Questing for a Quest

Psyre strode into the Throne Room, his quarterstaff in his hand, and stopped in its very center. His voice was confident, but not loud by any measure, as he calmly said, "King Cedric, you and I have had our differences. However, the people of this land will need help regardless. Many Kings of the past have offered to their the citizens the opportunity to quest for the kingdom and earn gold in doing so. Even your ally, King Pendragon, has done so. Today, I have come here to request the same. The North has done well for itself due to the many brave and powerful souls who reside here, so there is money in the coffers to finance such a venture. I can kill bandits, acquire information, or whatever else would help the citizens of this fine land."

The words echoed softly around the room for a moment, and Psyre waited with bated breath. He had come out of his love for the North and a desire to help the people of his land. He still wasn't sure if Cedric posed a significant threat to the good of the land, and this seemed a good way to find an answer. The events that had transpired couldn't be undone, but perhaps Cedric could prove himself. Psyre had liked him once, and he wanted to believe that the man he had trusted was a good one.

Cedric had been sitting in his throne, doing some kingly paperwork. There was actually a lot of it, but it didn't bother Cedric. All of it was important, including sending birthday cards to the citizens.

He may have some extra free time.

As he finished up the work for that day, Psyre strode through the room. It had been awhile since Cedric had seen Psyre, letting him have his space. He trusted his son... Well He guessed Psyre didn't see himself that way anymore, but that didn't really matter. Cedric had decided he'd always be there for Psyre, even if he didn't want him to be.

Cedric watched Psyre walk in closely, not speaking. He remembered Psyre seemed to get... a bit riled up at his voice. He'd see what he wanted first, and if he needed to speak at all after that. He merely sat up in his throne, and leaned a bit forward to show he was listening.

"King Cedric, you and I have had our differences. However, the people of this land will need help regardless. Many Kings of the past have offered to their the citizens the opportunity to quest for the kingdom and earn gold in doing so. Even your ally, King Pendragon, has done so. Today, I have come here to request the same. The North has done well for itself due to the many brave and powerful souls who reside here, so there is money in the coffers to finance such a venture. I can kill bandits, acquire information, or whatever else would help the citizens of this fine land."


Cedric listened to Psyre's request. Was that it? He'd been waiting for citizens to come and ask for work, he had a list of things in case they did. 

Psyre waited, looking like he was going to be declined.

"Is it okay if I speak? I don't want to anger you." Cedric kept his voice calm, devoid of his usual banter. He knew Psyre still wasn't okay with him, for instance he compared him to the knight king. Ivan! Mr. No Fun! Mr.Frown Killing Machine! He did like the king of the West, they were friends, but really! When had he been more friends with Psyre than he had? Well he knew that answer but it still stung, he did deserve it though.

Cedric sighed lightly, standing up to get his list. It wasn't far from him, but it was long so the standing was required. He looked through it and then dropped it tothe floor, kicking it to the side. None of these would be right for Psyre. He remembered The Order of the Eagle, and his encounter with them. They still posed a danger to the North, and he'd have to find out more information before he struck again. That would be it, then.

"There's a terrorist group I guess you would call them, The Order of the Eagle." Cedric turned toward Psyre, keeping his voice as he had before."I'll keep it as brief as I can so you aren't with me for too long, I'm sorry you're required to see me in person.

"There have been illegal weapon sales, and other criminal activity in the North. It poses a threat to the people who reside here, and possibly others. I don't know a lot about them, and that's where you come in." Cedric paused to smile very slightly, "I'd like you to gather information on them, if you're up for it. I Know you are, really. That wasn't a 'jab' at you or anything," Cedric coughed slightly and glanced at the wall. "I'll pay you 20 right now, for any expenses. You'll get the rest of your pay when the job is done. Thank you for serving our land and home." ((-20 gold from Cedric, +20 to Psyre.))

Cedric looked back at Psyre, awaiting his response.

"I'd also like to request you come back home safely, and visit with Rowena once in a while... I'll be gone whenever you come over."

