. Tarrin continued, “You know how he is. Young and impulsive.”

Hiram, who sat at the other end of the long wooden table, interrupted. “Young and impulsive, yes. But he has a brilliant mind and has showed great leadership potential.” He could tell that Tarrin wasn’t convinced. Setting down the quill that he had been writing with, he looked at Tarrin. “So far, Griffin has kept order to his group and completed every mission so far successfully. And if what you have told me is true, about him getting through the border, I see no reason to doubt him when it comes to finding out who Doctor is. I see no reason to doubt him at all.”

Tarrin sighed and looked into the candle in the center of the table. There was no arguing with Hiram. Instead, he raised another question. “So when do you plan to make the move?” Hiram picked the quill back up and answered.

“As soon as possible.”

Hiram never gave a clear answer when it came to his plans. Tarrin sighed once again and stood from his chair slowly. “I’ll leave you to it then.” He tapped the table and left Hiram in the dimly lit room.

Before Tarrin closed the door, Hiram spoke. “Don’t start any trouble out there.” Tarrin smiled, grunted in agreement, and closed the door with a soft thud.

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Elizabeth stared at Griffin in surprise as he talked about the rebellion so passionately. For a quick moment her anger subsided as she listened to what he had to say. Was she getting soft on him? She quickly regained her composure before Griffin could see her. Finding a post to lean on, she watched as things began to calm down a bit.

After a man getting knocked out, a Shadowed One appearing so suddenly (which Griffin wasn’t happy about), and a soldier getting thrown across the room, Griffin thought it best to stay out of the situation. Evelyn had gotten herself into quite a mess. Granted, everyone else around her was just making it worse.

“You know, lying to rebels isn’t the best thing to do.” Griffin spoke in a hushed tone. He had waited until Evelyn was done talking to approach her. Giving her a sideways smile he waited for her to say something.

 Frederick Dermon - Part Time Nocturnal - Abandoned Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

People seemed to latch onto the group like barnacles to a whale. Except these barnacles had ample weapons and ego. Combined with some of the more volatile personalities among the hostages, it didn't surprise me that a few scuffles broke out before a begrudging silence descended on the group. It hadn't occurred to me that the rebels would fight among themselves, but it wasn't that much different from rival Swarms competing for the best hunting grounds. In addition to Wood's Men (Hiram had better show his forsaken face soon), there seemed to be two other major organizations. A lax female assassin that had been on the fringes seemed intent on getting drunk.

I lowered my makeshift scarf, the surrounding skin blistered. Asbel gave the okay for Mr. Reid, who had strayed from his usual apathetic snobbery into a frenzied rant, which earned him a beating. But something else was at work as well; the man's constitution appeared frail. A conversation between Leif and Danor drew my attention back to the immediate area, and I ducked under the cart's front handles, listening curiously to the Grail woman's story. I slowly tilted the cart so that Leif was at a relaxed, but upright angle.

It wasn't an entire surprise that their true destination was not Hydris. All the same, I felt a little deflated. How long would it take to track down the scientist that published the reports if a full-scale rebellion broke out? And if it did, which seemed likely, where would I stand? Obviously, the King and his regime had not done me any favors, but there were friends on each side. Resolutely, I recognized that the rebellion was my best option, hoping that the next ruling party would not be a complete idiot like the current King.

"Not right this second." It seemed we were sticking around. Great. I rummaged in my large coat pockets for the rolls I had snagged from the inn. A bit worse for wear, but edible. I waved Asbel over with one.

"Wood better have a fantastic explanation, huh?" I said, recalling his earlier conversation with the rebel known as Griffin.

## Page 8

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry didn't like the fact he couldn't understand what Tula and Enrico said, but there was nothing he could do about it. He walked away and leaned against a wall, glaring daggers at any rebel that met his eyes. Tabaraamon appeared next to him. "Evelyn brought us here intentionally. Don't know why exactly, seems like she wanted to join the rebels and wanted us to as well."

Dimitry flinched slightly. "Well then. I'll remember never to believe anything she says." He glanced at the rebel on the ground. "He dead?"

"Might be. Tossed him pretty hard, hard enough that he could have cracked his skull open." The shadow said with a shrug. "Oh, also, that one fellow, the one with the attitude worse than yours, one of the rebels put a bit of a beat down on him. That one." Tabaraamon said and pointed at Ringo. "If you want an excuse to get in a fight just insult the rebels when he's in earshot."

"Alright. Now, what do you want to do about this? We're sort of stuck with each other, so we should reach some sort of agreement." Dimitry said.

"If you still want to go for it you will need more help than me and the others can provide. I would rather that the other six don't become involved in this conflict, in more than their current role." The shadow hissed.

"I agree. I'll only call on them if it's my life in danger. We'll wait on Tula, though if I can find some people willing to put their wealth before their cause, it would be rather useful." Dimitry muttered. The ground shook slightly and there was a low rumble in the distance.

"That didn't sound normal." Dimitry whispered.

Jefferson - SVT13 - Snowview, Fairhaven.

Jefferson smiled as the clouds of dust and smoke mushroomed into the sky. Snowview was now anyone's city. The demolition charges had been placed equally on government and rebel holdings. He hadn't destroyed any major installations of either side, merely evened the playing field. This was a test, to put it simply, a test to see who needed to be beaten down and who needed assistance.

He touched the skull, snake, and dagger tattoo on his neck before raising his binoculars to his eyes. The train was close, only a few minutes left.

Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Leif nodded. "That is unfortunate. And the way of cowards, let you feel safe before striking from a hidden place. I trust they were given deaths worthy of their crimes."

That was one of the things he learned about the Grail, they were a vindictive lot, especially against the wastes. "The worst part for me now is the itches. Healing wounds itch any way, but I can touch them, and even if I had full arm movement and a nice long stick I couldn't scratch them." Leif said with a chuckle.

Ryouki Sato

"We should have a talk. You and I, with all of them." Ryouki affirmed. "I think that's the only way we can move somewhere in this dilemma." He nodded over to Tula. "She's doing it."

--

Tula Nikos

After a moment or so of hushed argueing and back-and-forth, Tula found herself laughing at Enrico's jokes again, and even cracking a few herself with him. The two sighed in tandem.

"Pensi davvero che non mi hai mancato?" Enrico asked. ((You really think you didn't miss me?))

Tula shrugged. "Un po." Enrico looked hurt, and she placed a hand over his forearm for a comforting moment and fell back.  "La vita di un soldato è molto occupato. In realtà, dal momento che, sono stato veramente solo con Dimitry." ((A little. A soldier's life is very busy. In fact, since you, I've really only been with Dimitry.))

"Feh, Ventuno Fucili ... dove lo prendi comunque?" Enrico scowled. ((Twenty-one Guns...where'd you pick him up?))

"Non abbiamo molto tempo, Enrico." Tula raised a brow, folding her hands over her chest. ((We don't have that much time Enrico.))

Enrico's tone became level and serious, and then he grinned, glossing her over. "Mi sei mancato, a caro prezzo. Ho perso il tuo spirito, il tuo egoismo ... e, Dio, il corpo ancora rocce mio mondo." ((I've missed you, dearly. I've missed your spirit, your selfishness...and, God, your body still rocks my world.))

Tula blushed, and her gaze shifted to the floor. "Non si può dire quelle cose a me più ..." ((You can't say those things to me anymore...))

Enrico leaned against the wall beside them and sighed. "Mi dispiace." The Italian sighed. ((I'm sorry.)) He fingered at the collar of his shirt absentmindedly. "Quindi ... credo che di questo mezzo abbiamo finito, eh?" ((So...I guess this mean's we're done, eh?))

"È corretto." ((That's correct.))

"Buon lavoro mantenendo la tua parola." Enrico bitterly replied, and then continued, grabbing Tula's hand and placing it over his chest. She resisted slightly, but at the feeling of an unfamiliar scar over his pectoral beneath the thin shirt, she was instantly curious and a bit emotionally touched, especially as his voice lowered in volume and raised slightly in pitch. "Basta ricordare che io sono qui se che cazzo decide di abbandonare voi. Sai come sono gli uomini." ((Good job keeping your word. Just remember that I'm here if that fucker decides to abandon you. You know how men are.)) He released her hand and walked steadily back to his position with the Voce kids, leaving Tula alone to wonder what the scar must of been, and why she hadn't felt the bandages she remembered from years ago underneath Enrico's thin shirt.

 Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Ryouki's suggestion brought a small smile to Erick's face. "I think so too. We should get all this out into the open." Following Ryouki's line of sight, he saw Tula and Enrico talking things out and couldn't help but worry for them a little. One thing he could say about this revolution business was that it suddenly made the world feel very small; it seemed everyone's past was coming back to them. Though, Erick had always assumed there was nothing left of his past that might come back.

Once Erick had managed to bring his attention back to the present, he looked to Usami and the twins. "Alright, let's do this." Still smiling, he gave Ryouki's arm a light nudge and made his way over to the three siblings. "Mind if we have a quick chat with you three?"

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel watched Griffin approach Evelyn, but his following words were just barely too quiet to hear. Damn. If Evelyn had known about Hiram all this time... No, that wasn't it. She had no reason not to tell him. And if Asbel had been in any state to comprehend the news last night or the morning after, Evelyn might even have told him the details of the Snowview attack. Before Asbel could feel any sorrier for himself, if that was even possible, Boraci waved him over with what looked like a crumpled ball of lint and bread, and Asbel shuffled over to his position.

He came to a stop next to the cart, stealing a look at Danor and Leif until Boraci's question drew Asbel's eyes directly to him. "Yes. He's always had a penchant for drama, but this is beyond impressive." Asbel's forehead creased slightly as he considered what this news might do to their old friends, Dimitry in particular. How would they react? "Do you think we should tell the others?"

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor took a small step back as the cart tilted forward, her arms lifting from its edge. With that, she decided to set her luggage down, gently lowering the bags to the floor with a somewhat melodramatic look of shock on her face. "That sounds like a nightmare." When Mr. Sutherlin approached, Danor avoided eye contact with him, ignoring the curiosity sparked by his conversation with Frederick. "In that case, though, the best thing to do is distract yourself. Luckily for you, your traveling companions are very entertaining."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn smirked at Griffin's remark, returning it with a shrug. "It's about as dangerous as my day job. Besides, if this works out the way I think it will, they may even forgive me - or at least understand why my actions were necessary." She sighed, her eyes wandering the room. Everyone looked so tense, but at least they were talking instead of waving their weapons around. "So, when did you figure it out? You didn't look very surprised when I admitted I was a double agent."

Usami Sato

Having been lost in his own thoughts, Erick rudely interrupted Usami's self-loathing. He glanced up at the man and raised a brow. "Sure." He muttered curtly.

Taiyo glared at him briefly and then smiled at Erick. "Of course! We have much to discuss."

Ryouki nodded. "Precisely." He turned to Usami with a stern expression. "I want you and Erick to get past your differences."

"How can I?" Usami growled. Not this again.

Ryouki exhaled. "By knowing that if I can trust him with just about everything, you can as well. I can't make any promises for certain that he won't arrest you, but-"

Taiyo begged. "Pleeeeeease don't! We haven't done anything serious yet, I promise!"

Ryouki turned the attention back to Usami. "But Usami has."

Usami felt his body tense all over and he crossed his arms over his body, never wanting more to have the ground swallow him up into a bottomless hole. Ryouki continued. "You and several others of whatever squadron you were a part of assaulted and kidnapped and maybe killed almost hundreds of civillians."

Usami's eyes flitted to the ground and up at Ryouki's gaze. "I didn't kill anyone."

Taiyo held up a hand to calm the tension between the brothers. "You two are getting off track...just a little..."

 Usami Sato

Having been lost in his own thoughts, Erick rudely interrupted Usami's self-loathing. He glanced up at the man and raised a brow. "Sure." He muttered curtly.

Taiyo glared at him briefly and then smiled at Erick. "Of course! We have much to discuss."

Ryouki nodded. "Precisely." He turned to Usami with a stern expression. "I want you and Erick to get past your differences."

"How can I?" Usami growled. Not this again.

Ryouki exhaled. "By knowing that if I can trust him with just about everything, you can as well. I can't make any promises for certain that he won't arrest you, but-"

Taiyo begged. "Pleeeeeease don't! We haven't done anything serious yet, I promise!"

Ryouki turned the attention back to Usami. "But Usami has."

Usami felt his body tense all over and he crossed his arms over his body, never wanting more to have the ground swallow him up into a bottomless hole. Ryouki continued. "You and several others of whatever squadron you were a part of assaulted and kidnapped and maybe killed almost hundreds of civillians."

Usami's eyes flitted to the ground and up at Ryouki's gaze. "I didn't kill anyone."

Taiyo held up a hand to calm the tension between the brothers. "You two are getting off track...just a little..."

 Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

"Yes, indeed they are. A great deal of talk and little action, but it is the way of things I guess." Leif said.

"The demon, is it still here?" He asked, referring to the tall black figure he had briefly seen at the inn. "I'm not the only one that saw it right?" His tone suggested a joke, but he was worried that he was hallucinating monsters from bed time stories.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

"Go check outside, see what that was." Dimitry told Tabaraamon who vanished, then reappeared only a few moments later.

"Looks like someone is trying to blow up the city. The smoke was pretty far off, other side of town." The shadow said.

"Well, it's not as if we can do anything about that now. Probably the rebels. They are too stupid to understand blowing the city up isn't going to help." Dimitry said. Several of the rebels glared at him, but seeing the figure next to him backed down.

"You're not helping. What with insulting them at every turn." Tabaraamon muttered.

"Their heads are too inflated, someone's got to tell them they are all a bunch of fools playing with weapons." Dimitry snapped.

"Runes to my memory." The shadow said.

"What?" Dimitry said suddenly.

"Its an old saying. It was an old saying when I was a young man. It's about mortality." Tabaraamon whispered.

"Funny coming from you." Dimitry said, though he had no indication of mirth.

"Lay me down in a mound, lift a stone, for all to see, with runes to my memory, let me not be forgotten." Tabaraamon said absent-mindedly. "Those are the words. At least the ones I remember."

"You know, Enrico has gotten me thinking, what do I do when my past comes back to haunt me? For all I know some of them are still alive. It's not impossible. And this rebellion is going to attract them like sand worms to a battlefield." His voice worried.

"I don't have to worry about those sorts of things, one of the benefits of living this long. You don't have many people left who remember you." Tabaraamon said as he appeared to lean against the wall.

"How long have you followed me? And don't tell me you just happened to run into me." Dimitry asked.

"From the beginning. Even before that. I've followed my descendents since I died. It keeps me grounded." The shadow said, with what sounded like sadness.

Dimitry nodded and glanced toward Tula. It looked like their conversation was finished, but Dimitry didn't approach, he would let her decide what she wanted.

Sir Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Snowview, Fairhaven

Well, so much for sailing off into the sunrise and saving the world. Unfortunately, they were trapped in Fairhaven for the moment and, unlike some, Alice wasn't willing to kill anyone who had the audacity to inconvenience her. Besides, she knew they couldn't ignore the state of Falcon's Reach, especially if Evelyn posed a danger to her knights - or worse, civilians. Alice had wanted to believe that Evelyn was a better person than her occupation suggested - smarter, more principled - and now Alice felt foolish for seeing her as any different from the rest of those power-hungry thugs. She couldn't stop thinking about the young guard they had seen at the border, nursing a broken nose and scared out of his wits; he had been the only one left. When Alice did track that woman down, she had plenty of questions for her.

