Old Mentor Quest

You were in an odd, hidden room in your house. This room was small in comparison with the average room in the house and had no windows, with the only entrance being a hidden doorway which was behind a bookcase, you admit that it is a bit cliché, with the switch for it being behind a small bit of paraphernalia of arcane nature that was at the top shelf of the bookcase.

The inside of the room was dark, with a few candlesticks left around the room, there were a few magical materials and an old mirror, this was your typical method of contacting the Thieves Guild. A rather basic spell that you mastered during your youth.

The mirror was the most important thing in the room, ornately decorated, it was made of mahogany and had many decorations in copper and tin inlaid within the mahogany. There was an odd aspect of the mirror that always stuck with you, the reflection was just subtly … off, like it was looking more at you then it would be you looking at the reflection.

Kneeling on both knees, in a manner that was not suitable for any lord, closed your eyes and recited the words that you needed to recite. "Larv ao zmy tmuyjyw, tapy za ph wuvy. Kulq ao zmy vaslzravvyl, tapy za ph iuv. Larv Valmenos xe tidd haf za py las." You muttered ignoring the chilly feeling in the room as you recited the spell.

Suddenly, the room heats up, there is the slight smell of brimstone, mixed with the smell of squalor that is so common with thieves into what was quite an unpleasant cocktail of what at least one of the Thousand Hells smelled like. You opened your eyes and, in the mirror, there was a single tiefling.
Pale red, bordering on pink in skin tone, with red druidic and arcane tattoos sprawled across his chest and arms, ram horns upon his head and a rather thick tail at his back. Clad in rather rough looking clothing which was largely made of dark brown or black leather. In his right hand was a small flaming coin in between his fingers. His yellow eyes glimmered with amusement and slight fondness upon seeing you.

"Lord Edward, it's been sooooo long." Valmenos said to you, drawing out the 'o' in 'so', "Didn't think I'd ever see you wearing a disguise. You never really seemed the type." You were about to open your mouth when he held up his left hand, which was until now, on his hip, "Don't bother denying it, we're friends here, and I thought that you respected me enough to not lie to me."

"Of course, Valmenos." You responded, nodding at the reflection, there was no use turning around, you knew quite well that he wasn't there "I need to ask something of the Thieves Guild, there is some information that I need you to find out."

"Oh." He spoke up, sounding genuinely interested in something "Not keeping up on Court Politics while you were informally banished, need to get a primer on the political situation?"

"No, I need you to investigate a new member of the Court." You responded, not really having the time to deal with the tiefling and his habits. "Should be human, black hair, looks like the Witch Queen. Entered Court around about the 10th​ of 11th​ Day of Rose Blooms," You gave a short list of details that Alexander had fed you over the ride there "I believe she operates under the moniker of 'Robyn Lancaster'. Is this enough information for you?"

He curled his lips as he thought about it, twirling the flaming coin in his hands, the fire apparently not really affecting him all that much. "It's more than enough information, I presume that you want this information quickly?"

"Of course, I need to be in Court by tomorrow." You responded, knowing that lying to him was one of the easiest ways to get a poor deal, with him, it was prudent to be direct and to the point.

"Express service, hm," he hummed looking far too amused at this situation, "sure, I can get the information that you need, I won't even charge you for the time frame that you've placed on us, the boys have been needing some exercise lately anyway." He looked disdainfully off the side. "Just be sure to direct some more business to me in the future. If you can promise me that, I'll get some strings pulled and you will be able to know what she ate for breakfast three days ago. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," You say, this is one of the most reliable sources of information that you have in the Capitol, if only you had some record of your previous dealings, you're pretty sure that they owe you some favours and you wouldn't end up owing them one.

Once you give your answer, his slight devilish half-grin turns to a full smile that he was known for "Then, the deal has been struck, Lord Edward, remember that you owe us something and we tend not to forget." He gives you an almost mocking wave of his hand as his image leaves the mirror and the scent of squalor leaves the room and the temperature goes back to normal, though there is still a slight scent of brimstone there. You can't really say that you've had unpleasant encounters with the man before, but you can't say that your conversations with him are overly pleasant either.