Psyre was taken aback. Cedric seemed to have a list of things that needed to be done around the North. And beyond that, he had taken other items of interest into consideration and had prioritized some that he thought particularly important or dangerous. That showed not only care and concern, but also a dedication to the citizens that Psyre had not entirely been expecting. He remembered how well Cedric had treated him, Rowenna, and Archea, and knew that he couldn't be all bad. But he was clearly also not all good. Now, Psyre just had to decide if the good outweighed the bad. Even in just this small conversation, Cedric had shown himself to be more selfless than Psyre thought. He put Psyre, Rowenna, and the citizens of the North above himself, and Psyre couldn't help but respect him for that. 

Even though this had been intended to be, to some small degree, a test for Cedric, Psyre's primary concern was for the people of the North. So when he heard "terrorist group," he looked up sharply. He had never known such a thing to exist in the North, so the mere thought was shocking to him. Illegal weapon sales? Is it illegal to sell weapons? In the tribe, we jus-- Oh, right. Village. Laws. People do bad things. Psyre, still not entirely accustomed to life with people, took a moment to grasp the idea. Laws were a bit beyond his reach at the moment, as in the tribe, people knew what they were supposed to do and did it. And it worked. Well, right up until he ruined it. Psyre pushed those painful thoughts and memories aside and nodded to Cedric.

"I'll be back as soon as I've gathered what I think to be a suitable amount of information. Is there anywhere you know I should start? Any common places for deals? I can go in blind if need be, but a starting point will probably help me to find them significantly faster." Psyre paused for a moment, then looked at the floor while he spoke next. "And of course I'll come back to visit Rowenna. And you can be gone most of the time, but you'll need to be here at least once. We need to have a long conversation. You owe me an explanation." He hadn't meant to sound quite as hostile as he did in the last part, but he wasn't going to apologize. No, Cedric needed to understand how much he had hurt Psyre. His trust and hope rebuilt, and then parts of that shattered into tiny pieces. 

And yet, Psyre could already feel himself starting to warm up to Cedric again. Not enough to want to call him family again, or even to want to talk to him very much, but enough to start to show his face around the Great Hall again. Perhaps after an extended conversation, Psyre would once again begin to like him. But he would never trust him. Not again. Not to that degree. That had been lost. But Psyre could still see good in Cedric, could still see how he could help the North and all those around him. Some said that in order to lead, one had to have secrets. Psyre disagreed, but he had heard it said. Cedric could be a good man and still not have his trust. That was likely how it would be.

"Actually, you know what? I'll just go ahead. I need to get better at just jumping into the midst of things, rather than spending too long preparing. You have kingly stuff to do, so I don't want to waste any more of your time. If you have time to spare, maybe you could start checking some stuff off that list. It looks quite long." Psyre almost winced at the tone of his own voice as he turned around and strode out the Throne Room. He really hadn't meant to be that harsh. Oh well. Time and understanding would help mend the wound. Hopefully.


[Exit]

((905 words IC, requesting 18 attribute points

Attributes:
+18 memory

Runes: 
900 toward Rupture of the Flame (800 words remaining)

"Of course I'll come back to visit Rowenna. And you can be gone most of the time, but you'll need to be here at least once. We need to have a long conversation. You owe me an explanation."


Cedric was pleased to hear Psyre would take on the mission, and that he would visit Rowena. Psyre was right, he did need an explanation. Thinking back on it, he probably hadn't heard about his position as an assassin. He probably wouldn't even understand it, or how an assassin could be king, due to the fact he was tribe born.

"We will have a full on discussion when you return," Cedric responded. "The sooner we have it, the better. You should finish your mission as fast as you can."

Just as Cedric was going to tell him they were active near the docks, he said he wanted to go in blind. 

"You have kingly stuff to do, so I don't want to waste any more of your time. If you have time to spare, maybe you could start checking some stuff off that list. It looks quite long."

Cedric couldn't contain the smirk that became a full on grin as Psyre continued to talk. He thankfully contained his laughter, and watched Psyre leave.

Cedric glaned at the list of duties he compiled for citizens, knowing Psyre didn't see they were all basically community service for money. He wanted to keep it fair game to even the younger people, after all. Cedric sighed and got up from his chair. He should go check on what Archea was doing, he hadn't seen him that morning.

[[EXIT: Word count: 942 going towards doubling in the assassin class, now 2332 left.]]

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