A towering wall of pale smoke stood in Alice's path, and she stopped to gaze into it. Judging from the way her eyes and throat were beginning to sting, it was an irritant. Alice was more familiar with Doctor than most, even coming close to a confrontation once, and she had no doubt this was their doing. After mere moments of standing still, the ground beneath her shuddered, and she heard an explosion from somewhere fairly close. She didn't know whether it had been caused by rebels or the King's men, but whatever the case, Snowview was now a battlefield.

"A dangerous band of rogues, a maniacal vigilante, and enough toxic gas to suffocate an entire town. This day gets more and more interesting by the second." Casting a weary smile at Lucas, she drew her sword: a plain but high quality blade she had borrowed from her father's collection after handing her usual weapon and armor over to the knights. Where she was going - eventually - she had the feeling they needed the protection a little more than she did. "Shall we?"

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick rested a hand on the back of his neck, his eyes following each speaker back and forth until Taiyo tried to redirect the conversation, prompting Erick to chime in. "Agreed. Besides, Usami, I'm not a normal guardsman. My job isn't to keep the kingdom safe; it's to keep the King safe. Leave him be and I'll gladly keep the law out of this - though, that doesn't account for my personal opinions." The explosions distracted Erick briefly, and he soon overheard Dimitry and Tabaraamon's explanation for it. He had expected things outside to calm down for a while, but it seemed they were only getting more serious. For now, though, it was out of his hands.

With one hand, Erick loosely clasped his other wrist behind his back, rocking slightly on his heels. "So, now all that's left is personal crap! That's always fun. Just so we're clear, was my profession the only issue here, Usami?"

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

An explosion sounded off like a clap of thunder some distance away, and Danor gave a visible start. She wasn't sure if she would be safer at home or with this bunch of oddballs. After the initial shock had passed, she breathed a small sigh and recalled Leif's words, which she found amusing. "Yes, it - he - is still here. Or..." She watched as the shadow man disappeared, then returned to his previous position moments later. "Here and there. I never imagined I would ever see someone like that."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn made her way closer to the table and over to Kristen's side, analyzing the girl's expression as she answered Griffin's question with a halfhearted attempt at sarcasm. "Oh, heavens, no. I just brought you all here to amuse myself." She gave the girl's shoulder a light pat, knowing she was probably still feeling miserable, before finally meeting Griffin's eyes again. "Yes, I have a plan. I hadn't meant to involve Wood's Men, since you're a bit of a mysterious bunch, but you seem quite reasonable. Though, if you really are interested, I'd like to have a word with your leader."

Lucas Oswald - Normal chap w/ a powerful wife - Snowview, Fairhaven

The wall of gas blocked their path into Snowview. Lucas coughed and peered into it, trying to make out anything. He strained his ears for sounds, but could only make out distant noises. Without warning there was a loud explosion and the ground shook beneath them. He shot Alice a worried expression. Lucas had not expected Snowview to be in such a bad state. Things were really starting to escalate.

Lucas slung his steel bow from his back and notched an arrow into it. Alice drew her sword from her hip. She wasn't dressed in her usual armor, giving her less protection. But Lucas didn't need to worry about her, he had seen her fight before. He wouldn't want to go against her in combat.

"Shall we?" She asked, shooting him a sideways glance.

"After you Miss Alice." He pushed his blonde hair out of his eyes. It was definitely going to need a cut soon. But all that has been happening, he hadn't had the chance. Not only was his hair overgrown, but his scruff on his face was beginning to turn into a beard.

Griffin Parrish - Rebel Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

A smile crept across Griffin's face when Evelyn called Wood's Men a mysterious bunch. He couldn't disagree with her. In fact, he couldn't agree with her more. They were just a band of odd balls that Hiram had picked up to start a Rebel cause. He glanced back at Elizabeth, Garth, and Rocky. Rocky was sleeping and Garth was leaning on a very annoyed looking Elizabeth.

"Though, if you really are interested, I'd like to have a word with your leader." Evelyn said. Griffin crossed his arms and leaned back comfortably in his chair. Speaking of mysterious, Hiram was the definition of mysterious. Truth be told, Griffin didn't know that much about him. All he knew is that Hiram was one of the most brilliant minds Falcon's Reach had ever seen. The inventions he would come up with still baffled Griffin.

There was a distant explosion and Griffin instinctively reached for his rifle. He heard Rocky jump awake. Elizabeth managed to knock Garth off of her, sending him sprawling to the floor. After realizing there was no immediate threat, Griffin turned his attention back to Evelyn.

"With everything that's happened today, I'm sure we'll be meeting him very soon."

Taiyo Sato

Usami folded his arms over his chest. "Forgive me if I feel I can't trust you won't sway away Ryouki again after what the last guy did."

"The last guy," Ryouki answered. "may I remind you was a literal bloodsucking monster, who has now surprisingly shaped up and is a much better person. Erick, is nothing of the sort. Now can you please just try and get over yourself and stop acting like a jealous little boy?"

Usami exhaled. "Alright, fine. I'll try and...open up? Yeah...open up."

Taiyo beamed and embraced her shorter brother. "Yay!" Usami protested silently, trying to wriggle out of Taiyo's hold around him as he shot back at Erick. "But that doesn't mean we're best friends already, alright? And Ryouki needs to decide if he's joining us in taking down the boss man or staying out of it and on your side."

Taiyo could sense Ryouki's unease as Ryouki responded. "That's something I really just need to..." The man sighed, fingering over his metal wrist. "Forget it..."

--

Tula Nikos

She stepped away from her spot and searched for Dimitry, finding him briefly speaking with Tabaraamon. Her shaken appearance melted into a casual smile as she approached, clasping his hand immediately. "Good talk." She affirmed. "Everything's pretty settled over..."

## Page 9

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry smiled at Tula when she approached and then asked, "Over... What?" He had no clue what they had said to each other, and that made him slightly nervous.

Tabaraamon backed away and started pacing around the room, several times walking through rebels that didn't move in time. Dimitry smirked at the display, sometimes the shadow just liked to show off, or assert his dominance. So did he, but normally not in such a heavy handed manner.

Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Leif looked at the Grail woman. "Do you know what it is? Is it something native to this land?" In reference to the demon.

Suddenly he realized how rude he was being. "My apologies, I don't think I have fully introduced myself. My name is Leif Regnar, son of Lodi Raven-Arm and Freyl Sheer." He could have gone on, but this was not a formal event and he did not need to list his genealogy back five generations. It was one of the reasons he hated formal events. Especially since he couldn't pronounce his great - great grandfather's name and was somewhat embarrassed.

Kristen Mernoth - Noble - If you guessed the old mill you'd be right!

Kristen jerked awake when Evelyn patted her shoulder, she was normally much more difficult to wake, and that was worrying. Her head hurt, a dull throbbing pain near the base of her skull, which she knew came from stress.

She did her best to listen in on the conversation between Evelyn and the rebel man, she knew she had heard the name "Wood" before, but she didn't know where or in connection to what.

At least no one seemed to know who she was, and she aimed to keep it that way. Leif wouldn't talk, and all of her possessions had been taken or destroyed, so as long as no one recognized her she should be alright.

She could pretend her parents were merchants that cheated nobles out of their wealth, the rebels might like that. But she had to be vague, make some sort of story that her parents didn't let her in on the business, she couldn't contradict herself, if she did she had little chance.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

When Griffin's companions reacted to the explosion, Evelyn's eyes fell on the front entrance of the mill, lingering there as she strained her hearing for clues to what exactly might be going on outside. When she patted Kristen on the shoulder, however, the girl gave a small jump in her seat, surprising Evelyn in turn. "Ah. Sorry about that." Griffin's words registered soon after and Evelyn frowned at him, unsatisfied with the vague answer. "Well, I hope he doesn't have too much trouble tracking us down. Even in a place like Snowview, it's easy to get lost with all that damn fog around."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick's smile dulled as Ryouki's uneasy tone reached his ears, and he looked up to him briefly in an attempt to read his expression. "Usami, we're not going anywhere for a while. Don't push it. And if he does decide to help you, whatever that entails, I'm willing to lend a hand too, so it's not like you three have to compete against me." He paused, the slightest trace of amusement lighting up his eyes. "And even if we're not best friends yet, at least we're not enemies, right?"

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor pondered the man's question, but her thoughts were interrupted by Leif remembering to properly introduce himself, which caught her somewhat off guard. She guessed all this excitement had knocked "manners" down a few lines on her list of priorities. "You don't have to apologize. Proper introductions probably aren't the first thing on anyone's mind right now. It's a pleasure to meet you, Leif. My name is Danor Arkaitz. I'd remember that name if I were you," she said through a cheery grin, only half-joking. "After all this is over, you'll be hearing it often."

She crossed her arms, returning her attention to the shadow man, who was now pacing the room. She lowered her voice in volume, hoping to avoid catching his attention. "As for Tall, Dark, and Terrifying over there, I can guarantee that he is not from around here. He's from Grail-El - Grail-El as it was a very, very long time ago. As legend has it, those of his kind are a combination of the human they used to be and a particularly unpleasant Waste spirit, but legends tend to focus more on fancy imagery than actual details. Perhaps you should ask him."

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice's nonchalant attitude began to dissolve with every second she stood at the edge of that fog, like the mist was eating away at it. This situation was serious and very, very delicate. The two of them would have to constantly keep their guards up and their eyes open if they wanted any chance at a peaceful resolution to this mess.

Taking a deep breath in and holding it, hoping to spare her lungs for as long as possible, she gave Lucas an affirmative nod and started forward. Visibility was better than she had expected, though her eyes were already blurring with tears. They couldn't afford to get caught in this stuff for too long - or get separated. Getting lost wasn't an option. Only knowing the direction Evelyn had taken through the town, they would have to make a few educated guesses, but Alice was determined to get to the bottom of all this. Somehow, they would manage.

 Illyushin Mosin - Polkovnik (Colonel) of the 13th CGD - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Mosin was ticked at Evelyn's betrayal. He could not believe he was a fool enough to fall into her plans and he could not believe that Falcon's Reach had allowed her to operate right under their noses. He would have never allowed it from his own subordinates. After he'd cooled, he understood that she did in fact have her reasons. He could never betray Her Majesty but he could imagine going through great lengths to ensure Rojya's future.

As Mosin considered her invitation, he overheard Danor and Leif and decided to join them. "Are you two talking about the Shadowed One?" Mosin removed his Shashka and placed it on the cart for added comfort. "I heard they are turned too, like the Kyuketsuki. I never had the privilege of seeing one before, even during my time patrolling the Iron Curtain. Shocking up close, yes?" He tipped his cap. "In case I have not introduced myself to either of you, my name is Mosin, Colonel of the 13th Czarina's Guard Division, and this is Shashka." He patted his sword. "It is difficult to keep up with all these faces."

Celaena - Assassin

After a while, Celaena gets up and looks in a broken mirror fragment and groans, seeing her eyes are all puffy from crying. She pulls her cloak back on and pull the hood down as far as she could, without ripping the hood off. She hated that she cried, but she cant help it, she's only human after all. She goes down the stairs, staying in the shadows and slips out the front door to the pump at the side of the mill, she looks around a few times before dropping off her hood, to wash her face.

Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Leif nodded solemnly to Danor and her suggestion to remember her name. It might have been simple boasting, or maybe she had something up her sleeve.

"There are some stories, old stories about them in my country as well, though it is quite likely they crossed the sea and the bards, liking a good tale spun it to suit my land."

When the Rojyan soldier approached Leif swiveled his eyes and did his best to nod. He wasn't at all effected by the fact the man had named his sword, back home some men named weapons, violent names of course, like head trimmer or wound smith. Maybe the swords name meant something in Rojyan, Leif had little idea.

"Faces as numerous as waves in a storm, all different, all easily forgotten." Leif said as agreement to the soldier's statement. "It is strange that such a beast would be here, so far from the wastes." He continued. Spirits were never good omens, at least he had never seen evidence to suggest otherwise.

"So, what brings you both to this strange land? Wealth? Glory? Adventure?" Leif asked Danor and Mosin.

Matthew "Black Bart" Barton - Outlaw - Fairhaven.

Matthew rubbed his forehead, the hours of riding had given him a splitting head ache, and the sun was not helping. At least he hadn't seen any patrols, military or otherwise. He had no identification papers, and if it came to a fight he had two shots of his gun before he was forced to use his hatchet, and while he had some skill with it there wouldn't be much he could do if out numbered.

He followed the rail road, since the normal roads were in a poor state of disrepair. He could see the city in the distance, and what looked like pillars of smoke ascending from it. That made him nervous, but it would make sense that the troop train he saw earlier would be heading for a city were an active battle was taking place.

-Tula Nikos-

Tula smiled softly. "Our differences. He should back off significantly now...I-I hope, and that is if we decide to help these people fight." The Grecian woman sighed, her fake smile fading. "It's exhausting, really, all this. Everyone's trying to reach some kind of closure with themselves, and their world. That's what all this chaos is for I guess, everywhere. No one is happy, and it's so tragic."

--

-Usami Sato-

"You're willing to go behind your boss's back for Ryouki's sake?" Usami questioned, softening slightly and appearing more vulnerable.
Taiyo brought a slight quirk of a smile to Usami's face. "He loves him a whole awful lot, Usa."
"Heh, I can see it now, I guess." Usami ruffled the back of his hair in slight embarrassment.
Ryouki beamed in approval. "There's the Usami I remember, the one who was friendly and seemed to have limitless second chances."
Usami shrugged. "When the world hardens you, I guess second chances run slim..."

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Mosin entered the conversation and offered his take on the Shadowed One, piquing Danor's interest, and she fell silent in order to let him speak uninterrupted. Admitting his difficulty in keeping up with everyone, Mosin's comment caused Danor to breathe a sigh of relief. Memory was normally one of her strong suits, but with all these distractions... "Good to meet you, Mosin." Leif's following question dredged up Danor's worries all over again for a split second, uncertainty creeping into her expression before she easily swept it aside. "A little of everything. Grail-El is nothing if not full of potential, but the goals I've chosen to pursue are frowned upon there," she answered. "I came here for the opportunity to see them through."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Usami's apparent change of heart made Erick's feel a million times lighter, and he was beginning to see a possible end to their feud before it even began. "They do," he agreed. "Sometimes you have to save them. Personally, I only give mine out on special occasions." As if the words had summoned her, Celaena walked past him then, pricking at Erick's peripheral vision as she made her way past him and out the mill's front entrance. Erick's eyes lowered for the briefest time, and he once again resolved to confront her at some point- if he could work up the nerve. At that moment, though, he was happy - to know Usami a little better, maybe even to ease Ryouki's worries a little. Things had gone better than he ever would have expected.

Celaena - Assassin

She washes her face, splashing the cold water on her face. She looks up at the sky and lets the water drip down her face, I wonder...what would they say if they saw me... They probably would hate me. Another tear falls down her face and with frustration she splashes more water on  her face. "Stop thinking about them, Celaena... Their gone" She mutters under breath, "They didn't come back," she lets out a sigh then splashes more water on her face.

Frederick Dermon - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

I kept one ear on the cart conversation, and both eyes on Asbel. When the ground shook, I barely took notice. Perhaps the world would soon be a mixture of crashes and no solid ground. I contemplated Asbel's proposal while chewing the dry roll. It started to pill up, causing little white grains to stick to my tongue. Ugh. The copious amounts of fluid attempting to dislodge said white grains reminded me of Kristen, who seemed to be conscious, but still in residual pain. Perhaps I had overdosed her. There wasn't much to do about that; they had been in the heat of a conflict, after all. Her bodyguard seemed to be making friends, which would be useful to her later on.

