Lareth's castle

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Haeo

Lady Zosne read the message that was sent to her and simply chuckled as she the message went up in flames in her hand “don’t worry Ash dear, things are being handled with a level of subtlety than would appear” she started walking back toward the main hall to head back to the a grin on her face as she wondered why he hadn’t sent one sooner, his agents were just as numerous as Harrows were, though she did have to wonder if anyone really knew just how many that man had actually planted within the castle, she’d spent a fair amount of time uncovering and identifying them all, though the one who’d been in the royal quarters was a bit of a surprise, but a good reminder that her efforts to maintain the security of the castle and the realm was always her highest priority.

As she neared the main hall, she noted that a couple of her subordinates had darted off with weapons ready into the direction of the main hall and wondered what had happened that would attract their attention. The smell of magic permeated from the mainhall and it wasn’t hard what had transpired, a portal spell had been used and she could think of only one person who’d been given such a spell since they wouldn’t be moving with intent for the Lord, and shifted through the shadows and into the main hall. Her subordinates stood in front of a man who was clad in armor and adorned a sword on his hip, her lips curled as she watched with some amusement and when it was obvious they had been called to address whatever issue this armored man had to say she felt it best to find out what was going on and came out of the shadow of one of her subordinates who didn’t even flinch when she did so “well now what seems to be the problem?” her a war demon with a rifle in hand looked at Lady Zosne and bowed his head “Ma’am this one seems to be here to see you, guards informed us that he’d arrived a moment ago” Zosne nodded and waved them off “very well I’ll handle it from here, also maintain the lockdown as per instructions but cease the hunt, I think we’ve collected enough to keep me entertained for a while” the war demons bowed their heads and left without a word the guards having seen that Zosne was there relaxed even more and returned to their posts within the mainhall.

Zosne looked at the man and smiled as she changed forms, having been roaming around in her demon form she wasn’t about to botch up another introduction and offered a hand “I am Lady Zosne Shunloh, commander of the 12th legion and spymaster within these halls” She shook his hand and once that was done she continued “well follow me we’ll speak in private” she winked at him as she led the way to the door to her dungeon and opened the door and headed downstairs into her legions area and the dungeon that she used for interrogations. As she walked she noted that there wasn’t as many war demons down there apart from the usual security that she always kept on this floor and turned down one hallway to go to her office and opened the door to find others there, looking at them a moment she shook her head and spoke up “hello you two, Kazha dear, appointments aside would you please step out I have an important meeting to attend to, you stay Brim dear” she grinned as she stepped aside to let the stranger in and watched as Kazha left without a word and simply closed the door, walking over to her desk she gestured for the man to sit down at the empty chair next to Brim and sat down in her chair as well and simply put her focus on the man next to Brim, somewhat aware that Brim appeared frustrated and knew she was probably going to have to address that once matters were handled here.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Haeo

Brimstone was fully prepared to speak to Zosne but she brought someone else into the room and delayed anything he could have said. But she was going to have to reassure him about his sister's safety before he left...

For now, he looked over the new male thoroughly. He looked over details that someone like Zosne might miss and that Gaelan might find uncomfortable if Brim was a lesser actor. He instantly recognized the description and turned to Zosne, "He's the one Gypsy found. Cynthia went out to help him with a language spell and extended an invitation to him to visit her at any point. With everything going on... I have a feeling that he was sent here to avoid one problem and help with another," he said simply, his voice carrying more of a tease to the senses than Gypsy's did, but it showed a shared ancestry.

He was half Incubus, after all.

And he easily caught the scent he'd picked up from Gypsy and knew what he was avoiding. He passed Zosne an amused glance, "Apparently Gypsy's gone into heat. She'll be unavailable for three days. That means she'll be locked in her tower for that time. Anyone would be an idiot to go after her right now. That leaves us with the king, the queen, and the twins. Lareth is hanging out with the Drow. We can't do anything about that one. That leaves Cynthia and the twins to be a target," he took a risk showing off his keen mind in front of the stranger.