Sighing, you get off your knees, brushing off your outfit and fix some aspects, making sure that it is presentable. You've got a noble to track down.

---

It is less than an hour later when you have the letter written and sealed with your own special seal, the Bronzewing Family Crest with a small dagger piercing through the wing. You flag down Ser Alexander as he sits around the house like a bloody idler "Alex, I need you to get this letter to Lord Bellerose." He nodded understanding your request "Make sure that you tell him 'Lord Bronzewing remembers everything' be sure to say that to him."

"Lord Bellerose and that you remember everything. Got it." He said, you nodded, and he bowed at the hip and left the house, off to find that lord at Court. You almost had fun imagining what his face would be when you asked for information from him again. He had always been your sort of toady and pet spy while you were at Court, though everyone but him realised that he always thought that he was quite dashing and bold in his own right, though you knew quite well that the man was very, very dull and quite frankly worthless in most endeavours, unless one needed a cheap 'Yes Man' and they have always been useful.

---

Your next two objectives of investigating rumours and establishing yourself as an actual person who didn't appear out of thin air had a sort of synergy that was almost beautiful in its own right. As you walked around the noble district of town, you made sure to be as easy to spot and as attention-grabbing as possible in your own subtle way, generally responding to comments made in the street, walk around with perfect posture to show confidence and act like you own the place. The fact that you are a finely dressed person who they have never seen before is something that helps quite well, though the slight lingering smell of brimstone does cling to the outfit, so some scrunch their noses at your approach and you're sure that you spotted a single noble making a warding sign against you with his hands.

As you made your way out of the noble's district and into the commerce district, the people moved out of your way slightly, partially out of respect for nobility and partially because of the fact that you had that smell surrounding you, though you were willing to give yourself a compliment when it came to doing your makeup, most of the women in town can't seem to keep their eyes off you and are surprisingly loud, you note, whispering about you and some comments about what they would want to do to you.

Overall you would say that you had some good reputation around time, while many might not know your name, some might know you by your looks, of it feels like you're twenty all over again, except this time, you're actually good looking and smart.

---

It takes an hour to find out that most of your old haunts have long since been closed without you being there to bail them out or just cases of the owners dying, the Witch Queen's War had a habit of killing people apparently.

Eventually you make your way down to a small tavern called 'Spirits End' which is a rather painfully average tavern, unexceptional in most cases, the only real defining feature you can pick up would be the fact that the majority of the clientele here are either minor lords or more well-off merchants, though you are not a big enough fool to not notice the two thieves in a darker corner of the bar, holding a conversation entirely in the more demonic tongue that all tieflings know and with several bits of slang from other languages mixed in.

Ordering yourself a small ale and grimacing slightly from having to deal in silver coins for the first time in decades, tasting the ale you were surprised by how good it tasted though you ignored the drink and relaxed as you listened in on the conversations of the patrons around here.
"I hear the Princess has got a new handmaiden."
"How'd you know?"
You looked in the direction of the conversation and noticed that several minor lords are talking amongst each other, you only recognise one of them, Lord Bellerose.
Though you were wrong, it was Lord Bellerose's idiot son, Desmond Bellerose, who was just about as bright as his uncle and half as likeable, if what little gossip you pick up is anything to go by and here he was, day-drinking like some commoner, such was life you supposed.

Ignoring the asinine chatter of your peers, Architect above, you feel bad just thinking of them as your peers, best avoid them tomorrow at Court. You focus on some other rumours.
"Looked like the Witch Queen, we get it."
Before you can react, there is suddenly a slight tapping on your shoulder, you turn around and see the group of three, what looks like two rather successful merchants and a low ranking noble just sitting around, playing a card game of some description.

"So, what about you stranger? Do you think the dead could come back to life?" One of the merchants said, you notice that he was the one who pointed out the fact that the woman looked like the Witch Queen.

[ ] "There is a possibility, but after five years, it should be theoretically impossible to perform a resurrection."
[ ] "Resurrection is possible, but extremely tricky, the Council would know if something like that happened."
[ ] "She's been dead for half a decade, let the dead rest."

---

Despite the answer you give, you end up talking with them for a while before excusing yourself and going back to your house in the noble district.