"Tell them? Maybe. It might be exciting to see Dimitry's reaction, at least." A few more thoughtful chews. "How did he survive? I can imagine that Lucas would be a bit disappointed in his swordsmanship." I smiled wryly at the mention of Alice's beau. I briefly wondered how they were fairing. Living in the lap of luxury? "Should we deliver the news together?" I asked, finishing the vaguely bread-like substance and wiping my mouth on the sleeve of my overcoat.

## Page 10

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry nodded. "I hope he does too, and not just for your sake or mine. So what do you want to do? Stand with these rebels, and fight for their ideals? Or should we leave? Or join a faction that could pay us for risking our lives."

That was the thing, he would sell his skill to anyone if the price was right. The fact he hated this faction just meant they would need to shell out a larger amount for his service.

"It is exhausting, and I learned that the best way to find closure is to leave no one in your past with strong emotion toward you. You stay with those who care for you, you kill those who hate you. I don't know if it makes me happy though." He said, a small twinge of sadness in his voice.

Tula Nikos

"Hm, part of me wants to just leave...but I can't help but feel like they need some serious backup that only people like us can give them." Tula sighed. "Or I just...maybe I'm not as ready to settle down as I feel like. People like me, like Enrico, like all the Grecian gangs...we're wannabe demigods, always on a quest for something." She sighed, turning to look Dimitry in the eyes. "Let's just roll with the punches, I say."

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

The silence that slowly spread through the old mill was comforting to Griffin. Although there were several conversations happening at once, it was a peaceful air that one would find after a storm. He was quite glad that things had calmed down and threats weren’t being exchanged. Maybe he could let his mind rest. Unfortunately, Griffin didn’t think that that was possible. He had a feeling that this was indeed the calm before the storm, not the one after.

Griffin took a deep breath and spoke again, breaking the silence between Evelyn and him. “Hiram will most likely bring his goggles too,” he gestured to where his glowing green goggles sat only minutes before. The heat censor would pick up all of the bodies in the old mill. “As for the fog, trust Hiram to come up with a giant air blower to blow all of it away. Or something similar.” He had tone of amusement in his voice.

Lucas Oswald – Not a happy camper – Snowview, Fairhaven

Eyes stinging slightly, and throat feeling scratchy, Lucas followed Alice into the fog. It wasn’t as thick as he expected it to be, and he was sure it was beginning to settle. All the same, Lucas wasn’t enjoying it one bit.

He kept close to Alice and readied his bow in case of any surprises. “Which way would you say the fog came from?” He asked, more to himself than anyone else. “If we know where it started, it will be easier to choose a direction to go. Everyone would have went the opposite direction of the fog. Most likely, people fled to the outskirts of town.”

Hiram Wood – Leader of Wood’s Men – Road to Snowview, Fairhaven

Hiram looked out of his carriage window at the glowing sunset. The cart hit a few bumps and sent him sprawling to his side. “Oy, could you be a worse driver Eldon?” There was an exasperated “I’m sorry sir,” followed by the cart hitting a few more ragged parts of the path.

Tarrin sighed. “He has never had experience driving a horse cart before. To be honest, I don’t think the horses fancied him. We would have been better off with Garth driving us to Snowview.” He chuckled to himself. Hiram’s lips curled into a thin smile. But he could think of nothing else than what was to come. No doubt now that Snowview had been taken, many rebel groups had set up camp there. He was glad that Griffin and his team were inside the walls when it happened.

They continued down the path towards the border wall. It seemed that the rebel cause was moving faster than expected. Hiram looked out of his carriage window at the glowing sunset once more, deep in thought.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry nodded. "Works for me I guess. Better then uncertainty at least."

He surveyed the room before turning back to Tula and saying. "I need to go ask Evelyn something."

He approached the secret police officer and growled. "My friend told me to what happened. I'm impressed, either you are very brave, or one of the most idiotic people I have met. Either way, it's impressive. Now, I may have less self control then Tabaraamon, but I do have better business sense. Ten gold Denar a day, or one eighth of an ounce a day. It's a reasonable price, and I am unlikely to remain unemployed for a very long time."

It was a threat, not an obvious one, but a threat none the less. He could get hired by the secret police, or a rebel group hostile to her.

Jefferson - SVT13 - Outside of Snowview, Fairhaven.

Jefferson saw the train nearing and breathed a long sigh. He normally didn't care when he killed someone, but this, this was familiar, it was the second time he had done killed this many people at once, and he doubted he would feel any different.

The explosion was remarkably quite, but the explosives were remarkable in their construction, the shell was made out of spent sand ship fuel, one of the toughest materials that could be worked with. All the force of the blast was forced into the bridge supports, which failed spectacularly, disintegrating, sending the train into the abyss. He had set up several conventional charges so the train would be utterly destroyed, but they weren't needed.

The train crumbled up on its self, the boiler rupturing and sending steam into the cabins. Ammunition storage exploded, igniting every flammable surface with in three hundred feet. Jefferson hit the gas of his motorcycle and left the scene, the pillar of smoke behind him.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Fairhaven.

Matthew stopped the horse in its tracks, he hadn't seen heard or felt any explosion, despite being only a few miles away from the bridge, all he saw was smoke clawing its way toward the sky.

He took a long drink and began riding again, maybe no one would notice him enter the city. "Smoke from no where, maybe the wastes weren't all that dead." He whispered.

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

At Boraci's mention of Dimitry and what the man's reaction might be to hearing that Hiram was alive, Asbel tensed enough to worsen his already slouching posture. Interesting, indeed. Slightly less upsetting was the question of how Lucas' aim could have been so terrible. It had been a fast-moving, life-or-death struggle, but how could the boy have survived long enough to reach medical treatment? One thing was for certain: Hiram had one hell of a story to tell.

Asbel had assumed that Boraci was being sarcastic when he expressed an interest in seeing Dimitry's reaction, but the question that followed suggested otherwise. Asbel had been serious too, of course, but he had almost been hoping for Boraci to talk him out of it. "Well..." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Upon noticing that Danor was staring at him, sensing his unease, he discreetly turned a few degrees away from her before he spoke. "I don't like keeping secrets, so I'm willing to do this if you are. Just..." He glanced at an empty space to his left, struggling not to look at everyone in the room who would be shocked by their discovery. "Let's be cautious. The room may be peaceful now, but this is exactly the sort of thing that could get everyone riled up again. I'm not overly fond of being shot at."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Now that everything in the mill had more or less settled down,the collective pulse of the room finally slowing, every concern Erick had been saving for later moved to the forefront of his mind. There was the loss of Ryouki's parents, the knowledge that they wouldn't be seeing home again for a while, and the dread that came with knowing that he might be forced to fight Alice - and then there was the business of tracking down the friend it seemed he had only just finished mourning.

Ryouki had enough on his plate already, not to mention a tough decision to make, so Erick decided to piece those particular puzzles together on his own if he could, one at a time. He looked to Ryouki, uncharacteristically serious but not quite scared enough to keep him from smiling. "There's something I need to take care of. I'll be right outside if you need me." As he turned to make his exit, he caught Evelyn looking his way and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not quitting on you - yet."

With no small amount of hesitation, Erick stepped outside the mill, and it didn't take him long to find Celaena. He waited until she was through washing her face, eyeing their foggy surroundings. "It's dangerous out here," he warned, though it appeared the gunshots were through for the time being. Deciding it was safe enough to ignore the less-than-ideal location in favor of getting to the point, he gave a small shake of his head, surprising himself with his own stern tone of voice. "Celaena, do you recognize me?"

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at Griffin, her face betraying the faintest hint of amusement. "Why didn't I think of that?" Dimitry's approach wiped the smirk from her face, though she didn't get the impression he had come to argue. She stayed quiet for a short time after the man had said what he wanted to, almost as if his voice had reached her at a slight delay. "I've impressed a hero of the Second War of the Wastes? Idiotic or not, I must be doing something right." She crossed her arms and gave Dimitry an affirmative nod. "Fine. I'll agree to that. Will Miss Nikos be joining us as well?"

They still had a little while longer before serious preparations would have to be made, but that time was on its way. For now, she was counting on the King's enemies to swoop down on Fairhaven in packs, and once they had stirred things up enough to attract everyone's attention, Evelyn could send her people to do just about anything. They might even be able to tackle Hydris when the time came.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice, in agreement with Lucas' notion, tried to get her bearings within the slowly thinning fog. Someone with the presence of mind to escape the cloud quickly would have gone... "This way," she said, raising a finger to point northwest. Just when she had begun to feel sure of herself, like they might be making progress, a disturbing outline came into view, lying motionless in the path ahead. Despite the urge to rush forward, Alice forced herself to remain cautious in case she was being baited.

As she soon realized, the lifeless figure lying in the road was a knight - Carine - with a bullet wound in her chest. Already shaking with anger, Alice opened her mouth to speak when a flurry of movement in her peripheral vision stopped her, putting her on guard. She couldn't see anyone around, but she definitely hadn't imagined that shadow. Was this a trap after all? "Lucas, there's someone here." Alice shot a questioning look at him, trying to read his intentions. As tempted as she was to give chase, she knew that doing so might bring them right where Doctor wanted them to be; would it be more dangerous to pursue Doctor or to leave the monster to its own devices?

Lucas Oswald – Back in action – Snowview, Fairhaven

Lucas stared down at the motionless knight and could physically sense Alice’s anger. He tightened his grip around his arrow and pulled the string tightly back. This was most definitely a trap.

“Lucas, there’s someone here.” Alice quickly snapped into guard mode, ready to attack. Lucas urged her to stay calm.

“It could be a trap,’ he said softly. He peered through the thinning fog and tried to make out any shape. Although he wasn’t seeing anything, he could hear distant movement. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be wise to follow it. “We have to move on. But keep your guard up. We are officially in rebel territory.”

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

“Griffin.” Elizabeth’s voice spoke quietly behind him. He turned around to face her.

“Still upset with me?” He asked. She shook her head. Griffin raised his eyebrow. For once, Elizabeth wasn’t upset with him? There was something fishy afoot. Was she distracting him so Garth, who she probably scared into helping her, could come behind him and dump a bucket of who knows what on his head? He promptly peered over his shoulder and made sure Garth was still in his position at the back of the room. “What is it then?” he continued.

Elizabeth shot several looks at everyone in the room, especially Evelyn. She didn’t know if she could trust that woman anymore. Not that she trusted her before. She lowered her voice even more. “What are we doing here with these people? They can’t get along with each other for a single second. There will probably be more fighting once everyone starts talking to each other again. I really think we should head back to base.”

There was a tone about her voice that had changed. Usually she was trying to boss him around or go behind his back and not follow orders. But something changed in the way she spoke to him. Was he growing on her? Griffin let a small smirk cross his lips. He finally cracked the old goose.

“What are you smiling about?”

Griffin ignored her question and cleared his throat. “We are here to make friends. The more rebel friends we have, the better. Plus, everything that has happened today, there’s no doubt that Hiram is on his way here right now.” Elizabeth didn’t argue any longer. Griffin wanted to make friends with all of these crazy people? She sighed and plopped down on a chair next to him.

Celaena- Assassin

She blinks and standing up straight at him in the eyes, she felt a pang of recognition but can't place it. Slowly she walks closer and stares at him, frowning a bit. "Am I suppose to?" She felt like she knew him, she hated that she cant remember. Everyone that was close to her was dead, right? She stares harder into his amber eyes more, "Who are you?" she almost hissed out the words. A part of her was scared, but another part was hopeful.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry smirked. "Don't let it go to your head. I'm sure you've already impressed Asbel, but maybe in a different way." He could imagine what other members of the group would think of Evelyn, and it wasn't that flattering.

"As for miss Nikos, yes I believe she will be helping, though she will bill separately. You'll have to talk to her about her prices. Oh, also, if you back stab us again... Well, my patience is severely limited." The last sentence was a threat, and he made no attempt the conceal that in his tone.
He didn't like working with people that had weren't trustworthy, they tended to scam him, which was why he had liked working for Alice, she wasn't exactly a wonderful leader, but at least she was good for her word.

Asbel and Boraci, Fredrick, whatever he called himself these days, seemed to be in a highly engrossing conversation, while the Sato clan and Erick seemed to be on better terms.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew rode up to the gates of the city and dismounted, swatting the horse which began to trot back toward its home.

He drew his shotgun and began to enter the city. The guards that had been stationed at the gates were dead, as were several people in common clothing. He slowly climbed on to one of the walls, it would let him skirt the center of the city, which he was glad to do, since he could hear sporadic gunfire coming from the fog. He passed several clusters of bodies, one group looked like they had been attacked by a group of swordsmen, the corpses were chopped into alarmingly small pieces.

Several times he ducked into darkness to avoid wandering groups. His dark colors made him difficult to see, and his bulky clothing broke his shape up so he didn't look completely human, and didn't receive a second glance.

Jefferson - SVT13 - Snowview road, Fairhaven.

Jefferson's motorcycle propelled him at a good sixty miles an hour, faster than any vehicle he was likely to encounter on this road. To prove this point he blew past a plodding horse cart going in the opposite direction. As he passed he raised his hand in a mock salute.

He would go speak with Alexi, get another assignment, maybe they could start figuring out what their employer's end goal was. Or not, he had yet to see any reason behind their assignments, assassinate this officer, blow up this rebel hideout, torture this minor bureaucrat, sell these weapons to those rebels, on and on. They'd been doing this for over a year now, much more intermittently before, but they had still been running operations.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Snowview, Fairhaven

As unwise as it was, given the state of the air around them, Alice breathed a sigh. She knew Lucas was right, but letting Doctor slip past her over and over again was beginning to get under her skin. Lucas' warning reminded her of the task at hand and she started forward again, his calm tone helping her to find her concentration. First things first.

She kept heading in the direction Evelyn most likely would have run, muffling a cough with her coat sleeve. The fog was slowly thinning, but the air felt thick - like they were walking through a graveyard. Alice rapidly scanned their surroundings and her pace began to quicken; other people - what was left of them - littered the streets in a few areas she and Lucas passed through, some of them too mangled to recognize. She had never seen Doctor leave their victims like this, but as quickly as things were escalating, such a change would hardly surprise her.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

As stupid as it was, Erick was hurt when Celaena didn't recognize him. He hid his faltering nerves with a false smile. "Does the name 'Erick Bailee' ring a bell, by any chance?" His folded arms tightened around his chest to hide their shaking, and he never broke eye contact. "You've grown a lot," he quickly added, his smile growing more genuine. She wasn't much taller, but she definitely looked like an adult. At the same time, her countenance was more wary - more suspicious. Looking at her then, it scared him to think about what she might have gone through over the past decade.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Dimitry's comment on Asbel, as lightly as he seemed to have meant it, disturbed her much more than his outright threats. Her focus seemed to blur for the briefest moment before more talk of business (thankfully) restored it. "I'll have a talk with her shortly, then." And then came yet another threat - one more target painted on her back. She scowled at Dimitry in response. "I won't deceive you again, but I hardly see my actions as 'back-stabbing'. I've helped to protect these people so far, haven't I?"

Evelyn looked over her shoulder when Griffin began speaking with his second in command, reminding herself to keep an eye on her. She hoped the man knew how to keep his subordinates in line, but she wasn't entirely sure yet. Without another word, she gave Dimitry a curt nod and moved toward the room's center, her attention landing on the small woman who stood next to Leif's cart. "Are you staying with us?" She trailed off, hoping to coax out a name.

