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A fun game of cops and robbers. Milieu clenched the board tightly as her jaw strained against clenched teeth. In a last bid for dominance the teal troll leveled her searing gaze at the jadeblood.

Was all their fighting for nothing? All the struggle? Milieu felt the urge to correct the new Comer red troll. Aakaas did not mean that their efforts were misguided or verging on pointless. Everyone who donned the rebel side knew this as an underlying get truth. It was that which they struggled against in the lull against the royalist. No, Milieu swallowed against the tightness in her throat. What the teal troll assumed Aakaas meant was more sinister.

Then of course the offer of immortality. It hardly brushed past Milieu, but it was strong enough to make the wall troll shake. Three simultaneous thoughts battled for dominance, creating a fierce pounding in her head. Live forever.. sunlight... voice, could she give me a voice again? Milieu dropped her head to stare at the ground, her glare having faltered and failed.

With a shaky hand she wrote a new message and presented it to the rainbowdrinker

|The others have answered and asked you the things I would have about being a rainbow drinker and death. My question is different. Lady Aakaas do you mean to say that the battles and hardships we've endured were orchastrated by the crown for the amusement of both sides? That both sides were playing a game created by the crown? That there are no rebels or royalists, but yhe queen and her pawns? |

She prayed to be patronized.

Wow, a real life rainbowdrinker! Like in the stories Cerise had read sometimes, about death and blood and all sorts of neat things. In her weirder fantasies, she'd always imagined what it would be like to be an immortal creature who drank blood (she mostly just worked with regular meats, and not their blood)... And especially as a lowblood, who would die so early on compared to higherblooded trolls, it was always a fun idea. Live forever! She'd have to remember this place and find out if she could become a rainbowdrinker too, or if it really was only for jadebloods. How fun would that be!

Anyway, the jadeblood spoke to everyone, asking dumb questions about philosophy and death or something, but Cerise was more interested in the box... and what the jadeblood was asking.

"You want us to kill someone! Cool!" she said, grinning. That was awesome! And here she thought the best part of today would be getting some cookies and shiny trinkets from an old lady, but now she's on an assassin mission! Nice! Cerise tugged on Frossa's arm excitedly. This was probably the best day ever, and was gonna be something to remember forever!

Frossa remained silent, standing uncharacteristically still as she listened to the seemingly ancient jadeblood speak. Lingering behind Alifax, her sunken eyes remained completely locked on Vrykol's face as if she was trying very intently to decipher some coded message. The adult troll unnerved her which wasn't an easy thing to accomplish; Frossa had never met a fully grown troll, let alone a jadeblood... and especially not a rainbowdrinker. She really wasn't sure what to make of Vrykol, so instead kept her usually large mouth shut, merely watching. The purpleblood didn't even protest when the older woman tucked away her pretty sparkly things and cookies, despite having her ever fat wallet on hand. What Frossa wanted from this jadeblood wasn't her jewelery, or her munchies, (even if she admittedly was growing envious of the trolls quietly munching on their goodies), it was adventure. Honest to goodness, genuine adventure! She loved FLARP, yes, it was the only way Alifax could ever convince her to actively participate in any of the Queen's events. Hell, it was the only reason he managed to pull her out to this gog-forsaken part of Alternia, but this was real. A real, breathing, live(ish) rainbowdrinker jadeblood was sitting right there, cryptically hinting at immortality. It had been so, so long since Frossa had had any real fun- and while she was half the size she used to be, this time she had Hippodad in tow. The highblood reached up to pap her tank-like lusus on the snout as he aggressively huffed in the direction of the jadeblood. Clearly, her usual tactics to get what she wanted weren't viable here- the jadeblood had even flat out said so. She was okay keeping her mouth shut, smiling politely and playing the rainbowdrinker's game... as long as it paid off. And she was ever so certain it would.

Frossa's fixation on Vrykol only broke when Alifax mentioned immortality. Why did he seem so intrigued? She furrowed her brows up at him, although more in confusion and less so in disapproval. She supposed trolls in his caste lived pathetically short lives compared to highbloods of her caliber- Frossa had never even hosted the idea of something like immortality in terms of herself. She would have to remember to bring it up later... would he be coming back?

