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"But how is it that you...you knew the possibility of you dying? Who tipped you off first, milord? You mentioned a 'she'. Was she a cultist?"

Dorian had been pondering about this for awhile now during Engelde's rambling, and Linda had retired herself into a nice chair where she sat limply on listening in. She looked rather intelligent while she did that, and Dorian admired her feminine grace for awhile. Linda aside, he suspected Engelde's tip-off woman to be his mother, but it couldn't be so, because she was dead. People didn't simply come back from the dead, and it became quickly obvious that Engelde simply didn't surrender secrets easily either. It was the way things worked around Engelde and the Engelde family, no doubt. Engelde, however, played different games.

"No. She is a mage. As a walking treasure trove, I can tell you no more. You seem to be interested in other things though," Engelde marveled, smiling toothily. He pulled a shilling out of his pocket and pushed it into Dorian's hands. "Very well. I am a scholar, and all scholars are good teachers. Firstly, you aren't very elegant with how you plan to do things. This shilling here is a gateway to much information. It's purchasable, you know. You don't have to ask all the time politely."

Dorian stiffened. He knew that. He didn't need Engelde to tell him something as trivial as that. Engelde was beating around the bush, and Dorian was getting angry.

"About my father being a pirate and my exquisite mother...I want to know about them. Nobody else seems to be willing to tell me, and the ones that do are saints and liars." the Arelgren heir poisonously demanded. He slammed the shilling onto the table, allowing the coin to spin before settling down flat. He wasn't that furious, but he tried to emulate some level of ferocity which only made Engelde smile wider, much to Dorian's dismay. Engelde nodded in agreement with a subtle 'ah yes' expression.

"Making demands is sloppy, Arelgren. You know, you aren't like what the townspeople say at all. You aren't very funny, but it's true that you aren't very clever either. Hm. I guess they are half right. You should try to disguise yourself. Not being Dorian Arelgren really would benefit you and give you a greater advantage."

Whereas Engelde probably meant him well, Dorian couldn't help but want to end the nobleman. Seeing that Dorian was at his limits, Engelde hastily stiffened himself.

"I would advise you to try doing what you did last time, using politeness and sincerity, but I may have overstepped myself. Your father did too, and I do owe you somewhat of an explanation, if at all one." Engelde quickly said, and Dorian relaxed. "The Arelgrens are treasure hunters. They buy and sell treasures of great variety and dress themselves as extravagantly as the lovelies they collect. Butterflies, the lot of them. Shillings are only secondary in value. They use their treasures to barter for favors, see, but treasure runs out too. You must know how this ends."

"Debts. You suggest that my father ended up owing others shillings for the treasures he purchased..." Dorian glumly replied. Engelde nodded, encouraging him to continue. He was pleased, for Dorian was on the right track. "...and by no means were all of those treasures obtained by trade. Theft, am I correct? You repeatedly said that my father was a pirate. Those 'favors' would be the hiring of thieves. His trade defines him. He could live his hooligan ways without having to actually move a finger."

"Ah, well, he had the charisma for it, and you do too whether you know it or not," Engelde thoughtfully agreed. He snatched the shilling back from Dorian (who really didn't care much for it) and pocketed the coin. He had made his point. "He's still doing it now. You are doing something in his stead, repaying a debt that is his. I don't aim to give you the displeasure of doing that, so I told you that this is not a debt's payment. It is a learning experience. Experience is what we get when we don't get what we want."

"Yes, it's true. I suppose my mother was in on it too."

"No, actually. She wanted to have nothing to do with it. The Lady Arelgren made amends for it in her own sort of way. She gave thieves bad luck. If Lucien Arelgren was a pirate, than his wife would be an unlucky wind."

"I supposed wrong then," Dorian admitted, smiling for the first time in a very long time. Of course. Agatha Arelgren, the true Butterfly Crow. He felt redeemed a little, and Engelde grinned back "It's a sorrowful thing that she's dead. I never got to know my mother, you know. I would have liked her to have grown up with me. I was very funny previously, but it's hard to be funny after the House business happens and business, generally. It's not fun anymore, life, that is."

"Don't be silly. Life can still be fun. You sounded like excellent fun from the stories Shyregoedians tell about you, but all I see from you is gloom and poor judgement. Live up to your kindness and sincerity with rejuvenation, man!" Engelde said in exasperation. He got up from his seat and handed Dorian a sapphire-embellished dagger, causing the latter to freeze. Did Engelde plan to suicide? Whatever was the dagger for--? Engelde held out a hand to ensure Dorian and Linda that he meant no harm towards anyone in the gesture. "A parting gift. It was your mother's. She gave it to me when I was a boy to defend against piracy in my own home. It was never mine, and it will never be mines to keep. I might come back to admire it when you are funny again, Arelgren. But onto other business."

"Ah, yes. Linda, dove, it appears that marrying you would compromise my life. You don't mind if I disappear before the crows get to me? If what the Arelgren says is true, you meant me no ills from the beginning."

"No, milord, I only want you to continue to live for you have been lovely company," Linda gushed openly, and Dorian felt a little sorry for both of them. "Will I...see you again...milord? I-I mean...Carver?"

Engelde thought this over, stroking his chin. While he did think that Linda Reese was very pretty, he thought his life was prettier.

"I suppose that would depend on if the Arelgren becomes funny again. I do like funny fellows, they are worth visiting from the grave. But time is of the essence and the essence is to depart."

And so the three of them disappeared quietly from the desolate castle, one with a new title, one with a happy maid-heart, and one with some questions answered, but still had some remaining. The latter decided some humor wouldn't hurt.