The woman promptly obliged, calm as could be despite her odd situation. "Danor Arkaitz. And... Yes, it seems that way. But I'd like to ask you something before I agree to help you, if that's alright."

"Fire away."

"Once you have what you want and the King is gone, whatever that means, what then? Are you after his power? Or will you let the rebels fight among themselves for their shares?"

Evelyn pursed her lips slightly. "Why? Do you have your eye on a piece of it?"

Apparently disgusted by the notion, Danor shook her head. "No! Gods, no. I have better things to do. I'm just..." She furrowed her eyebrows at Evelyn, eventually throwing her hands up in defeat. "I don't want this kingdom to fall apart. And if you let the reins slip from your hands as soon as the fighting really begins, then that's exactly what's going to happen."

"I won't. But what happens after this revolution will, in part, depend on who's still around by the end of it. I can't answer your question yet. I can assure you, though, that I'm not after a position of power."

Danor smiled. "Ah, there it is. Good. With that sharp tongue, you would be assassinated in less than a week."

Evelyn actually gave a genuine chuckle at this, knowing she was right, and shot a questioning look at Enrico. "What about you? Think you would take on that sort of responsibility?"

Celaena- Assassin

Her breath catches, and she steps back away from him, "No, your lying...You died!" she tries her best to not cry again, but the tears slowly start to fall down her face as she stares at her childhood friend. Every night for seven years she waited for him she didn't want to believe he was dead, but she had to because he never came for her. She waited and waited and now, he's standing right in front of her. Slowly rage starts to build inside her along with great sadness.

## Page 11

Lucas Oswald – Snowview, Fairhaven

Every so often Lucas would catch a glimpse of a lifeless body left lying in the streets. He could sense Alice’s anger grow greater as they made their way through Snowview. Her eyes would linger on some of the fallen soldiers and he would have to urge her to move on. With each step, Lucas came to resent the rebel cause more and more.

“They are going about this all wrong,” he had said to Alice on the journey to Snowview. “Careless, the lot of them.” Lucas would come to find just how careless the rebels were. Not only were there King’s men lying dead, but a few civilians that were caught in the crossfire. And with that explosion, he could tell things were only going to get worse. What were they going to do?

Hiram Wood – Rebel Leader – Road to Snowview, Fairhaven

“Looks like someone had a run in with these guards.” Hiram bent down and lifted the arm of the dead body. He glanced up at the settling fog that surrounded Snowview. Doctor had been there, and Griffin was somewhere inside. Had the boy done his job, Hiram would know everything that was happening around him.

“We’re going inside Snowview?” Tarrin asked. Eldon tried his best to calm the horses but failed all too miserably. The effort ended with Eldon face first in the dirt and the horse cart trotting off in the other direction.

Hiram sighed, “Just leave it be. We have more pressing matters.” He stood to his feet and answered Tarrin’s question with a distracted tone. “Yes, we need to find a place to set up camp. The others should be here soon. Leave the mark so they know where we are.” Tarrin pulled out a green marker and put a large green “X” on the border wall. Without another word, the three of them stepped through the gates and headed to Snowview.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry smirked as Evelyn left, in his opinion she had back stabbed them, she told them she would take them to Hydris, not trick them into a rebel encampment. It was a betrayal, and he still had half a mind to do something about that. But the rebels seemed like a trigger happily bunch and he didn't want to risk it.

He walked up to where Asbel and Fredrick stood. "So... What are you two going to do?" He asked, something about their demeanor suggested secrecy, like they were planning an escape, or Fredrick would start sticking venom sacks to every unprotected rebel. That would be quite the sight.

He didn't really want to work for rebels, but it would put him closer to an actual plan instead of just an idea. Maybe he could met someone that had a map of the tunnels under Hydris, he had heard that there were several in existence, but the owners were either supporters of the king, or unknown.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Following The Woods Men, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew watched a group of people enter the city after marking the wall with a green "x". He decided he would follow them, they might lead him to a more populated area, and if it came down to it he might just ask them if they knew anything about the man he was searching for. It was this or wandering through the city until he found someone to ask. He really needed to find someone that was part of the Grail criminal underworld, they might be able to point him in the right direction.

Jefferson - SVT13 - Fairhaven.

Jefferson spotted the road block up ahead, in between him and the bridge he needed to cross. It wasn't a simple barricade set up to channel traffic through a check point, it was a heavy gauge barbed wire fence with spikes protruding from the earth in front. It wasn't something he could drive through, he would have to get the guards to open the gate, or open it himself.

He chose to do it himself. From one of his pockets he withdrew a spring loaded syringe and rammed it into his thigh. The contents of the syringe were a mix of artificial adrenaline, amphetamines, and blood clotting agents. It was commonly known as "God's Blood" because of its effects.

To Jefferson it seemed like the world slowed down, his brain running far quicker than it normally would. He slammed the brake down and jumped, drawing his katana as he sailed over the fence. There were five guards. Correction, there were three by the time he touched down.

And then there were none, he collapsed gasping several seconds later, the mixture only lasted a minute at most, larger doses could extend its effects, but also added the risk of heart failure.

He tried to stand up, but it hurt too much, he glanced down at his leg, a dagger protruded from it, one of the guards must have gotten lucky, or was a far better fighter then the average cannon fodder the king had patrolling the kingdom.

He looked down at the dagger in his leg. This was not going to be pleasant.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick blinked at Celaena, unsure how to react. He unfolded his arms and put his hands up as she started to back away, hoping he hadn't scared her. "Just let me explain, okay? Back then, the day we were separated, I got hurt - badly. Someone took me in, but only until I was well enough to leave, and all I had left after that - all I thought I had left - was debt and a bad reputation. Leaving Lynne was my only choice." He paused, meekly adding, "So... Not dead. And it turns out you're not dead either, which is good news! But, y'know, if we stay out here for too long, that might not last, so why don't we go back inside and talk this out where the homicidal vigilantes can't hear us?"

Alice Beckett - Captain of the King's Guard - Snowview, Fairhaven

Walking through the aftermath of the initial attack, Alice was torn between guilt for not having been there and contempt for those responsible, though she managed to stay relatively calm. "Either they don't care or they haven't realized it yet," she added to Lucas remark. "Whatever the case, this can't continue." When they finally reached clearer air and visibility improved, Alice gained a much better understanding of where they were headed. "I'm almost positive that Evelyn passed through here. If what the guard said is true and she's traveling with wounded civilians, we can't be far behind her."

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel could barely hide his alarm when Dimitry approached with a question. It took him a moment to realize the man was probably just referring to their plans regarding Evelyn's proposition, and not the earth-shattering news that Hiram had somehow survived being stabbed in the chest and left for dead in the middle of a battlefield. "Well, I see no harm in sticking around. Unless things take a turn for the worse, I'll help if I can."

Celeana- Assassin

Her mind racing, all she could do was nod. She doesn't quite believe him, she also kinda wanted to kill him not quite believing who he claims to be, but she wanted it to be true. She really did, "before we do....Why didn't you come back for me.... why did you leave me behind?! You left me!" She stares right at him, and pushes a finger into his chest, getting angry, "You promised me! You promised that you would always come find me when I got lost! That you wouldn't leave me!" She glares up at him with her melting eyes as she tears up more. Remembering how alone she was, all this time all these years.."Didn't even try to look for me!? After all these years have you ever bother to look!!" With each word she got louder and louder almost yelling.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick's eyes went wide, and he froze in place as Celaena began ranting, angrily poking him in the center of his chest. For what felt like ages, he didn't have an answer for her. "I thought everyone was gone," he finally said. "I'm sorry. I should have looked for you. But after what I saw, I didn't think..." His voice trailed off, and he suddenly felt as if his chest were full of sand. She was right. He had never even tried to look for her.

"We were just kids, Celaena. I was scared; I messed up. And if I had believed you were alive, it could have been just like the old days when I rushed in to rescue you, and I would have made it my mission to make sure you were okay, but I didn't. I broke my promise." Erick shrugged and shook his head, his voice becoming more and more uneven. "I'm so sorry. Even if it's just this last time, though, I'm trying to look after you right now. Please come inside with me."

Celaena- Assassin

"Damn you...." she weakly slams her fist into his chest, "I waited...I waited for you...even though I was told over and over you were gone, I still waited.." Her voice cracks, as the anger slips away leaving pain and sadness behind. She slams her fist weakly into his chest again, and lets out a few sobs.

Hiram Wood – Rebel Officer – Snowview, Fairhaven

By the time they set foot on the outskirts of Snowview, the heavy fog that once surrounded it had begun to settle. The sun was completely behind the hills now, leaving the town looking eerily deserted. One would think that it was a ghost town. Hiram squinted his eyes through the ever growing darkness. A few street lamps were alight, but there was not a living soul walking the streets. As they made it further into town, he realized that, although there weren’t any living souls about, there were dead bodies speckled across the path. A heavy silence weighed down with every step they took. Tarrin marked another building with the green “x” like he had before on the border wall.

Nobody spoke as they made their way around the bodies of dead guards and rebels. Hiram hadn’t seen so many bodies in his life. A vision opened up to his mind of hundreds of dead wastes creatures. With the image in his mind, his brain hurt. “What in the world was that?” he thought to himself. He rubbed his head painfully and marveled at what he had just seen. Never had he seen that many creatures. What could that vision possibly be? Still rubbing his head, they stopped at a deserted Inn.

“Are you alright, sir?” Tarrin asked in a low voice. His question echoed down the street. Hiram nodded and urged them to press forward. They had to find a good place to set up camp, preferably on the outskirts of town. The silence filled the air once again. The only sound that could be heard were their footsteps along the lonely cobblestone road.

Lucas Oswald – Snowview, Fairhaven

If Evelyn was traveling with wounded civilians, Alice was right, they couldn’t be that far behind. Lucas didn’t speak much as they made their way through the quiet streets of Snowview. He watched as the sun sunk behind the hills and found himself drifting off in his own mind. Recalling one peaceful year, when their son had been born, Lucas smiled to himself. Things could never be peaceful in their life, could it? He sighed and kept close to Alice.

A few minutes passed and Lucas finally broke the silence. “Where to now?” He strained his ears to hear any sort of movement. After listening for a few seconds he could hear a distant voice, one that seemed to be raised in anger. Maybe those were the people they were looking for.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry nodded. "Same. Good to know I'll have more people around who I actually trust. What is your take on all of this? Not just the past few hours, but the rebellion at large."

Dimitry figured Asbel and Boraci would know more about the over all political situation, Dimitry hadn't been keeping up with the news, he still had issues reading common script, and there weren't many stories in Grail papers about the minor political issues in Falcon's Reach.

He pulled his hip flask out and took a long pull. Then he rummaged in one of his pockets and pulled out a bit of bread he had snatched while they were in the in. It looked a little worse for wear but tasted fine.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon wandered through the mill, the rebels tried to block him from rooms on several occasions, but he just misted through them. The rooms were normally weapons storage, and a few times he saw maps of Falcon's Reach, but he didn't really examine them. He was looking to see if the rebels kept any prisoners.

It didn't look like it. Maybe they kept them in another building, one that wasn't full of old machinery and hiding places. There were several things that struck him as odd, there wasn't much of a command structure, and as a former general that was disgusting to his sensibilities. Maybe he could convince the leader of this pack of rebels to let him organize them. It would be an interesting mental exercise, something he hadn't had in a good long while, even by his standards.

Jessica Stuart - Ambassador - Grail Embassy, Hydris, Fairhaven.

Jessica heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" She groaned she had yet to finish off most of the paper work from yesterday's riots and was not happy about any distractions. That was the problem with the new government regulations, mountains of paper work, more then she had time. She hadn't even gotten to the forms she needed to fill out about her meeting with the king, and that would probably require a good dozen sheets of paper.

The person standing in the door was the one she least expected to see, the surgeon. "I'm sorry to tell you, your bodyguard is dead." The man said slowly.

"What?" Was all Jessica could get out of her mouth.

"We found her in her room, dead. I'm sorry."

"You mean Cima?"

"Yes."

At first all Jessica could think was that would mean a hell of a lot more paper work. She and Cima hadn't exactly been close, it was hard to be close to someone that never spoke and just glared at you when severe you said anything, but she still had been at the embassy since it opened. It was a lot to handle.

Frederick Dermon - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

I nodded along with Asbel's summary of the situation. My back still ached and I slumped a bit more.

"To tell you the truth, I've mostly heard what's printed in the papers." I shrugged. "They aren't exactly unbiased. But I guess this whole thing's about where you're standin.'" I stretched, the butt of the rifle knocking me unpleasantly on the back of the head. I cringed. "The good people of Braille and thereabouts pride themselves on their researched opinions, and on my, uh, nightly explorations, every side was represented."

I gazed around the mill, getting antsy. Patience was never my strong suit. "I think a rebellion was due. With the Wastes sufficiently dead," I intoned bitterly, "humankind could focus on the corruption within. We're never going to exactly fit in-" here I gestured to the three of us "-but the King's weak. The rebels just need a bit of finesse."

 Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

With no small amount of caution, Erick reached out to put his arms around Celaena in an awkward attempt to comfort her. "I didn't forget about you. You were like family to me." He paused, one detail sticking out in his recent memory. "Who told you I was gone? Did anyone else make it out?"

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

The more Asbel thought about his personal opinion of the rebellion, the more his expression soured. He was more or less in agreement with Boraci, chiming in shortly after him. "Finesse would be good, yes. And as much as I hate the King, he's not the only problem. Many of the people in his employment are just as corrupt as he is, and plenty of them are smarter. Whatever the case, I'm not expecting much, but I'd like to think we're capable of improving things."

Asbel shot Dimitry a tired look. He hated asking for things, but if this was where their conversation was headed, it was a necessary evil. "Since you mentioned trusting me - a tragic mistake on your part, by the way - if I asked for a drink from that flask, would you say yes?"

Alice Beckett - Probably about to ruin Evelyn's day - Near the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice turned toward Lucas, opening her mouth to answer his question, when the distant but unmistakable sound of shouting grabbed her attention. Lucas seemed to have heard it to, as he had broken eye contact with her; to Alice, it sounded like an argument, though she could only hear one side of it. "Toward those voices, I suppose." A small smile darted over Alice's expression, gone in a second, before she turned to follow the voice. The streets grew narrower and more difficult to navigate, but Alice soon found herself across the road from the argument in question. Two figures stood before a large, old mill, one of which she recognized. What the hell was he doing in a place like this - and now, of all times?

Alice looked to Lucas, puzzled, before putting her sword away and approaching the two people. Erick seemed to be consoling - or trying to console, rather - a crying young woman, who must have been the one yelling. A fair distance still between them, Alice spoke up. "Erick? What are you doing here?" Erick was obviously surprised to see her - no, this was more than surprise, wasn't it? Something was upsetting him. "Are you two alright?"

He nodded a little too quickly. "I think so." His eyes settled on Lucas, and he forced a small smile. "What about you guys? Kinda strange seeing you out here, Lucas. Giving the knights a hand?"

"Don't change the subject, Erick," Alice quietly interjected.

Erick chuckled, seeming to relax a little. "Go inside if you want to know, I guess. Just be careful."