You sat down on one of the chairs in the room, crossing your legs, you began to ponder what to do now. For a second, you consider going off to sleep, but with the sun barely setting as it is, you find it hard to justify such a move. Instead you take off your jacket and hang it up off the side, you get the dining room table and slowly, heavily move it to the living room, going into your supplies closet, you placed a map of the city and the Grand Keep down on the table as well as some spare parchment and ink with a quill. A large board which can be used to hang up important information is already placed above the mantelpiece.

Admittedly, it takes you the better part of three hours to do this, strength was never your strong suit and it has only gotten worse as you aged. By now, it is dusk. So what will you do?

[ ] Get a full nights rest, the Architect knows that you will need that for the ever-suffocating Court tomorrow.
[ ] Stay up until late at night plotting and planning.
[ ] Practice with your sword, sure you will be sore, but you need to get into practice.

---

Just a note, plan format is fine for this one as well. The first option is not all that important.

The main room of your old house was typically used as a planning room of sorts, an old map of the Capitol was splayed out over the top of the old dining room table, ink and parchment were off to the side and a small board was placed over the mantle at the fireplace. Getting out of your armchair, you leaned over the table and began to do what you do best: plot like it's going out of style.

You admit, you had very little to plan with, the Thieves Guild hadn't gotten back to you with any information yet and neither had Lord Bellerose, the information that you did have was apparently the Princess was getting a handmaiden and that the woman who could be the Witch Queen appeared in an explosion of arcane energy, apparently in a public space, probably either the noble district or the commerce district.

The information about the handmaiden was interesting, news had reached your ears before of the fact that the Princess had some problems trusting people, so if she trusted someone enough to have them follow her around at all times, she would probably be enough to slip a casual suggestion to the Princess, who could, of course, slip a few words into the King, provided they aren't completely under the control of the Witch Queen.

While the information about her appearance meant that she was probably a powerful mage of some kind, though the fact that the Witch Queen had been killed five years ago meant that it should be impossible for her to be brought back to life… though you admit, your magic lessons rarely focused on concepts of resurrection theory or necromancy, that was only the treat of magic prodigies and archmagi, that and you might have slept through some of your magic lessons when it came down to theory. Sighing you sat down back into your armchair and leaned backwards, the lack of information made this plotting difficult for you, but then again, this was just going to be the groundworks.

There was a knock on your door, you looked up from your planning and noticed that one of your three-hour candlesticks had almost gone out, there was another knock at your door, it was quiet and polite if you were sleeping you probably wouldn't have noticed it. You walked up to the door and opened it.


Standing in front of you with perfect posture and hands behind his back was a tiefling with red skin, white hair and almost stereotypical bullhorns that are synonymous with 'tiefling'. He was wearing alright leather clothing, the browns and leathers of his outfit made it a bit of a mixture of formal and roguish, though the red, cloak which was thrown over one shoulder solidified a more formal look. His gold piercings shined in the low light as well as the brass buckles of his outfit.

He bowed his head to you as he held up his right hand in a greeting "Gryyzulqw, pudarv. Xe krulq xe pywwiqy orap zmy Thieves Guild" he said, you assumed that you had a confused look on your face, he sighed slightly "Milord, I bring a message from the Thieves Guild." He made eye contact with you and, with his left hand, handed you several sheets of parchment that showed signs of being hastily bound together, "This is the information that you requested." You took the parchment from him "The Queen of Thieves also welcomes you to her fine city, Lord Bronzewing." He added

"Thank you for the information, tell Her Majesty that I am glad for the welcome." You responded, knowing just how arrogant the Court of Thieves was, you handed him a single silver coin "You may go now."

"Oo tafrwy, milord." He said, bowing his head while putting both of his hands behind his back, he turned on his heel and began casually walking out of the noble district.

Looking down at the information, you decided that you hated the Thieves Guild, if only because of just how overdramatic these people were, honestly the 'Queen of Thieves'.

You closed the door behind you and looked through the parchments, with each piece of paper, your rage increased more and more, they had given you virtually nothing to go on, it was like she appeared out of thin fucking air given how little is known about her.

