VIL/DAI:
[Private to DAI; VIL:
You are hustled to the front gate. Once you arrive, you see what appears to be the majority of the palace guard has been mobilized. More mounted guardsmen ride past you, briefly stopping to talk with your escort.

You arrive at the impressive main gate of the castle. As one of the oldest parts of the palace, it is as magnificent in its appearance as its design. It would be safe to say it is probably the most defensible position built by man on the continent.

You can see the inner courtyard of the castle as you enter the castle's maw. You pick up the sound of Weston screaming furiously, his voice echoing throughout the 30' tall entryway.

The beginning of his yelling is inaudible, but it seems as if he's yelling out into the archway when he says, "Put these two some place cold. I'm sure the king might want to ask why they're betraying him."

OOC: Go ahead and edit your following posts if you want to say or do anything as you're walking closer.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:37, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

21:28, Today: VIL rolled 9 using 1d20+4. Listen check.

19:32, Today: DAI rolled 7 using 1d20+1. listen(do you hear what I hear?).
See, to be regularly bad at hearing...I blame poor child education.

Jack sat stunned. Sara was gone? "Weston, she's missing? What happened? Didn't she make it to see her father? WHERE IS SHE?" Jack practically roared the last, on his feet with his hands clenched to his side.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:08, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

DAI and VIL hear JACK's exclamation as they are brought closer.

DAI, VIL: Weston, in the doorway of a room to the side of the entryway seems tired of talking to you already, even though you've not exchanged a word.

"Get those two out of there. Bring the two new ones down, too. I'm sure the king will want to see them."

The two of you in the cell are pulled out by two guards each with Weston watching in the doorway. The guards behind VIL and DAI dismount and are joined by two others.

You're funneled into the hallway in a 2x2 square with two guards holding both of your arms each.

Weston turns around at the group of twelve people he's about to lead into the castle. First, he turns to JACK and ZEIG, "I would suggest treating your interaction with the king more seriously than you did with me, especially under the circumstances." He turns back to looking at everyone. "Do not speak another, singular word until you are in His presence."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:21, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

Jack gives a short, terse nod, but he wasn't listening. He couldn't unclench his fists.

DAI blinks quietly...more in disbelief than anything. He raises one hand objectively, as if to speak but...upon hearing Weston's words lowers it and remains silent, his gaze now hovering to VIL's new sword...

Vil glances at Dai and shakes his head, then motions with his head to look forward.

DAI keeps his eyes forward, even if his face had shifted below his veil it would be hard to notice. Right now DAI made sure to not drop the box...still not knowing its contents.

Zeig's arms drop to his side limply.

"Sara's............gone?"

Two of the guards pick up ZEIG's somewhat limp body by his arms. It is insanely uncomfortable on his shoulders, and he perks back up and continues to walk.

Everyone is taken through the courtyard. The wind is howling through the myriad of structures of the castle. Guards can be seen scattering around in all sorts of busy directions.

Weston does not turn back once the entire trip down into the first level of the castle's basement. You pass the armory and down into what appears to be a bunker or some sort. The King is inside. The large room, about 40' by 40' has several thick pillars supporting the ceiling, which is only 10' tall.

He is studying a map on the wall of the continent on which Cornelia resides, but it looks slightly distorted. None of you can place why without taking time to study it. He turns and locks eyes with each of you before speaking.

"Thank you men. Please leave us. Knight Captain, grant us your company for a while. I know you have much to do, so let's make this brief."

You are all released. All eight guards and Weston bow their heads in exact precision. The guards step back three paces before turning on their heels and leaving the room.

"We have some time, I'd assume, but not so much as to waste it," the King remarks. "I want you to tell me exactly the last time any of you saw Sara."

"Roland." Jack said numbly. "A guard named Roland had her."

Vil nods silently, raging quietly. He could not give voice for fear it might be something he'd regret.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:52, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

"When we were separated she left with Roland..."

"Knowing Sara, you guys were probably trying to hear the assembly this evening from the balcony." The king thinks for a moment. "Weston, where is Roland now?"

"I'll find out as soon as possible, my liege. He was, as one of our best guardsmen, on patrol of the upper balcony during the assembly."

"Some of the pieces are beginning to come together then." The king then looks at VIL, then DAI. "And you two. You were separated at some point from the others. When and where was the last time that either of you saw Sara? What were the conditions of the separation?"

DAI looked to VIL, hoping he would speak but...deciding it was left upon him to try andfail at articulating once more.