## Page 12

Celaena- Assassin

Celaena watches all three of them carefully, and she pulls the hood of her cloak over her face. She knows there are a few who want her dead, from both the rebels and the knights, even though they don't know her name or what she looks like. What kind of situation did she get herself in? Then it dawned on her, wait how does Erick know them? She'll ask him once their gone, she glances up at him and then she'll tell him, who she became.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry shrugged. "Sure, here." He said as he passed the flask to Asbel.

"Yeah, finesse, something that both sides lack. Which means there will be collateral damage, most likely a lot of it. In the wastes its a lot simpler, if it moves and it's not human it gets shot. No buildings or farms to worry about, no civilians in the line of fire. I've got a feeling that by the time this is all finished the train bombing is going to seem like no big deal."

Not that he was unhappy about that. A nation in ruins is a nation in chaos, and chaos was the perfect place for a mercenary. A more ethical man might be disgusted by the idea of using the suffering of a nation for his own gain, but Dimitry wouldn't be alive if he had been ethical. He just hoped this didn't become a religious war, a Grail heretic who worshiped what some might consider the devil would probably not be welcome in that sort of conflict.

Matthew "Black Bart" Barton - Outlaw - Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew continued to follow the group that kept marking buildings. He figured it was meant to help guide additional troops into the city when they arrived, though it wasn't exactly the most cryptic method. Maybe it was to help them find their way out. That might be it. The city did seem especially difficult to navigate in, all the smoke made the already dark streets quite murky.

He figured that these were Wood's Men, the green clothing and the decent equipment gave that away, it could be worse, some rebel groups would be much less pleasant to encounter.

He kept his shotgun in his hand, he didn't think anyone had seen him, but he wasn't going to take any risks.

Enrico Accosi

At Evelyn's question, Enrico was first startled, as he had been less than discreetly downing the contents of Eis's wine. He set down the younger one's glass and shrugged. "I haven't thought about that, per say. I suppose?" Enrico smiled partially to himself. "That would be quite the adventure actually, though I suppose if we were to have an Anglican leader, Tula would be the one you'd have to pick. She's far more calculated and organized than I-and that's saying something, considering the ichor in our veins drives us pretty..." His voice trailed off as he whistled a 'cuckoo' noise and twirled a finger around one of his dark brown curls. His eyes, then lept to the woman he referenced and beckoned the bored Grecian over with the same finger.

"What is it?" Tula exhaled, taking a step or two towards the conversation.

"We're talking shit about you, sirena. I would think you heard me." As she neared him, he leaned her way, but she shifted her posture a smidgeon away. Aware of the rejection, Enrico pulled back. "Just wondering if you want to have power after we win our little struggle against the Fat Cat King."

Tula scoffed. "Me? I'm hardly qualified. I'm only a soldier."

Enrico raised a brow.

Tula exhaled. "Former. Former soldier. See? Even less."

"The people of the Isles used to tremble at your name, Sirena." Enrico sighed, reminiscing.

 Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel took the flask in one hand with a grateful nod and tipped it back once, its contents coming as a bit of a shock to his nearly empty stomach. He squinted at nothing in particular and cleared his throat before returning the flask to Dimitry. "With Fairhaven's defenses down, the King's enemies will start pouring out of the woodwork before long, and he'll become increasingly aggressive in return. It's guaranteed to escalate at this point - especially with Miss Luciole trying to raise a small army here. We haven't seen anything yet." He shrugged, letting out an airy chuckle. "Which sounds ridiculous, given the events of the past few days."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

The exchange between Enrico and Tula sparked Evelyn's interest, but she stayed silent. When Tula mentioned her military background, however, it brought forward a point Evelyn had been meaning to make. "Aside from whatever qualifications you may or may not have, Tula, you are qualified to do more than you realize. You'll see that for yourself before long," she said, pointing a finger at Tula as her tone betrayed the tiniest hint of enthusiasm.

Her eyes scanning the room, she raised her voice enough for the rest of the group to hear. "Here's what I've decided! Things turned out a little differently from what I expected, but it's all sorted out now. So, starting tonight - provided things outside have calmed down enough by then - you and I will all begin working our way toward Hydris. What follows should be fairly obvious, so the details can be decided once we have a better idea of what we'll be dealing with when we get there. But we have a problem." She nodded toward Asbel, Boraci, and Dimitry. "Something about the rebels lacking finesse, was it? All of you can help change that. With your combined experience, I'm sure you could teach our new allies a great deal, and we could certainly use a few more people around here who actually know what the hell they're doing."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick stole a look at Celaena, who had fallen silent, and slowly let his arms fall to his sides. She didn't seem to be angry with him anymore, but she definitely had something on her mind. "Feeling better now?" he asked, relieved to see that she had calmed down. Erick would ask her about all this later, he decided; for now, he would be happy just to avoid upsetting her further and causing an argument. In the now quiet atmosphere outside the mill, it finally dawned on Erick that he was going to have a lot of explaining to do when he made it back inside to Ryouki. How was that even going to work?

Celaena- Assassin

She stares at him and mummers, "Sorta..Erick, are you a knight?" as soon as she said that there was deep painful feeling in her gut. She didn't want to know the answer, her heart pounds against her chest, afraid for what his answer may be. She looks straight at him, with her hands trembling at her side. "Are you?"

Tula Nikos

Her eyes fell faintly, and Enrico caught her attention with an actually serious statement. "You used to be so confident, Tula."

"I am..." Tula retorted, and the crossed her arms over her chest. "This just isn't something I'd consider myself ready to take on again...leadership, I mean..."

Enrico was about to embrace her but Evelyn raised her voice to continue her response towards the group, and the Italian backed away slightly.

Tula felt bad for missing the crazed man, but she also was so deeply connected with Dimitry at this point that she blamed sentimentality for her weakening heartstrings and would make an effort to try and shut that down as soon as possible.

 Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry took his flask back and nodded to Asbel. "Yeah. Like the war all over again, except instead of beasties we have to fight soldiers. So I'm not saying this isn't going to end well, but I'd rather jump out of an airship without a parachute."

When Evelyn finished talking Dimitry couldn't help but laugh. "You really think that by the time we reach Hydris this bunch will be ready to fight? We might be experienced fighters, but we aren't miracle workers. And it doesn't matter how well trained they are, most of the weapons I've seen are obsolete, even by Falcon's Reach standards. If you want this to have the smallest chance of success you'll get better weapons. I've got some black market contacts that can get several hundred rifles, though it won't exactly be cheap."

He didn't mention that he would get a small percentage of the cut, as a referral bonus, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
He could train a small group to be somewhat useful reconnaissance soldiers, calling them scout snipers would be a bit too flattering. But he would need time, and equipment, two things he doubted the rebels had much of.

Leif Regnar - Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Leif looked at the Grail woman. "Did she saw what I think she did? That she wanted those mercenaries, or what ever they are to train the rebels?" He didn't think it would end well.

Then again he came from a culture that didn't have much in the way of large wars, mostly just small raids, and military training was more about high levels of team work combined with substantial personal combat prowess. Which wasn't the way to win a long drawn out war, his people had learned that once before.

It wasn't as if he could be much use to them now. Even if he had been fully functional he couldn't have made a useful group of axe men in the weeks or months they had. And axe men wouldn't exactly be useful.

He heard Kristen push her self up and say. "I can't train anyone, but I could help with record keeping. If you need that sort of help."

Alexi - SVT13 - Fairhaven.

Alexi picked up his stiletto and used it to clean under his nails. He turned to the officer tied to a chair and sighed. "Listen, it doesn't make a difference to either of us in the long run. I'll just keep ambushing patrols that get close to this cave, and you'll be dead. But in the short run I can save you a great deal of pain if you save me some time."

The man shook his head. "I refuse to give you any more information, kill me, I won't betray my king."

"Well, in that case... You've made me do this." Alexi picked up a small metal case and withdrew a syringe, which he injected into the man's throat.
"There are a great many chemicals made in the laboratories of my people. Some help heal, others kill silently, while others coat the eyes of shades, blinding them. You have a toxin in your system which stimulates the majority of your nerves in the worst way possible. It should wear off in about an hour. We can talk then."

The officer started spasming, his teeth clenched, in so much pain he couldn't scream. Alexi walked out of the room, using the stiletto as a razor.

Tsukiko Sato

At the mention of weapons, Tsukiko stood and made an attempt to speak up. "I-If we also happen to find any smithing forges along the way...um...m-my siblings and I are very experienced in fashioning weaponry. All sorts." She hated the way her voice trembled as it raised to be loud enough for the group to hear. Her sudden boldness stunned her brothers, and her sister beamed as she spoke, adding on with a proud pat on Tsukiko's shoulder. "The Sato's line was the finest in Braille before the King's policies shut us down."

 Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer – Old Mill, Snowview

"If you do find the time to take me to Braile, I may also have something that can help with your cause," Silas said, with no lesser amount of reluctance. Sometime in the midst of their conversations, he had righted himself and cleaned up his appearance. "From what I hear, you might still need a few days to organize yourselves. While the king may be incompetent, he still has an army of some military prowess, and while we all have a great many skills, we're just a ragtag bunch who can't get along. It would be well in your favor if you were to gather all the supplies and personnels you need before storming off to the castle."

He didn't know if they would take the bait. A part of him was afraid they would call him out on his attempt to stall their takeover, yet they had to admit some truth in his statement. If they really were as unreasonable as he thought, he would have to find yet another way. With all these setbacks, someone out there was certainly testing him.

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Dimitry's remark nearly made Asbel laugh again. "That's the spirit." In truth, his own feelings on the matter were similar, but he had resolved to stick with his decision to help Evelyn, and that meant no hesitation. Besides, he had fallen too deep into her schemes to climb out by then anyway.

Nearby, Asbel heard Miss Arkaitz speak up, a hand over her forehead and a smile in her voice. "I think she did, Leif." She sighed, linking her fingers and stretching her arms forward. "She looks serious to me. Personally, I think you should try to keep an eye on everyone from now on. If this is going to happen, we should all start trying to get along and avoid any more squabbling. Fortunately for me, I can think of a few things I might be able to teach them about guns before we reach Hydris. And I've heard that Mr. Sutherlin over there is a decent shot, even with second-rate Reacher weaponry." She looked at him and raised her eyebrows, expecting a response.

Asbel frowned. "I doubt there's a shortage of 'decent' shots around here. What we need are good shots - great ones, even. That's Dimitry's territory."

"There's only so much of him to go around, and we don't have much time. If there's some other useful talent you'd like to share with these people, though..."

The man's bitter expression began to dissipate little by little. "I suppose not."

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn's eyes fell on Tula again, and her building enthusiasm prompted her to try and offer some reassurance: something she rarely found the energy for these days, especially since she was terrible at it. "Well, it's all hypothetical, of course. You're part of this team now; right now, we share the responsibilities. Obviously, I'm still the one running this, but you get the idea."

With that, she nodded toward Dimitry, his laughter going largely unnoticed by her. "Money isn't a huge concern for me. If your contacts are reliable, I'll gladly pay them." Tsukiko chimed in then with her own idea, and Evelyn considered it for a moment or two. Forges... If Alice did end up joining them eventually, she would definitely know of at least one. She probably knew half the blacksmiths in Fairhaven through her father, and not just any forge would do. "Good. I think I can arrange that. You'll help with training too, and Bailee can certainly chip in there as well. I can teach them the more useful basics of my own training: first aid, hand-to-hand, et cetera."

Danor gave a small wave of her hand, grabbing Evelyn's attention. "I can teach them how to repair their firearms if need be, along with some quick fixes for the minor stuff. I'm not a terrible shot with a gun, but I'm most familiar with what makes them tick. With the right equipment, I can also make some modifications." Danor had much more to offer these people than information, but she wasn't about to lay such a huge responsibility in their laps until she really trusted them.

"That'll do just fine. And Kristen, we'll definitely need you for that. Anything to help keep this operation organized - expenses, supplies, personnel, all of it. If there are any extra materials you'll need, let me know." Silas suddenly caught Evelyn's attention as he rose to his feet and spoke up, and she squinted at him, her interest piqued by his change of tune. "That's very true." After a short pause, she took a few steps toward the man. "You make an excellent point. Our window of opportunity is rather small, but a few days probably won't be missed. But, if I may ask, just what is it you're willing to offer us?"

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Although Celaena's question was difficult to answer, Erick decided it was best to come right out with the truth. She was an adult now; she could handle it. He hoped so, anyway. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he caught Alice, who was mere feet from the door by then, shooting him a pitying look. "No, I'm not a knight. I was a squire for a while and then, uh..." He looked up, breathing a sigh through his nose, only making eye contact with her again when he had a clear answer to offer. "I'm one of the King's bodyguards now."

## Page 13

Celaena- Assassin

Her breath catches and she takes a few steps back away from him, this was worse than finding him alive and knowing that he hadn't try looking for her. "I, I see...Going back to your previous question....Only you and I escaped that fire, but you made it to be one of the King's bodyguard, but I, however, got taken in by a ex knight," She pauses, trembling in fear of what his reaction would be. She takes a shaky breath before she continues, "and he raised and taught me the way of assassination....I'm not here as a rebel... I'm here as a assassin on a job..." She breaks eye contact and looks at the ground, her bottom lip trembling slightly, she has killed both rebels and knights all for the sake of surviving. Tears start to swell in her eyes again as she thought, what if we had met differently not in a conversation but in battle... She didn't want to know the answer and she wouldn't dare to think of any other situations. Slowly she glances up at him but keeps her head angle down, waiting for his response..

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry chuckled. "Thank you for the compliment. But I can't teach a large number of people how to shoot, at least not very well. I can train about two dozen to be comparable to the majority of the king's marksmen, much more then that and the level of individual training will go down, as will the quality of the training I provide."

He also figured that he might find a few people with less of a loyalty to the rebels, and more of a loyalty to their personal wealth. Once this was over, he could convince them to go into business with him, because battle hardened mercenaries were always in demand.

"I'll get Tabaraamon to reach out to my contacts, he can move faster than anything we have access to. We can deal with the details later, just inform them that we are in the market."

He would get a large number of medium quality semi automatic rifles to equip the rebels, and maybe a pair of light machine guns if he was given his own squad.

Kristen Mernoth - Noblewoman - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Kristen smiled. "Well, I'll do what I can. I can start when ever its convenient, I'll need some time to figure out what I'm working with, start making a filing system."

She was excited, this was perfect. She would be on the inside of the rebellion, she would have all the records, the raw information that she could process into her book. No one would notice her making note of events throughout the rebellion, and if they noticed they wouldn't care.

It was like a dream come true. Of course, it would much better if she had full use of her legs, but she couldn't have everything. That was something that her father's bodyguard had taught her. What he would think of this was beyond her, he had always been a strange fellow, a Grail like Danor and the angry man with the sniper rifle, but it was never really that obvious, other than the facial scars and accent.

Rankin - SVT13 - Fairhaven.

"What happens if he doesn't break?" Rankin asked Alexi.

"We off him and figure out how to get the information some other way. Look, there has to be some reason that our employers want information about troop positions around Fairhaven, and I want to know what they want to know." Alexi said, exhaustion in his voice.

"Right. Like that will help in the long run. They have enough on us to get us executed." Rankin growled.

"Do you think I've forgotten? I'm just waiting for the rebellion to really get underway then there should be enough chaos that we can get out of here without being noticed. Head to Rojya or one of those little settlements in the waste that no one takes any notice of."

"I just don't want to be digging my own grave here, the government back home might be welcoming if we provide them with information. Or they might just hose us down with automatic fire before we even get our mouths open."

