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Jaren was still staring down the bandits before him when the cloaked assassin fell from above and took out two of the scoundrels with startling speed.

"Holy crap Ali! It's a ninja! Where the heck did you come from fella?" Jaren demanded raising his sword again. "Hey are you a bad guy too? You don't look like these guys!" His questions went unanswered as Murphy addressed Jezebel. "Oh you're with her? So wait, I'm confused Ali. Is he good or bad? Who's this Serpent's Fang you're talking about? If you're an evil ninja, know that you will taste the Sword That Champions Justice!"

The day kept getting weirder and weirder.

Murphy stared long and hard at Jaren, brown eyes narrowed underneath a fringe of black hair and a purple and black hood. Who did this kid think he was? The Assassin didn't even flinch as Jaren lifted his sword and proceed to very loudly announce his entire thought process, not even earning a twitch of response. "Oh, you're with her? So wait, I'm confused, Ali..." Murphy didn't bother to clarify. It didn't really matter, honestly, whether or not he believed this "ninja" to be one of Jezebel's buddies. It was all business.

The Assassin gave a slow nod to Jezebel, casually nudging the hand of an unconscious bandit out of the way of a boot-covered foot. Neither were dead, but if they didn't wake up soon, then at least one of them might have a bit of memory issues. Head injuries could be finicky like that. (Then again, bandits weren't typically selected for their cunning or intelligence, so perhaps for Jezebel's purposes, it was for the best?) Both daggers disappeared from sight, leaving Murphy's hands free. The Assasin then let out a small sigh and scratched a finger idly against a scar across the cheek, starting about an inch below the corner of the right eye and curving down to just below and to the side of the corner of the mouth. "Good. We're on a tight schedule. Let's move."

The Assassin adjusted the large kerchief of cloth worn over the chest and tied around the neck before giving a neutral glance to the still-fallen Ali and the clearly-bewildered Jaren. Brown eyes narrowed as Murphy's neutral expression tinged with impatience. "I said move. The Serpent's Fang is waiting."

Murphy's stature and apparent age didn't seem to translate into confidence or authoritative nature around those more experienced, and those clearly older; the Assassin walked with the stride of a looming, battle-scarred warrior. Head held high, hands held loose at the sides, Murphy's stride made no sound across the sand and stones. No attention was paid to Ali's speech to his green-haired companion, the one who had made the "ninja" accusations. He was a non-threat, really.

The tiny Assassin guided the group up the stairwell to its peak and into the castle, then turned to face them. Now safely out of the harsh sun and blistering winds of the Sentrian day, Murphy raised both hands, and the hood over the Assassin's head was lowered. The young one's hair was short, wavy, and incredibly messy, with choppy bangs sweeping across the top of the Assassin's forehead, but not quite far down enough to hide the scar over and through the left eyebrow.

"We go up." Murphy sheathed both daggers at both hip holsters and turned once more, walking wordlessly ahead. They would follow, or they would pay. Simple as that. With bandits moving throughout the castle, as well as the Shadow Guild assassins and thieves lurking in the shadows, they wouldn't be able to so much as suppress a cough without someone noticing and calling them out on it. Murphy walked in complete silence, hardly even giving any notice of recognition to those they passed.

Murphy strode into the expansive throne room, with no barriers separating the group from the figure at the far end of the aisle. The Assassin closed the distance between the throne and that archway, moving now across a long, ornate rug.

"Sir." Murphy fell to one knee, head bowed, and pressed the thumb-side of one fist to the heart, with the other hand on the knee. The Assassin looked up after a moment of respectful silence, waiting for the Serpent Fang's cue to rise up to full height (as meager as it was) once more. "The three you asked for." There was a brief pause before the addition of, "Are my services desired further, sir?"

The Serpent Fang slouched in his throne as the four people entered the room. Two skinny girls, scantily dressed, clung to his legs, rubbing them with their bodies. They did not stop at the arrival of more people. They did not even seem to notice their presence.