Her real name was unknown, her magical prowess was apparently unknown, her connection to the Royal Family was unknown. Just like you had heard, on the 9th​, she appeared in a burst of arcane energy within the Commerce District, Ser Alexander apprehended her, she showed signs of confusion at the accusations, was released the next day following a short trail and has been at large since then, signs indicate that she has apparently grown attached to Her Highness, honestly its more likely that she's a charlatan or a victim of magic experimentation more than anything else.

You massaged the temple of your head as you sighed, well, if nothing else. At least you're back in the Game. "I should probably get to bed."

---

When morning came, there was a flurry of getting dressed and making sure that your makeup was nothing short of perfect, the youth of Lord Stone had to be apparent from a glance, you topped up the dye in your hair, making sure not a piece of it was out of place.

When you were dressed and properly dyed and the like, you stood outside the Grand Keep, the seat of power within the Capitol and, obviously, where Court was situated, you were waiting for your nephews to arrive.

As if on cue, your two useless nephews arrived, Alexander and Darian walked up with confidence in their strides, though that was because of how Alexander was walking with perfect posture and Darian's own natural confident demeanour, they were dressed in more formal clothes with rather light looking cloaks and not in armour like they were seemingly always dressed in.

Their formal clothes were spotless and had the symbol of House Bronzewing on a brooch that secured their cloaks. Their clothes were grey with trimmings that were a pattern of gold and bronze coloured fabric.

Darian's cloak was red with the symbol of the Royal Knights emblazoned in black where his right arm would be. While Alexander's cloak was black with the white symbol of whatever lesser known order of paladins that he was a part of.

"My lord," Alexander said as he approached you, "are you ready to enter?"

"Of course I am." You respond confidently, "Just follow my lead and this should go smoothly." You walked through the open doors of the grand keep, flanked by your nephews, along the main entranceway there was a large tapestry that showed the formation of the Kingdom of Emain and then the Conquest of the first Winter King, you supposed that if the Witch Queen won, there'd be another tapestry to show that as well.

Then you passed through another set of doors, in which there was a set of stairs leading downwards to the Royal Court, at the doorway, there was the long-suffering royal herald, Leon. "Presenting Ser Alexander, the Zealous of House Bronzewing and Ser Darian, the Jovial, of House Bronzewing." He shouted, his voice ringing clear, for the most part, it was obvious that he was a few minutes away from losing his voice. "And…" he trailed off, clearly at a loss for who you were

"Lord Renford of House Stone, I'm here to represent Lord Edward the Treacherous." You explained to him.

"Thanks," he said to you casually before coughing and raising the volume of his voice "Representing Edward the Treacherous, Lord Renford of House Stone."

At the mention of your name, all life in the Court seemed to vanish and pure silence reigned for about a few seconds as you started to walk down the stairs, then the nobles started muttering amongst each other. Ser Darian went off to the side and disappeared among the minor nobility and Ser Alexander went off to the side, presumably to look for the Witch.

In front of you was a woman with somewhat pale skin and long flowing black hair and a rather elegant circlet and earrings that were engraved with sapphires that matched her eyes. It was Princess Anna Winter, the current Heir to the throne and who was giving you possibly the politest smile one could give if they were stuck in Court for as long as she was. She was wearing a purple court dress.

You gave a low bow at the hip with an almost dramatic flourish "Your Highness," You said, making sure that the tone of your voice was more of a tenor than your normal baritone, "Tales of your beauty are told throughout Pacajteroj." You finished. She returned the compliment with a curtsy and a bit of a wider smile that failed to reach her eyes.

"Thank you, Lord Stone. I trust that your trip to Serenity's Grace was pleasurable." She responded with all the politeness and respect that would be expected of one handling a particularly venomous snake.

"It was wonderful," You lied, flashing her a smile, "If you are wondering about my noble credentials, it's a recent development, I'm entirely at the pleasure the Lady Bronzewing and Lord Edward, for the Gathering," You explained before she could ask any questions of you.

"Indeed," Another voice said, you looked to the side and saw.