Silas Reid - Liar, Liar - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

"Just another opportunity I believe you shouldn't pass up," Silas answered Evelyn. He made no further attempt to explain, preferring to keep his answer ambiguous. His worry spiked as she looked at him, as if she could see right through his facade, but was confident enough that it wasn't the case. If she could place her trust in these people, it was entirely possible she could place her trust in him.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn found Kristen's eager attitude encouraging; maybe these people wouldn't be so difficult to work with after all. "Excellent. Once we're a little more clear on what everyone is going to be doing, I'm sure we can figure something out." Dimitry's contacts sounded promising, but the price did worry her somewhat. She could probably pay enough to supply everyone, but basic expenses after that would have to be managed very carefully if the prices turned out to be as steep as she imagined them. And then there was Silas...

Evelyn shifted her weight to one side, trying to read the man's expression. Unfortunately, she hadn't really been able to read him once since they met; he was even worse than Asbel in that regard. She didn't trust Silas, especially given his earlier outburst, but she believed he was a man who knew how to take care of himself. If her mission appealed to a desire for protection, perhaps he would help. "I'll admit, Mr. Reid, that I'm surprised this day went as well as it did, and it's got me feeling a little greedy." She considered trying to scare a plain answer out of him, but she didn't want a repeat of the earlier incident with Tabaraamon, so she kept up a civil front. "You make a fair point, and Braile itself isn't that far. How far in would we need to go?"

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel mulled over the state of things, searching for a spot from which he might be able to assist his fellow teachers. "I could tutor the people with the least experience or the most difficulty, then. I've never done this before, though, so I don't know how many I'll be able to work with." As he glanced toward Evelyn, remembering that she was also skilled with a pistol, he noticed that she seemed to be negotiating with Silas. Worry returned to weigh on Asbel's expression as if it had never left. He didn't like this. After hearing Silas rage about the rebels earlier, Asbel didn't know if Silas was on their side or not, and if Evelyn found out he had lied to her, she would forget all about Tabaraamon's warning not to harm anyone.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick nodded along with Celaena's explanation, saddened by the fact that her guard didn't seem to have lowered an inch during their entire conversation. "I wish you'd quit looking at me like that." He looked over his shoulder at Alice, who was obviously eavesdropping as she hovered in the mill's large doorway. "Both of you."

Alice's eyebrows furrowed, . "I'm sorry, but what do you expect? What's this about the rebels, Erick? What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?"

He rolled his eyes and turned away, and her lack of response caused him a painful twinge of guilt. "I'll explain later, Sir Alice the Nosy. Anyway, Celaena, just..." Erick sighed, dragging an open hand over his face. "You can't finish the job. You're with us now - this whole group - and we'll look after you. But if you do whatever it is you came here to do, they're gonna turn on you to protect each other, and I won't be able to stop them. Understand?"

Celaena- Assassin

Celaena stays quiet for a moment, "I understand, but I can't work with them and they would want to see my head on a platter if they knew what and who I am. I've killed knights and rebels, I'm a enemy of both sides. They even nicknamed me the Phoenix Assassin," She lets out a slightly insane laugh, "I haven't eaten in three weeks, I'm running on fumes....I kill to survive. I could steal but I rather be a killer than a thief, its harder to get caught that way." She glares up at him slightly, "Plus I had no problem dying until I learn you were alive," she tries to keep up that anger going so she wont tackle her childhood friend in a hug and just cry. All those years, she just wants to cry it all out, but she can't. She's too far gone to deserve anything else but hatred.

  Frederick Dermon - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

I couldn't help but snort out of disbelief when Evelyn started to sketch out a rough plan including volatile people teaching civilians how to shoot guns and generally cause havoc. I quickly covered it up with a series of coughs when I saw that not only was she dead serious, Asbel and Dimitry seemed to be jumping onto the crazy train as well. At least it looked like my trip was being re-planned. I'd have to reschedule a time to visit the Royal Archives. Speaking of which... Erick and that odd Celaena (didn't like the pronunciation of that name) had been outside for quite some time. What could be keeping them?

Among contributions from Tula, Danor, and Kristen (a secretary? Really?), Mr. Reid seemed to be eager to help all of a sudden. He'd struck me as a self-serving type, something the Wastes was saturated with.

I dragged my dirty fingers over my head, leaving streaks in the greasy hay I called hair. "You can sign me up for the sneaky and close combat department," I remarked in monotone. "And, uh, this is just a humble man's opinion - nothing like a Secret Officer - but going to Braile seems like backtracking."

 Silas Reid - Botanist and Odd Job Part-Timer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Silas looked to the side. "Wynmere. It's only town or two past Goldedge. I shouldn't think it'd be much of a hassle, but if you're not so keen on 'backtracking', perhaps we should split. You can send a couple people to come with me, while the other focuses on, ah, training nearby or one of those other things you're planning. We can regroup in Hydris when we're both finished. Two birds with one stone."

If they split-up, it would be easier for him to escape once they entered the city. They would be easier to defeat too, if he could somehow alert a policeman. For something he'd come up on the fly, it seemed like a sound plan. Risky, sure, and may possibly end in his death if they found out, yes, but sound, considering what he was working with.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry tapped the pommel of his dagger and Tabaraamon appeared next to him. "Contact Darton, tell him that I am in position to broker a large sale of infantry weapons, give him our general area, but don't tell him who I'm working for."

Tabaraamon nodded and vanished in a cloud of black mist.

Darton was the biggest gun runner in Grail-El, he had once sold four 9 inch mortars to the Falcon's Reach army, and was believed to own two military grade airships that he used to transport his goods. Dimitry had done some work for Darton in the past, so they were on decent terms. Despite his impressive client list and massive stock of Grail hardware he kept a low profile, mostly working through intermediaries on everything but the largest deals. Tabaraamon was well known among Dimitry's business associates, he made a good messenger, since people didn't try to rip off a seven foot tall monster that was almost impervious to bullets.

"How many personnel do you have that lack high quality fire arms?" He asked the rebel leader. "Or, how many people do you think we will need to equip in the foreseeable future?" He wouldn't want to broker a second deal later on to provide for recruits, since he would get a bigger cut of the profits from a single large purchase.

Jessica Stuart - Ambassador - Grail Embassy, Hydris, Fairhaven.

Jessica was filling out more paper work when someone knocked on her door. "Come in." She said distractedly.

"We have a man asking to see you, he says he is an old friend." The guard said.

"Let him in, but stay by the door." She said, attempting to seem excited for who ever entered. She could not have been more startled. "Grady? Why in hell's flames are you doing here?"

Vinson Gradwell, fifteenth lord of Gradwell and Jessica had been friends back when Jessica had lived with her mother in Falcon's Reach, but hadn't seen each other in nearly two decades.

The man shifted uncomfortably. "I want to emigrate, with my family. Me, my sisters, my parents, most of our servants. It's not safe anymore, not for anyone with any connection to the crown."

Jessica sighed. "I'm really sorry to tell you this, but there isn't anything I can do. My government has outlawed migration to Grail territory until the end of this crisis, to prevent backlash against my Government when this ends. Of course, I can try, but unless I've got a really good reason, the government won't allow it."

"You can have Gradwell. Not just the house, but the entire Estate. The big one, in the woods. You remember don't you?" Vinson said, with slight panic in his voice.

"I'll see. Until then you and your family can stay in the embassy. My government can't do anything about that. I'll send a protection team with you so you won't be harassed. Or, at least, you won't be in any danger."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means." Vinson said, actually crying as he left.

Jessica dug thorough her desk until she found a map of Falcon's Reach. Gradwell estate was on the border of the wastes, at the edge of Fairhaven. It was less of a mansion, and more of a small fortress, built to defend the border against waste creatures. She was pretty sure that some part of her government, maybe not a recognized part, would take interest.

## Page 14

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

With his leader’s absence, Griffin couldn’t put out any offers to help no matter how much he wanted to. The whole reason they had followed this group was to get information. That’s what Hiram wanted, information. They had gathered as much as they could, although they had failed at finding out the man behind the doctor’s mask. Griffin tried to rehearse in his mind what he was going to say once he met back up with Hiram and the rest of Wood’s Men. There was no telling how Hiram would react. That man was extremely unpredictable.

He sighed. “I cannot promise any help from Wood’s Men, as our leader is not present. But we give our full support if he says yes. To be honest, I don’t think he will say no to such a wild idea.” He glanced over at Elizabeth, Garth, and Rocky. They all seemed to agree with him. Great, everything was in order. But he still couldn’t shake off how nice Elizabeth was being to him.

Hiram Wood – Rebel Leader – Near Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

They had wound down every alleyway and backway they could find, leaving the green “X’s” along the way. Nobody spoke until they heard distant voices. Hiram shushed Tarrin and Eldon as they began to whisper to one another. He pulled his rifle from off of his back and used his scope to see into the distance.

From what he could make out, there were two figures standing in front of an abandoned mill. They were deep in conversation. Standing at the entrance to the mill were two other figures. He turned to his two accomplices and motioned for them to move quietly forward.

This was most likely another rebel group. Hiram was slightly jealous he hadn’t gotten the place first. It seemed like a good place to hold up in. Quickly and quietly they made their way towards the mill.

Lucas Oswald – Outside Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Lucas was about to say hi to Erick, until Alice said there was no time for talking. He smiled, waved, and continued to the entrance to the old mill. Who they would find in there, there was no telling. He pushed the door open and motioned for Alice to go in first.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Griffin's reassurance that their leader would most likely offer Wood's Men's assistance was a relief; if nothing else, she didn't want them as enemies. "I hope you're right. The more, the merrier, especially if your leader is as talented an inventor as you make him sound." She turned toward Boraci, who didn't seem all too thrilled about the idea of their progress being delayed. "It does seem that way, yes. But you can't tell me you're not curious, can you?"

"You're going to take a risk like that on nothing but a whim?" Danor had chimed in, her tone entirely neutral and her eyebrows raised.

"I don't get whims. I just think this might be worth investigating. My biggest problem with the plan would be the business of meeting up with him when he came back, along with whoever went along. Hydris and the surrounding towns - which would probably be our best bet as far as a meeting place goes - won't be easy to get to."

As she mulled over the idea, her eyes wandered the room, and she noticed the People's Army's leader talking with Dimitry, presumably getting the details of their weapons deal sorted out. The man thought for a while, silent, before finally giving a small nod. "By the end of this," he muttered, "about three hundred, I'd say."

Well, that wasn't going to be cheap. They were definitely going to ask her to chip in. Putting it out of her mind for the moment, she turned toward Silas, her eyes fixing on his. "Do you truly think it's worth the risk? Short or not, the trip would be very dangerous."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Outside the Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick smiled sheepishly back at Lucas as he neared the mill, but Celaena's words seemed to force the air out of his lungs, and it stole his attention in an instant. He stared at her in shock, suddenly feeling exactly like the reckless, useless child he hadn't seen in the mirror for ten years. "They don't care who you are." He struggled to raise his voice to a normal volume, determined to keep his composure. "They don't care one bit. If you go back in there, they're going to accept you - I just know it. If you help them, they'll protect you, and they'll feed you. You can stay with us."

He turned slightly toward the mill and held out a shaking hand to her. "Come on. I won't leave you alone again, and you're not an assassin anymore. You're part of a team - a loud, angry, dysfunctional one, but the closest thing to a family you're likely to find in a place like this."

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice glanced back at Erick with concern, her gaze returning to the mill entrance when Lucas pushed the door open and gestured for her to enter first. She nodded and stepped inside, only to be met with by far the most shocking thing she had seen that day, which, given the circumstances, was a great deal more impressive than it would normally seem. Her eyes went wide and she stepped aside so Lucas could see what awaited them within the mill, knowing there was no way she could do this scene justice with an explanation. "Well, love, I think we just walked in on something very important."

She saw Evelyn right away; for a secret officer, Miss Luciole was remarkably easy to find in a crowd. After that, the familiar faces practically leaped out at her one after the other. And there were so many others she didn't recognize...

When Evelyn spotted her as well, Alice eyed her curiously. What did she think she was doing? "I hope we're not interrupting," Alice said quietly, though sound carried surprisingly well in the almost cavernous room ahead.

Evelyn grinned at her then, and Alice suddenly felt as if she didn't recognize the woman in front of her. It was hard to believe this was the same steady, quiet officer who had come to their door just one day earlier. "Not at all. Please, come in."

Part 5 - Chapter 3

Celaena - Assassin

Her eyes widen at him as he spoke once he was done she glance at his hand. The hand that was always held out to her when she fell, when she got picked on and when she got in trouble, she trusted him way back then and she still trust him now. Slowly, she places her small scarred hand in his hand which was still bigger than hers. "Fine, I-I'll trust you. But I'm still an assassin however I won't carry out my job." It felt like the empty pit in her gut was gone, the family she had lost so many years ago had come back to her. And that hand, his hand, was all that it took for it to happen, her eyes teared up and she starts sobbing into her other hand unable to hold it in anymore, washing away the anger.

Silas Reid - The Boy Who Cried Wolf - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

"As if what we're doing isn't dangerous already," Silas countered, crossing his arms. He had begun using "team" language in an effort to draw them in. "And as I said before, it doesn't seem like we can afford picking and choosing whatever resources may come our way. I'd say a single man, a single bullet, or a single meal taken into either side could wind-up to be the factor that decides who has the upper hand."

Ms. Luciole had turned her head to the doorway, prompting Silas to look past her to see who was there. Alice Beckett and Lucas Oswald, he thought. Of course. He expected the rest of the heroes to show up by the end of the day, ready to destroy the kingdom they had previously sought to save.

Silas stared into the eyes of the rebels, seeing the doubt on their faces, and opened his mouth with the defense he'd prepared as he laid on the floor. That is, rehashed sentimental bull. "It's easy not to trust me after the speech I made but if you look at the heart of it, I'm just a man who wants things to go back to normal. If siding with you is the only option that allows that, like Mister... Parrish argues, I'm willing to bend over and lend my services. I've already gotten with the program. If peace is to be achieved, we need to quit this tired old game of bickering with each other and most importantly, questioning Miss Luciole's leadership. If it's going to be like this whenever we come to a simple decision, the rebellion will be trampled by the king and his men by the time we're finished."

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry nodded to the rebel leader. "Okay, so... 350 rifles, for spares and surprise recruits. Probably Grail rifles, since reliability is going to be a major consideration... Okay, 350 BR-15 battle rifles, three hundred fifty thousand rounds of ammunition should be enough. Make it four hundred thousand bullets, bulk discount and all that. Give me a second." He slowly added up the total cost. "Sixty five thousand Grial denars, that includes shipping to where ever we say, should be enough. Maybe a little more to expedite the process. Should be equivalent to a pound of pure gold. He won't accept payment in Falcon's Reach currency."

The BR-15 wasn't the best rifle in the armory, but it was accurate enough, hit hard, and most importantly didn't have fully automatic functionality, he didn't want the recruits spraying every bullet they had at random.

He glanced over at Evelyn. "You're right it's going to be expensive. But did you think you would succeed when half of your troops have their pa's hunting musket? What in the gods name are you doing here Alice?" His voice trailed off when his former employer walked through the door.

He was surprised, understandably so, since the leader of the king's knights wasn't exactly someone who would show up at a Rebel hideout without a large party of security forces. If they did come Dimitry would turn on the rebels, he wasn't going to prison for someone else's ideals. Or his for that matter.

Tabaraamon - Shadowed One - Snowview, Fairhaven.