"We...VIL, Sara, and I, were with Roland and...then we separated...she told us to...leave...and that's the last time...I saw her. When did she go missing? This is...the first I've heard..."

DAI left out the handing over of the box...in case it was meant for him and his companions alone.

The king calmly asks, "So the last time you saw Sara, she was with Roland?"

[Private to DAI; VIL: OOC: You of course know that she was not.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:24, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

DAI looked to the side...wondering how his words were interpreted as such.

"W-Well...no, Roland took us to the Hallway, and Sara went off somewhere else, and we went our separate ways...me and VIL making it to...the West Gate after the...attack."

DAI was regretting letting Sara go off on her own...and it was becoming more painfully obvious.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:35, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

"Attack...?  What...but.......this was supposed to be our party...Just what exactly is happening here?  Secret meetings with foreigners, the wind failing...Sara..."

Zeig's fatigue is really starting to show from both the events of the day and the sleepless stressful night before.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:39, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

Weston steps in, "If I may interrupt, my liege, there has been evidence of some sort of violence at the West gate. I don't have any more information yet, but it appears we were missing several palace guards."

At this, a man in a rope steps in, bows, and hands a sheet of paper to Weston. The king waits patiently while Weston reads it.

"Of the seven missing, one dead at the palace's west gate, and one dead at the castle ground's West gate. Five guards are missing or have yet to report or respond to beacons, one of which is Roland. My liege, if the princess is not on palace grounds anymore, it looks as if she most likely left the West gate. The rest of our guard's bodies may be in the gardens or further outside of the gate in town. I would suggest we start looking there. They may have already been found."

The king looks back at the four of you. "I am not satisfied with the sitaution at hand, but I do not think any of you would intentially put Sara in harm's way." He turns and looks at the map behind him on the wall. "Weston, I am loathe to think servants to the kingdom capable of such a thing, but this also could have been in part perpetrated by our own guards, could it not?"

Weston clears his throat. "That is a possibility we have not ruled out, my liege."

"Alright. Weston, we begin two weeks early. Take them to the south gate of the city and set them on their way as we discussed. I hope this situation is a way to prepare them for things to come. Report back to me after you have done this with any information. Alert Garland and have all actives ready to mobilize, and have him come see me as well."

The king turns the group of you. "You have not asked for what I am placing upon you, but it was never for you to decide. Your parents were all talented and loving people who attempted to save you of your fate and I regret allowing them to try. Go now and find my daughter. I will make clear all that has been said when you return."

Jack nodded immediately. "My king, thank you for the opportunity!"

Weston says nothing, bows, steps back three paces and then turns towards the door. He waits in the doorway for the four of you to follow.

Thunder so forceful that it can even be heard as a dull roar in the bunker cracks the sky. The king looks at each of you one last time, "This indeed has been a day that we have needed you. Bring light back upon the world. Start with finding my daughter. If the poetry of legend can help us, begin your way to the Temple of Fiends."

The king looks weary and regretful. He turns and looks at the map once more. Weston clears his throat loudly in the doorway and gently pats an armored foot on the floor.

You're welcome to make Knowledge: Religion, Knowledge: Geography, or Knowledge: History checks.

[Private to DAI: You know the Temple of Fiends is an old, old building north of Cornelia. You do not recall its purpose, origin, or much of its past other than it has not been used, if "used" could have ever even been applied, by Cornelians for your entire life.]
[Private to ZEIG: You know the Temple of Fiends is an old, old building north of Cornelia. It has not been used for anything for the entire time you've been alive, nor for anything you can think of for well over hundreds of years. You have never even found an account of what people may have even constructed it in the first place. It holds religious significance to many superstitious people as a place of ancient secrets.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:22, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

DAI nods silently, and moves to leave.

"The...Temple of Fiends?"
22:11, Today: DAI rolled 9 using 1d20+6. Know(religion).
OOC: Of course...the skill I actually have ranks in I roll low :/
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

Upon hearing the King's words Zeig is seemingly calmed, his disposition changing the moment he heard the king mentioned his parents.

"We will find Sara because she is our friend."

01:17, Today: ZEIG rolled 13 using 1d20+5. Knowledge religion.
01:17, Today: ZEIG rolled 10 using 1d20+5. Knowledge history.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:20, Sat 05 Feb 2011.

"Can you take us to the West Gate, Weston?" Jack asked.

[OOC]My last post never happened >.>[/OOC]
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Sat 05 Feb 2011.