As Vrykol continued to verbally tip toe around her intentions, speaking of 'cures' for immortality, Frossa felt a bubbling sensation filling her chest, spreading infectiously and boiling up through her throat. The corners of her lips twitched as she held in her snickers. Then Cerise said 'kill'. No longer able to stifle her giggles, Frossa's petite shoulders began heaving with laughter, face splitting in a huge, shark-like grin. The highblood threw her head back, hysterically laughing into the air as Hippodad watched silently with beady eyes. This jadeblood wanted them to kill an immortal enemy with some sort of mystic cure slash weapon? Was this even real life right now? This whole situation could have been pulled directly from a campaign in one of her FLARP books- and it was amazing. A quest.

Frossa's maniacal laughter died down enough for her to finally speak. "I think we're game." She paused for a moment, glancing over at the bowing orangeblood disdainfully before looking back up at Vrykol. "How is this 'cure' administered?"

Keionx ignored the outbursts – violence wasn't the point here, this was a quest. A special quest, for the good of Alternia. This was adventure, excitement, and heroism.

Se followed the jadeblood's gaze to Vremea – the only one of the group she truly knew - looking at her friend for a long moment. Vremea's... responsibility? What did that mean?

No matter. Her friends responsibilities were hers, too. That was what heros did – they helped their friends. This quest was becoming more heroic by the moment.

Keionx straightened. ”Thou hast mine word,” she said, very seriously, ”I shalt see this completed” She didn't know about the others, or entirely care. This was the sort of thing she had been hatched to do, that she had been prepared for every day of her life, and she would do it alone if she had to. ”I understand” she said, holding out her hand for her portion.

And she did, or she thought she did. And if she didn't... well she would at least find out.

For once, the puzzle clicked in Odette's head. The jadeblood from the desert? He wasn't dead? Well, he was dead, but more appropriately, undead. And more importantly, she hadn't killed him all those sweeps ago. It felt like a great weight had been lifted from her chest.

But it didn't last. No... Vrykol was sending them to finish the job. To finish what they had started. She was certain that the jadeblood's rampage was her fault, that she would be traced back to the source of the problem. Did that mean that it was her responsibility to protect the populace from her wrongdoings? In her mind, yes, it was.

But was she capable?

Odette looked at her feet, hands clasped nervously over her chest. She bit her lip, unsure if she should speak her mind. One part of her head was telling herself to keep quiet and accept her fate, the other screamed to warn the children. Kei, Mili, they didn't know how dangerous this troll was. She had to tell them. They deserved to know.

"M-miss Vrykol... I don't mean to be rude but," Odette took a deep breath, "If this is... who I think it is... what gives you the confidence that we can do this alone?" Odette glanced away from the jadeblood, embarrassed by her own question. "Last time... It took almost an army to stop him. We're just a few kids... some of us more than others," Odette said, fiddling with a strand of hair. She looked at Kei, and back to the other two girls. She thought of what happened that fateful night in the desert. She would never, never wish that experience on them. But the others had already made their decision, so she would have to do everything in their power to protect them. But, she wondered, would it be enough?

Alifax was a little peeved about all these trolls speaking as though it was a FLARP game and they needed to remain true to character or what have you (ugh, that'd always been the worst part of Hazzan's clouding). It wasn't as though the difference between roleplay and life was a thin line - to Alifax, there was a deep chasm between them. "We've already solved riddles just to get here," he spoke, an unusual outburst - but that most of his company was similarly lowblooded (Frossa and the tall girl with baubles in her hair excepted), and, honestly? He'd had quite a bit of experience leading wigglers around after the recent fiasco.

He narrowed his eyes at Vremea, Odette, and Athene. Somehow he wasn't surprised that the pushy yellowblood was responsible for provoking this hassle. But he took another breath, and frowned chidingly at Keionx. "S-sorry - I don't know you, but you shouldn't make promises without knowing exactly what you're about to do. Whoever...he is, how would we identify him? Is he someone affiliated with the crown?" They were lowbloods, for the most part. They couldn't afford to assassinate some dignitary in a highblooded rampage or something, undead or not, just to satisfy the whims of some long-lived stalker. "Whoever they've angered, whoever he'll kill...sorry, but I've spent too much time alive to want to attract any more negative attention from the crown than I already am by coming here."