Tabaraamon traveled through the darkness, trying to remember where Darton hid. He was sure it was in Fairhaven, near the border since it was less likely the shipments would be spotted. Probably one of the dozens of villages abandoned during the second war and never rebuilt, or an old border fort. He knew the general area, but it would still take some time.

As he left the mill he noticed a group of people approach and went to investigate. He stiffened. Hiram Wood was there, a man who he had seen die. And not like the Lucas, no, Hiram had died, bled out, no question, he had died.

He briefly considered attacking, because that wasn't natural, no one could survive a sword through the chest. Tabaraamon knew that from first hand experience. So unless Hiram was undead there was something very strange going on.

He didn't approach, nothing good would come of that. He did notice someone following Hiram and those with him, but that was not Tabaraamon's concern, so he stayed out of it.

Frederick Dermon - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn had a point. Mr. Reid seemed like a resourceful man, if a bit weak. Maybe there was something back in Braile that could help the rebels. It might take longer, but the Wastes weren't 'conquered' in a day, right? Overhearing Dimitry's negotiations, I shook my head in disbelief. Currency was still a nebulous concept for me, although, necessary. It seemed the rebels were ready to take the next step in taking over the Kingdom. I couldn't help but think about how the people would recover if the rebels won over the loyalists. Who would take power? Would their regime be any better than the current one? It was hard to think it could be worse.

When Erick and his red-headed friend came back in, they were accompanied by two knights - Alice and Lucas. What? Are they moles? If not, they're technically the enemy, but I can't accept that. I nudged Asbel in the side, gesturing with my head, although I doubted he needed direction. Their appearance caused quite a stir in the crowd. "Wonder if domestic bliss is as great as they thought."

 Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Asbel's eyebrows shot up when a very shaken-looking Erick and teary-eyed Celaena returned with none other than Alice and Lucas following them; was that why those two had taken so long to come back in? Asbel nudged Boraci back, his musings bringing a small smile to his face. "Well, they certainly don't look blissful now, do they?" For the briefest of seconds, he worried that the two of them might pose a threat, their situation being what it was, but the fear passed after only the smallest of twinges in the back of his mind. One thing he could say about Alice and Lucas was that they were loyal - fiercely so. Since there were no dark forces around to possess anyone, Asbel couldn't imagine either of them laying a hand on anyone from the old mission.

Still, Alice wasn't exactly thrilled to find them there. She looked to Dimitry when he addressed her, confusion slowing her words; she wasn't sure what to make of it all. "I could ask the same of you."

Danor reached up and tapped Asbel's shoulder, her voice lowered. "Are those people Lucas and Alice - the ones from the Second War?"

"Yes. By all means, go and ask them for an autograph."

"I should, shouldn't I?" Running full speed ahead with Asbel's snarky remark, she turned to Boraci and shot him a pleading look. "Would you ask them for me, Mr. Dermon? I'm too shy."

"Not shy enough to join a rebel plot to overthrow the King, though, apparently."

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Once inside the mill, Erick took a deep breath, trying to shake off the weight of their conversation. He nodded toward Alice and Lucas, shooting a smile at the rest of the room. "Look who we found lurking around outside!" Letting Celaena's hand fall, from his, he turned to face her and lowered his voice to a whisper. "If things get ugly between these two and Evelyn, don't interfere."

Truth be told, part of him still wanted to run over to Ryouki and bawl his eyes out, but if he and Celaena started crying, everyone was definitely going to get nosy. So he gave the girl a reassuring pat on the back, hoping she meant what she had said about abandoning her mission, and joined the rest of the group further into the main room. He couldn't help gravitating toward Ryouki, finally letting his guard down a little after moving closer to him and away from the entrance, which half the room seemed to be staring at. "Did we miss anything important?" he asked the room in general, scanning the crowd in an attempt to read the mood of the place. At least things seemed fairly calm.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn, eyes still locked onto Alice and Lucas, seemed pleased by Silas' words. "Agreed. I can sympathize with everyone's concerns, but we've done enough arguing. Mr. Reid, I will seriously consider your generous offer. And Dimitry, as I said before, money is the least of my problems. If that's what needs to be done, I'll figure something out, though I don't expect to be the only one emptying my pockets." She shot the rebel leader a look then, which he returned with a roll of his eyes.

"You've got to be joking. That price is..." The man sighed, but he eventually caved under Evelyn's persistent glare. "Fine, fine. I think it can be arranged."

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Two very familiar faces entered the room with Erick and Celaena. He let their presence sink in as some of the rebels whispered excitedly to themselves. It finally clicked, these two were Alice and Lucas. He too got a twinge of excitement. At this pace he would be able to meet every hero of the Second War. Lucas stood protectively behind Alice and surveyed the situation. When Lucas’s gaze passed over his he waved awkwardly.

“Nice to see a lot of you again. It’s almost like a reunion.” Lucas smiled at Dimitry. “But,” he continued, “Can we clear up what exactly is going on here?”

Just then three other people barged in through the front door. Griffin pulled out his revolvers quickly and pointed them at the three new figures. He let his eyes adjust and realized it was Hiram, Tarrin, and Eldon. He relaxed and holstered his guns. “Hiram!”

Hiram looked around at all of them, holding up his rifle. “Now what do we have here? A group of rebels or a Loyalist? We have this place surrounded, so you better speak up now.” Of course that was a lie, but these people didn’t need to know that. He spotted Griffin and his group and gave a surprised jolt. “What in the devil?”

-Ryouki Sato-

When the familiar couple and Erick walked in, Ryouki's eyes lit up. "Alice!"
As did his youngest sister's. Taiyo audibly gasped as she saw the faces of the two most notable Wastes heroes. "No way!!" The young adult squealed slightly with glee. "Alice Beckett and Lucas Oswald!!" Tsukiko elbowed her side, and Taiyo settled down, averting her eyes and blushing in embarrassment. "I-I'm quite the fan...actually..."
Ryouki couldn't stifle a small laugh and turned his attention back to the newcomers, simultaneously clasping Erick's hand as Erick gravitated toward him. "Small world, isn't it?"
Usami muttered under his breath. "And getting smaller..."

## Page 15

Celaena- Assassin

She pulls the hood of the cloak over her head and drifts into the shadows, trying to blend in. Not really wanting people to see her red puffy eyes from all that crying and sobbing. She felt pathetic for doing that she watches events unfold, trying not to be notice as she figures out her moves. She could just kill the leader even though she told Erick she wont, but she'll give this group a shot first for Erick. She glances over at him then looks away, she just want to sit and just talk with him about everything that has happened though she thinks that it would be better to not too. After all he'll probably hate her if she told him everything she had done, she looks around the room and stays silent.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry shrugged at Lucas. "Well... It's a long story. But for now me and most of the people here are working for the rebels. What can I say? I like an underdog, especially when they are willing to shell out enough money. Good to see you though."

He half saluted Alice when she got closer. "Hard to believe it's been five years." He said to no one in particular.

When three more people entered the mill and began waving around weapons and shouting about surrounding the mill Dimitry very nearly tossed a grenade at them. He turned to face them, might as well see who they were before seeing if they could catch a grenade.
His heart nearly stopped. "You're dead. You're dead, I saw it, we all saw it. Lucas put a sword in you for god's sake. That's not something you walk away from."

Dimitry looked directly at Hiram and shouted. "You died, you had a fucking long sword in your chest! Give me one good reason not to send you back to the land of the fallen!"

Dimitry had seen Hiram die from the sword that Lucas had stabbed through the boy's chest after he went insane during the battle for Agnorak. And even if he had somehow survived the sword there was no way he survived the waste creatures that infested the city for the majority of the battle, or the clouds of nerve and mustard gas released. There was no doubt in Dimitry's mind that Hiram Wood was dead. He glanced at Lucas, unless somehow, what ever brought Lucas back did the same for Hiram.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew watched from just outside the doorway. He had no idea what was going on, but what ever it was it sounded like something he wanted to stay away from. He would listen a little while. He didn't have many other options. And if he couldn't find the man he was looking for maybe joining the rebels would give him some protection. Or not, from what he had heard Grail criminal organizations did not forgive, and rarely let someone live long enough to forget.

He knew what the man said was a lie, he had followed these people and had never seen any sigh that there were more of them. The name did sound vaguely familiar, Hiram Wood. If he remembered correctly it was one of the hero's of the waste, except he had died. Maybe that was what the shouting was about.

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Having a Very Interesting Day - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice chuckled at Lucas's remark, nodding in agreement with his following question. Dimitry's answer was somehow disappointing, though not especially surprising. How could she blame them, of all people, for siding against the King who had thrown them to the hellhounds five years ago? Under different circumstances, she might even have done so herself. She smiled, giving a barely perceptible shake of her head. "I see. Well, Dimitry, it's-"

Alice didn't finish her sentence. That voice - and that name, from one of the rebels. Was she imagining things? She turned around to face the source of her confusion, and there he stood: Hiram, unharmed, pointing a rifle at them. Alice gave an involuntary gasp and reached for the hilt of her sword, placing an arm protectively in front of Lucas and moving closer to him. She couldn't believe it. But even as unbelievable as it all was, she remembered what he had done to Lucas, and the sight of his rifle pointed in their direction dredged up a terror she hadn't felt in years. Everything from her hands to her voice was trembling. "Hiram? How - why are you here?"

She was dimly aware of Dimitry's outburst, but she sympathized with it. On the one hand, she was relieved beyond words to see him alive and well, but on the other, the thought of having to fight him all over again was almost more than she could stand.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick couldn't help but find Taiyo's reaction to Alice and Lucas amusing; watching people gasp and whisper among themselves when they saw those two goofballs coming was always strange. When Ryouki took his hand, Erick finally felt like he could finally relax and stop struggling to read the entire room in the hopes he wasn't missing anything. "Yeah, no kidding."

And then Hiram walked in. "Uh..." Erick's eyes went wide, and Alice's response only worsened his. Hiram wasn't going to hurt them, was he? "I can't believe this."

Asbel Sutherlin - Rebel Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn was obviously confused by the reactions Hiram was getting, so Asbel knew he should step up and answer the man's question sooner or later, but he found himself hesitant. He nudged Boraci again - just on the off chance he hadn't noticed the dead man holding them at gunpoint. "It's different, isn't it? Actually seeing him, I mean." Even after learning that Hiram was alive, seeing him again was surprising. In all honesty, he had liked Hiram; it was hard not to admire someone so sincere.

"Well, we're not loyalists; I can tell you that for sure." Evelyn answered Hiram, hovering on the border between annoyed and furious. "And unless you plan on shooting up a room full of your men, I suggest that you and your friends stand down."

-Ryouki Sato-

A chill ran through Ryouki's body at the sight of Hiram and he used his other hand to rub his eyes, further smudging his liner. The dead man in the room didn't disappear.
"Not again..." His voice trembled as he spoke softly to himself to try and ease his rapid heartbeat. "I'm not seeing ghosts again, am I...? Not while I'm awake..."

-Tula Nikos-

At Dimitry's outburst, Tula tensed and drew toward him, but not touching him as she feared it would set off another nerve. "Easy now, love." She murmured softly.

Hiram Wood – Rebel Leader – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Once the shouting started, Hiram began to second guess himself on his overdramatic entrance. The words the man, of Grail origins he guessed, made no sense to him. Apparently he was supposed to be dead. Was this man one of his enemies that tried to kill him but was unsuccessful? All the while, Hiram held up his rifle and waited for the Grail man to stop yelling. He composed himself and looked at the man quizzically. Before he could respond he heard a few more gasps of his name. “Ah, so you all already know who I am?”

"Well, we're not loyalists; I can tell you that for sure." Evelyn answered Hiram, hovering on the border between annoyed and furious. "And unless you plan on shooting up a room full of your men, I suggest that you and your friends stand down." Hiram lowered his rifle and urged Tarrin and Eldon to do the same.

“I did not expect you to be here, Griffin.” Hiram walked slowly to the young officer and patted him on the back. “I presume everything went well?” Before Griffin could answer someone interrupted them.

Lucas Oswald – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

“Dimitry is right, you’re supposed to be dead.” Lucas stared at Hiram with horror. “I killed you myself.” He reached out to touch his jacket. Hiram stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I can assure you that I am alive and well. And who are you?” Hiram asked. Lucas continued to stare in bewilderment. “Can someone explain to me what is going on?” He glanced at Griffin, who looked just as confused as he was.

Frederick Dermon - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

I returned Danor's plea with an amused glance, and a shrug. "I'll get that autograph for you once everything's been sorted out." Which, by the looks of it, seems to be a moment far away. Like those on the train, Alice's gaze jumped over my face, but it wasn't much of a surprise. Having a different face, to say the least, was sometimes a good thing. Dimitry's noncommittal statement prompted me to wonder. Had they really settled down? It was hard to imagine two hardened warriors baking bread and carving homemade baby cribs.

Not much later, the mill had more visitors. Dimitry set out a slew of pent-up confusion and rage, followed by Lucas. Understandable. The guy had been as good as vulture food. Asbel nudged me, saying something to the effect that it was different - actually seeing him, that is. I mutely nodded, and listened silently to the charged conversation exchanged between Hiram and a few others. Something was off. I'd have to wait until the night to get a better reading, but there was a change. Deciding myself to be the best 'expendable' to explain the situation to the un-dead rebel leader, I stepped forward a bit, swinging my once-raised rifle around to my back.

"Hiram, of Wood's Men, right?" I kept my hands up, palms forward. "This is simply a gathering of like-minded individuals. Glad you could finally join us. Heard a lot about you through the grapevine." I broke my gaze with the amnesiac to give Alice and Lucas a 'let's-just-play-along-for-now' look.

 Celaena- Assassin

Celaena watches, confused of whats going on. She looks over at Erick, then slowly moves over to him staying in the shadows so no one would notice her, "Erick.... What's going on? Do you know?" She mutters under her breath to him. She watches the guy name Hiram, who ever he was he caused quite a stir. She glances over at the other Wood's Men and wonders if a fight is going to break out or not, it doesn't really matter to her. Even though Erick said they would accept her, but seeing how they are reacting to everything she doesn't believe that will be the case. She can't just go, Hey I'm an assassin sent here to kill a certain person that I cannot say but then I discovered my dead childhood friend isn't dead so I'm not gonna kill anyone here, yet. Celaena glances back at Erick awaiting his response, completely ignore the tall dude next to him.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry gritted his teeth and put the grenade in its pouch, and drew his revolver. He wasn't going to be caught off guard when what ever possessed Hiram's body attacked. He slowly backed up, muttering a prayer in old Grail.

"He was with us during the second war. He was a friend of mine. But he died, no question, saw it with my own eyes." Dimitry whispered to Tula.

As he backed up so did several of the rebels, some reached for their weapons. Dimitry made a cutting motion, some of them understood and stopped what they were doing, while others ignored him. One of them nodded sagely and drew a rather large sword. Dimitry sighed, that was a special sort of stupid.

Once this was some what sorted out he would need to talk to Lucas and possibly Alice they had been the ones that knew exactly what happened. The fact Lucas had been reincarnated loomed in his mind, maybe he could shed some light. Might as well bring the others in, though maybe not Erick, his interaction with that one rebel was not to inspire confidence in his ability to keep his mouth shut.

Matthew Barton - Joining the club - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew continued to listen and finally made his decision. He walked into the building and in best attempt to seem pathetic asked. "Does anyone have a little food they can spare?" It hurt his pride to act like a peasant, despite the glaring fact he was one. At least he was better dressed than the majority of the people here.
As for his mission, that could wait, they probably wouldn't answer any questions before he had gained something of a rapport, or proved that he wasn't a nobleman or a spy.