He looked the two new faces over as they approached, and even as he signaled Murphy to rise. The black man looked strong and dependable. The kid with him seemed to be the complete opposite. At Murphy's question, he glanced over to her. "No, they aren't, but I'd stick around anyway if I were you and Jezebel too, because-"

His words were grossly interrupted by the kid, who so daringly decided to address him. The Serpent Fang stared blankly at him as he kept spouting his complaints. Complaining to the Bandit King about a major bandit problem in the country; it was suddenly clear that this boy... had to be the most naive, oblivious being in existence. "You're right!" he said, stopping the boy from proceeding. His tone was surprisingly calm. "I'll get right on that." He looked down at the two at his feet. "Girls, our guest appears displeased. Why don't you go comfort him?" He snapped his fingers and the two girls flowed up onto their feet. They swayed over to the boy, one on each side, and clung onto his arms before pressing their breasts upon him and blowing softly upon his face. They showed no visible enjoyment.

"I am Drake, the Serpent Fang, and ruler of these lands." He grinned slightly. "But of course, you know that... or else you wouldn't be here. Which leads me to the question we all here are dying to know the answer to..." His calm demeanor suddenly shifted to a menacing stare. "Why have you come here?"

Murphy could not believe it. Simply could not believe it. What in the name of Paggy was this boy doing? First the rambling about being solicited by a transvestite prostitute, and now approaching the Serpent's Fang and ranting to him. It was only expected that it be about complete trivialities and things that he couldn't possibly either care about or not know already, but... holy crap this kid needed to shut up.

Murphy lifted a hand to smack Jaren across the back of the head, but then the Serpent's Fang had spoken up, surprisingly collected in the face of such insolence, and Murphy slowly dropped that arm back down, letting both arms rest at the Assassin's side without taking action. Godsdamn this boy would end up being the death of them.
If he didn't cause his own death first, that is.

Murphy's stance did not so much as falter as the Serpent Fang's casual demeanor shifted into one of intimidation. The Assassin continued to hold still and at attention, arms held loosely at the sides, eyes directed briefly to the green-haired idiot child before moving to Ali. The Serpent's Fang had been busy in giving orders to both the Assassin and Jezebel, but Murphy did not bring it up to him as he addressed the dark-skinned man. He would bring it back up eventually. He always did.

"The reason we've come... is to join your group."

Murphy just couldn't help it; the little Assassin let out a surprisingly high-pitched derisive snort, almost startlingly loud in the expansive room. Almost instantly, the Assassin's face angled down towards the floor. Murphy clasped both hands quietly at the front of the body and kept silent after that, listening intently still.

That idiot? Work under the Serpent's Fang? He'll die within the week. The other one is crude, though I can't say anything now of his abilities... Murphy looked at Ali out from the corner of the eyes, head angled slightly to allow reasonable visibility, but for the messy black hair that had been previously hidden under a violet hood to mostly hide the Assassin's face from view. Adding more to the ranks only makes things more precarious, though... I'll have to stay alert...

Rejecting Jaren was pretty much the worst way to try and get him to stop from doing something. As Ali was about to find out, Jaren rushed over to where Ali was standing and wrapped him up in a huge hug. "N-not with you?! Of course I am! We came here together, didn't we? After wandering that horrible desert! What about all that time I spent tied to you?! Did that mean nothing? Or the nights we slept together under the stars?!" The myrmidon then gripped Ali's wrists tightly, pulling and trying to tug Ali's arms into a heroic pose. If Ali resisted, him and Jaren would look like they were doing an awkward dance and he'd look ridiculous... of course if he didn't resist, Jaren would just make him pose and he'd still look ridiculous.

Thankfully Drake interrupted before Ali could sock Jaren in the face. The myrmidon perked up the moment Drake started paying attention to him and stopped trying to force Ali to pose (instead he just held onto Ali's hands).

"Invade? No, no, we weren't here to invade! A little girl got kidnapped and we went to save her, I would never invade a country that was good. See I'm the HERO of Justice, not the villain! That umm Feo guy was... well I don't know WHO he was! Ali, who was Feo?" Ahhh poor innocent sweet Jaren.