A woman, somewhat older with long, messy black hair tied into a braided ponytail that was thrown onto one of her shoulders, she was currently in a thinking pose, though you could tell that she was mocking you when she opened her mouth "I'm sure that a man who is known for treachery is someone who you want to be known to be in debt to." She said, you got a look at the rest of her, she was wearing a black dress with a bit of a feathery trim in what was obviously a foreign style.

"And you are...?" You asked, though you probably knew the answer to the question that you were asking.

"Robyn Lancaster, if you ask Ser Alexander, I'm the secret love child of the Witch Queen, or I am her, depending on his mood." She added, looking towards the knight in question, with a slight smirk. "But it is an absolute pleasure to meet you," she curtsied, but she somehow made it mocking in nature. Her emerald eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Charming..." You muttered, so this was supposed to be the feared Witch Queen "I've never heard of House Lancaster."

"And I've never heard of House Stone. The main difference is that I don't claim to be to a noble." Robyn responded, "I also don't represent a man whose main achievement is having a plot blow up massively in his face." She grinned, her eyes taking in almost every detail of your appearance

"I like you." You said, tone a bit mocking as well. You would admit saying that to people you didn't really like was more a habit of Edward, but she never met Edward and Anna probably couldn't remember him.

You walked away from the pair with the swagger that was befitting of a man who had new power and possibly new money, talking with her was probably going to result in a headache. You could hear the pair of highborn ladies talking with each other about your noble credentials, Robyn already had suspicions of Lord Stone's actual lordship.

---

The rest of the day passed in a blur, it was easy to blend in at Court when you weren't that guy who was good friends with the King, or a known member of House Bronzewing, or both. No one really talked to your when it came down to it, they just gave you a pitful look.

The Court was basically as you remember it, it was almost uncanny how little had changed during the two decades that you have been away, the only thing that was different was the King, the Heir and the fact that the Princess and the Witch had disappeared sometime during the afternoon.

Eventually you made your way back to your house in the noble district and poured over more plans, you got a report from Lord Bellerose but it told you nothing that you could've figured out yourself aside from one thing 'Always at the side of Her Highness' was written and you realised how she was surviving at Court, the two didn't seem to be separate.

So what do you want to do tomorrow? (Pick Four, plan format)

---

[ ] Go to Silk and Steel Tailors, the business is in debt to you and you could always get some more practical clothing.

[ ] Go to Iron and Blood Blacksmiths, you are old friends with the owner, Robert, he could get you some nice armour if you feel like some more direct confrontation is needed.

[ ] Go to the Adventurer's Guild, sure you would have to pay commission for going through the guild, but it might be enough to get yourself some bodyguards … or assassins.

[ ] Talk to your Nephews, they are your only real allies in the city as such, it would be a good job to know them better.

[ ] Investigate Rumours, your old haunts may be gone, but there are always rumours and there might be a bit of truth to some of them.

[ ] Talk to the Queen of Thieves, the underworld has always been a fun group of people to talk to, while the Court of Thieves is well guarded, you are smart enough to know how to get in.

[ ] Mingle in Court, the nobles there are irritating, but that doesn't meant that you can't pretend to tolerate them enough to build up a good reputation

[ ] Request additional funds, this move might be suspicious consider who you are supposed to be, but a letter to Sparrow's Reach requesting funds might not go amiss.

[ ] Plot, plot and plot some more. It never hurts to have more plans in place, some backup locations to lay low ready.

[ ] Grill Alexander for more information, your Nephew is the one who dragged you hear and explained the situation to you, he might now more details for you.

[ ] Go to the Apothecaries, unfortunately, all of your investments in this field in the Capitol have failed, but you might be able to go to other stores in order to purchase some needed supplies.

[ ] Go to the Royal Library to study Magic Theory. The theory of magic is something that you are not all that skilled with, considering just how dry it is, but that doesn't mean that you can't study it.

[ ] Go to the Royal Library to research the Witch Queen. If this 'Robyn Lancaster' is indeed the Witch Queen, you might want to research who she is supposed to be, in order to understand her.

[ ] Explore the Grand Keep, it's been two decades since you've been here and Helias II might have very well added some new features.

---

Please ask questions if you have any. It would seriosuly make my day. And don't forget: PLAN FORMAT