Which from the look of things wouldn't be that hard. There were all sorts of people, including multiple celebrities from the war of the wastes. He could probably talk his way into good graces, act like he wanted to join, but really needed to find an old friend, and thought they might be able to help. He would have to completely make up the scenario, but as long as the man wasn't here he probably wouldn't have problems. And it was infinitely unlikely that it would be the only Grail man he saw in the building.

Erick Bailee - King's Bodyguard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Erick's voice lowered to a softer volume as he tried to reassure Ryouki, surprising himself with the steadiness of his voice. "I don't think so, Ryouki. And either way, he's not coming anywhere near you if you don't want him to." He turned his head slightly toward Ryouki's siblings. "We're all right here." Celaena's questions finally broke Erick's lingering eye contact with Ryouki as he tried to read the man's expression, and he shook his head. "Not really, no. Just..." He looked to Hiram, alive and well in the doorway, and sighed. "He's an old friend. We didn't think he'd made it, but I guess I've seen more impossible comebacks before."

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice's eyes followed Hiram across the room, and her pounding heart eventually began to slow. Was this some kind of trick? There were other people in the room whom he did recognize, and who seemed to know him as well, so maybe she could ask them about this later. As confusing and terrifying as all this was, she was glad Hiram was alive after all. Alice's hand fell from the sword at her side, her eyes lowering, when someone across the room spoke up. Hiram of Wood's Men? He had been busy since his disappearance, hadn't he?

And now, aside from that, she knew exactly what Evelyn had been up to. That explained the episode at the border. When she caught a look from the man who had spoken, silently asking her to be patient, Alice's eyebrows raised. Did she know him from somewhere? Unable to place a finger on the identity of the man, she soon returned her attention to Hiram, taking a wary step closer to him as he questioned Lucas. "If you really don't remember us, Hiram, I don't know how we could possibly explain it all to you. For now, maybe it's best to start over."

Evelyn Luciole - Well, this might as well happen. - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn watched the bewildering exchange between the old heroes and Hiram, who was, apparently, that Hiram. But he didn't remember them? Interesting. He hadn't come back white-haired, pale-eyed, or scared of his own shadow, so she supposed that ruled out any interference from Shades. Whatever the case, this was probably something they could sort out on their own. "I guess I'll just let you all get reacquainted, then." Despite Evelyn's best efforts, her tone was significantly less forgiving than the words might imply.

In the middle of this theatrical drama, a new face appeared in the doorway. Evelyn blinked at him, half-expecting him to suddenly realize that Kristen was his long-lost niece or something, but it seemed she was getting ahead of herself. "I'm afraid I don't, sir." Was this some kind of test, gauging her integrity or something? Would it be so wrong to offer him a place in their little group? Evelyn glanced over her shoulder, hoping someone would come forward with some food, and saw Asbel glaring at her. He knew she was thinking about it.

Danor Arkaitz - Gunsmith - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Danor watched the dramatic reunion nearby with rapt interest, nearly laughing out loud at Mr. Dermon's reply. "Oh, so all this is going to get sorted out at some point, is it? Those people really are impressive."

Mr. Sutherlin chimed in, donning a small smile. "Does this mean I have an amnesia buddy now?" When another stranger showed up and Miss Luciole briefly spoke with him, Asbel's smile disappeared, and his gaze practically glued itself to the back of Miss Luciole's head as if to silently scold her. There had been little doubt in Danor's mind that those two knew each other to some degree, but that sealed the deal. "Hasn't she fooled enough relatively innocent people for one day?"

Griffin Parrish – Rebel Officer – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

The commotion was almost too much to handle. With Dimitry’s outburst of what seemed like nonsense, and a few of the heroes of the Second War knowing Hiram like an old friend, Griffin didn’t know what to think. His mind was jumping to a million different things. Hiram looked just as confused as he did, which wasn’t comforting. Alice, if he guessed right, said that it would take too long to explain. “Well great,” he thought. But seeing that none of his questions were going to be answered, he pushed his worries aside for the moment.

“How did you find us?” He asked Hiram

 “Well to be truthful, it sort of happened by accident. I had no idea you would be here. Ah, Elizabeth, Garth, Rocky!” Without another word to Griffin, Hiram whipped off to greet the three fellow Wood’s Men.

Meanwhile, Tarrin and Eldon greeted him with peeled eyes in case any of the strangers tried anything. Eldon patted Griffin on the back. “Good to see you again. It’s only been a few hours, though. But truthfully, we missed you.” By the look on Tarrin’s face, it seemed like he didn’t feel the same way.

“Where are the twins?” Griffin asked.

Tarrin eyed Dimitry from across the room, half expecting him to burst out again. “They went to rally the other troops. They are probably wandering the streets by now. We used the green marker.”

Lucas Oswald – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

He watched Hiram gave no indication that he knew them. Lucas was lost for words, and quite honestly, needed a break. He had killed that man, well, boy at the time. The haunting images flashed through his mind. The dark creatures that possessed his body, the evil glare in his eyes.

When Lucas came back to the present, he found himself sitting on the floor. His body couldn’t take the fact that a dead man was walking in their presence. Although he was glad that Hiram was still alive, and quite busy by the looks of it, he just couldn’t shake the questions that rushed through his mind.

How had they not run into Hiram for five years? Could it be that he wasn’t in Falcon’s Reach? He didn’t have the energy to keep thinking about it. With a sigh, he got to his feet and went and stood by Alice once more.

## Page 16

Celaena- Assassin

"Oh," was all that Celaena can say as she watches the others. Her stomach growls and she pulls her hood down in embarrassment, and steps back a bit hoping no one heard it. Celaena steps back away from the group and leans against the wall, hopefully if she acts like it wasn't anything then they would think so too. She watches the cute, tall, dark hair man, who calls himself Griffin and watch his other cute friends chit-chat.

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew nodded, faking dejection. "Could I at least stay here the night?"

From the looks of things he was in the middle of a large rebel force, and tension was running high. Which wasn't all that surprising.

What he did find odd was the obvious groupings, to start there were the obvious rebels, the most numerous that were scattered about the building which probably acted as their fortress, then there were the Woods Men, obvious through their attire and high quality equipment.
The final group was an enigma to him, characterized by a general exhaustion in its members body language, but little else, some where armed like they had just stepped out of a war zone, while others were unarmed or had obviously stolen rifles. They weren't mercenaries, at least not all of them, the two Grail were quite possibly mercs, as was the Gracian woman next to the Grail man, and the white haired man. But the rest, like the wounded giant in the cart, or family group which included twins and a man with a metal arm, there was no category.

At least he would fit in with that group, since he was another oddball, dressed like he was going to social event in Hydris yet here of all places, an old industrial facility that had been abandoned before whoever these people were showed up.

Jessica Stuart - Ambassador - Hydris, Fairhaven.

Jessica had nodded off, but was woken up by someone pounding on her door and the sound of shouting outside.

"Come in..." She said in a groggy voice.

One of her guards stepped in. "Ma'am, the team sent with Lord Gradwell came under fire as they returned from picking up his family. One of his household staff was killed, two of our soldiers are wounded."

"I... My heart goes out to them... Before you go.. What is the shouting about? They were not nearly as loud only a little while ago." Jessica said.

"Several of the citizens of Falcon's Reach attempted to scale the walls. They were killed by our snipers, and the crowd is protesting. We have also noticed a large number of uniformed police and guard members taking part of the protests, or watching from the side line."

"We can only hope that the admiral approves my request. We are unable to function properly, I doubt any of the kings couriers are able to reach us."
Jessica said, subdued.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn pursed her lips slightly, looking the man up and down. He was awfully well-dressed for a beggar; maybe there was an interesting story behind that. "If you don't mind spending the night in the company of traitors and mercenaries, you're welcome to join us. What's your name, sir, if I may?" She smiled dully at him, her attention momentarily grabbed by a menacing tummy-rumble from the redhead nearby. Despite her best efforts, genuine amusement wormed its way into her tone of voice. "Goodness, did someone let a hellhound loose in here?"

Getting food was certainly going to be interesting, especially since the People's Army were probably short enough on supplies as it is. She supposed each group - Voce, Wood's Men, etc. - could send out one or two people to different places to bring back food for their own, since going out all at once probably wasn't an option anymore. There was, of course, the risk of being seen coming back to the mill, but she doubted there would be many people out at night except other traitors and mercenaries, who would probably be avoiding detection to the best of their abilities. Maybe she could send someone out to scout the area later and find out whether or not it was worth the risk.

And then there was Hiram, the ingenious inventor who had come back from the dead. She could only hope Griffin was right about his supposedly being drawn to their crazy plan. "Mr. Wood, if you understand what we're all doing here, can we count on the support of you and your men? I'd very much like to have you as an ally."

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice met Lucas halfway when he rose from the ground and made his way over to her, and she placed a hand on his arm; understandably, he was looking very unsteady on his feet. As much as he tried to hide it, this was one shock too many that day. "We'll get to the bottom of this, alright? If you like, I can talk to Hiram myself. For now, try not to worry about it," she told him. For now, Hiram's attention had shifted to his men, and Alice's was returning to the other familiar faces scattered throughout the room, as well as the most recent addition to the steadily growing crowd within the mill. Most of these people were hardly threatening, and most that were threatening also happened to be her friends; she couldn't be responsible for their executions.

So what was she supposed to do? The two of them couldn't leave with things the way they were. Alice turned slightly to look at Evelyn, who was already staring right back at her. "That reminds me: it seems like you two were just passing through, but you're more than welcome to stick around. Perhaps our meeting was more than a happy accident."

Well, that was ominous. Alice sighed and lowered her voice to a whisper toward Lucas. "Would you consider us officially roped into this yet?" She wanted answers from Hiram and his men - to know where he had been, and if he was truly the same person they knew before. And, even more than she wanted revenge against Doctor for the deaths he or she had caused, she wanted to protect her old companions. But if something even more sinister took hold while they were busy fighting a revolution, would any of that even matter?

Hiram Wood – Rebel Leader – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

“Our support?” Hiram asked with a raised eyebrow. Support in what, he did not know. Griffin promptly filled him in on current events, careful not to miss anything important. After the young officer was done recounting what had happened the past day, Hiram turned his eyes back on Evelyn. “This is a farfetched idea you have here Ms. Luciole.” He paused and rubbed his chin as if thinking very hard. “You have my full support.

“But you understand that if any of this goes south, my only care would be getting my men and me out of there as fast as possible. So you best hope this works.” He spoke more sternly. “We can supply some equipment. My officers can train some of these men to use some more of the advanced things.” Hiram shot Griffin a glance. Griffin gave a thumbs up.

“Do we have a deal?” He extended his hand to Evelyn.

Lucas Oswald – Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Lucas gathered his thoughts and found that he could stand on his own legs more steadily. Alice was right, they could worry about the situation later. But the matter still stood. They were definitely caught in the rebel cause now. He scanned the old mill and met many familiar faces as well as new. He spoke to Alice in a low voice. “It seems like we are too deep into this now. Plus, if you want to find Doctor this would be the best way to do it. Among the rebel ranks, that is.”

Matthew Barton - Outlaw - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Matthew took off his top hat in a sweeping motion and bowed slightly. "Matthew Barton at your service. Though you may know me by a different name. That of Black Bart, or simply, and rather menacingly, The Outlaw. Though neither of those latter two I self applied, though I will respond to them all with equal speed."

He also made no attempt to hide the handle of his double barreled sawed off that was protruding from the purpose sewn pouch on the inside of his waist coat. He had just admitted to being a wanted man, and wanted to have a rebuttal to any suggestions that they turn him in for the prize money.  He doubted they would, since that would hurt recruitment.

Dimitry Popov - Mercenary - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven.

Dimitry rolled his shoulders, readjusting the weight of his rucksack. He didn't like standing around, it hurt his shoulders, when he was moving most of the weight was supported by the hip belts, but some design flaw meant that when static the majority of the heft was concentrated on his shoulders. Which made him regret the seven pounds of assorted explosives he had stuffed in there a few days back.

He glanced at Hiram several times and tried to identify anything off about the man, like weird shimmering in the air around him, or anything else that would suggest magical forces at play.

He turned to the rebel leader. "So... Since for the time being at least we are all staying here are there beds or do I have to claim a little section of floor to sleep on?" He did have a bed roll, but it still had some sand in it and was less than comfortable to sleep on.

Rankin - The nice one - SVT13 hideout, Fairhaven.

"A wise man once said that once hardened by battle there's no going back, and before the attack the blood starts to boil in your veins and you charge. Unleash the wolf on your foes." Rankin sang in a low voice as he heated large pot of soup. From where he was in the cave it was hard to hear the screaming of the office several levels below.

Alexi was pacing about growling slightly. He didn't mutter to himself, it hurt his throat, so he simply growled. Rankin knew what it was about, Jefferson should've been back already, and Alexi was getting concerned. If Jefferson had been captured they would have all sorts of problems. The kings torturers couldn't break that psychopath, but sets of fake documents would give them problems if they were found.

They had all came in with fake diplomatic identification, and that could cause major backlash against the Grail government, which would probably mean that their current employer would have them killed so the witch hunt wouldn't involve who ever had the three of them running amok in Falcon's Reach. The complex web of covert intelligence and the Grail internal security service was essentially at war ever since the oversight committee had gained additional power.

Evelyn Luciole - Secret Officer - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Evelyn was pleasantly surprised to hear that their strange new friend was an infamous outlaw - and a gentleman to boot. She didn't trust him worth a damn, but if he was being truthful about his identity, at least, then he could be a valuable asset. She had heard the name "Black Bart" before, and anyone else who had heard it as well might be discouraged from attacking any group he had aligned himself with. She also somehow doubted that he was overly fond of their ruler, so convincing him to lend a hand was certainly worth a try.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Barton. My name is Evelyn Luciole." She made a sweeping hand gesture over the rest of the room. "Feel free to make yourself at home if you can. This place was only meant to be a temporary arrangement."

Hearing Dimitry's question, Evelyn awaited an answer as well, turning slightly toward the two men. "We did have some time to prepare for your coming here, but, needless to say, we hadn't expected so many people." The man shot a glare at Evelyn then, his voice tinged with disdain.

She gave him a thumbs-up. "You are welcome."

"Uh-huh. Well, some of you will have to sleep on the floor, because we definitely don't have enough bedding for all of you." He raised his hands. "Sorry."

Evelyn shook her head. "We'll manage." Griffin continued to fill Hiram in on recent events, and once he had finished, aside from a reasonable degree of caution, Hiram was willing to join forces. After a sober nod in Griffin's direction, probably the most open display of gratitude she could manage after an entire day spent concealing her intentions, she shook Hiram's hand. "I expect we'll be a great help to one another. And I don't need to hope. It will work."

Alice Beckett-Oswald - Captain of the King's Guard - Old Mill, Snowview, Fairhaven

Alice searched Lucas's expression, apprehensive. "Something tells me we have the time to spare." With each word out of Evelyn's mouth and each wary glance Alice noticed from her, Alice grew more suspicious of the letter she had received the previous day. There were plenty of people who wanted the pair of them out of the way; she was used to that. And, given what Evelyn was planning, it would follow that she was probably one of those people. "I'm sorry, Lucas. I didn't mean for..." She shook her head, fighting the urge to steal a glance at Hiram. "But we were already prepared to disappear before we found out about all this. Honestly, I believe we could pull this off."