It was, for Alifax, quite a bit more verbose than usual, but in his defense she was almost like a figure cut from wiggler's tales. She was hardly real - she was a jadeblood, and a rainbow drinker, at that.

He glanced at the girls he'd brought in with him and fidgeted. "You two should think about this, too," he finished, more softly.

Shaking her head at Alifax, she stretched out her arms in a gesture of appeal, and to invite him to look closely at her. An old troll in a simple dusty dress, no insignia, no uniform. "Do I look political? Hidink out here far avay from the royal court and the self proclaimed freedom fighters? I am not asking you to do anything for the queen, nor against her, but simply for the trolls that right now vill die unless there is an intervention. If my timing is correct, they approach it vith every step. I am not asking you to be on 'my side', I have none. I simply vant lives to stop being lost. This is vat happens ven there are no vars. Ve turn on ourselves, time and time again." Looking down thoughtfully, then back up again, she put her hands together. "But yes, I vill not force. I had hoped that perhaps some of you had grown strong since you had first attracted my attention, but you are still so veak. So young. And bringing even younger vones vith you. Do you understand that I am unvilling here as vell? I simply don't see the alternative."

Finally, she opened the case and showed a section of small glass vials, each filled with a thick, jade green liquid. Picking one up, she looked at Odette. "If there vas just you, I vould not be asking you to go. I vould arrange his passing some other vay. I am not asking you to go defeat him, I am asking you to go save them. My cure vill veaken him enough so that you vill all stand a chance, rather than simply perish."

As she spoke, she turned her head to Vremea and showed her the vial as well, along with a tired shrug. "He vill not listen to me. I have approached him. If you could get him to listen to sense, then by all means try. Though, I do not believe he vants to listen. He vas alvays stubborn. Did you know? He knows how to heal mother grubs. His own had become ill -- he saved it from death. Mine too, once. Ven you arrived at his house he could have offered that, rather than the veapon he pointed at you. He's been the one to choose his path, this entire time. I could be incorrect, but I think he vas searching for an excuse to lash out at this vorld." Her mouth twisted in a wry smile, and she raised an eyebrow. "And the others vill not stop, simply because they vill not be able to. He vill provoke them. He is very good at it. You fought him before, yes? You have seen his insistence. He vill make them choose betveen combat or death. Thank you for helping to explain things to the other though. Truth be told, I do not like to say it out loud. Ve vere one ... allies."


Giving a small sigh and retracting her hand, she drummed her fingers on the table. "Ve must go. Time is forever passing, and if ve are late then .... vell. You can imagine, I hope. If you do not vish to follow me, this is vere our paths part." Standing up stiffly, she reached under the desk and slowly, painfully stepped out from behind the table, revealing a walking stick clutched in her hand, helping her move her unsteady legs across the floor. "If you feel like doing something very brave, and possibly quite foolish, please, take one of the vials and follow me." She gestured to the table. There was enough on it for each troll to take one. Then, turning away, she slowly shuffled to a tapestry hanging on the wall. Pushing it aside, she stepped through the tunnel beyond, not looking back.

(If your troll wants to help Vrykol, please have them taking a vial before tomorrow.)

Vrykol made her position clear. There was simply no alternative without lives being lost. Odette understood this. She knew this other jadeblood, she knew he was a danger to civilization, and she knew that his actions in part were her responsibility. The deaths of innocent would be on her hands, and Odette would never accept that.

Odette tightened her hand around Vremea's after Vrykol had left the room. She knew the yellowblood was frightened, but so was she. And she was sure Athene knew as well. "I know this is scary..." She said, placing her other hand on Vremea's shoulder. "But I think... I think we have to help. He's this way because of us, and I can't bear to have any innocent lives ruined because of our mistakes." She reached out to hug Vremea.

"I will do everything I can, everything in my power- to protect you." She looked around the room, even to the newcomers, with an assurance in her eyes that her words applied to them as well. This wasn't about rebels or royals. Despite their affiliation they too, lowbloods and children, were innocent compared to her. And she wanted to protect them from the horrors of their last encounter with the jadeblood.

She walked over to the case. Her hand hovered over the vial, shaking. She picked it up and held it close, watching the others to see who might follow.