But he had a feeling that this one wasn't going to be betraying them. In fact, he had a feeling that the hottie was going to be the perfect bodyguard for Cynthia. Still, he had to give a soft disappointed sigh over the fact that it was very obvious that he wasn't going to a potential conquest for himself. Then again, Kazha seemed to be getting a bit possessive lately...  

[Hot Champion_of_justice]

There was a loud cracking noise as everyone across the realm felt the rush of power sweep across the land. The ground shuddered as it absorbed the power that rushed over it like a sweeping river.

The castle rumbled and shook, but remained in place as the shaking eventually subsided. Wards and spells around the castle grew in strength as the extra boost in power seeped into them.

Anyone who lived in the realm knew the instant the king died. His power, his essence, had returned back to whence it came and would remained locked until a new monarch would come forward to claim their right and power.  

[Red Gypsy]

Hot Champion_of_justice

Wolfe Garm

Haeo

Brimstone fell out of his chair when everything shook. Not surprisingly, when everything settled again, Kazha moved into the room to check on them all. They all knew what it meant, of course. But the other demon instantly went for Brimstone. Gaelan and Zosne had been able to ride out the shaking and power wave, but Brim had been knocked to the floor and something fell off a wall to land on top of him.

Once it was removed, it was found to be a painting that Brim had hated from the moment he first saw it. Kazha righted his chair and helped Brim into it as the half-incubus held his head, "I seriously hate that painting Zosne..." he growled then batted Kazha's hands away from his head with an irritated sound, "I'm fine, Kazha... Just got my bell rung a bit..." he fussed back, making the war demon growl at him in frustration.

But then the reality hit Brim and he raised wide amber eyes to Zosne, "Send someone to check on the location. Now," he said simply then got a bit more shook up, "Cynthia!" he added and started to get up but dropped back into the chair when his head swam a bit. He'd be fine but it was going to take Kazha's help for him to get to Cynthia's rooms...  

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Zosne was dazed for a moment before she got her wits back, and seeing Kazha fuss over Brim was amusing and very telling but she didn’t let that distract her to the issue at hand and spoke up as she stood up “Kazha leave him be and find check on the rest of the castle” When brim Spoke Cynthia’s name her eyes grew as she seemingly rushed over to Brim and Grabbed him with two of her hands pulling him from the chair and dragging him out of the office as she gracefully rushed back upstairs to the main hall and found that everyone was confused as to what had happened and were looking at them when they burst through the door, Zosne pausing to look at them a moment before her expression changed and yelled “what are you standing around for secure the entrance to the castle, the King has fallen!” immediately they went to work as Zosne continued dragging Brim along with her to the royal quarters though instead of simply running through the hallways to the quarters Zosne pulled Brim through the shadows with her and rushed through to the Queens side as quickly as the shadows would allow.  

[Wolfe Garm]

Red Gypsy

Haeo

Zosne didn’t waste any time moving the prisoners down to her dungeon and immediately every one of the prisoners were separated and placed into an interrogation room, all the While Zosne went to her office while the prisoners were made… comfortable. Zosne walked into her office and over to her desk sitting down with a deep sigh before she looked at what was on the desk and smiling lightly when she saw the paperwork she had given Brim there, and picked them up taking note of everything relevant before she spoke up “Freia!” after a moment a war demon came in and spoke up “yes ma’am?” Zosne looked up at her and smiled “I need you to put together an escort for a new residence of the Castle, this is very vital that this person arrive here safely and without issue, here are the papers for their transfer” Freia stepped over to the desk and took the offered papers and looked at them a moment before pulling her eyes away to address Zosne “his sister, isn’t she?” Zosne nodded and replied, “these papers ensure that she comes here and trains here, is this going to be an issue?” Freia shook her head “not at all, but I can think of one person who would interfere” Zosne knew who she was referring to and shook her head “won’t be a problem Lord Harrow is here at the castle at the moment due to a summons, but even if he was, he can’t refuse a royal order of that scale and not expect severe repercussions for it so there is little to worry” Freia nodded “alright, I’ll pull two squads from the first cohort and have a carriage and supply wagon prepped so that she’s brought here immediately” satisfied Zosne nodded “very good see you all when you get back” Freia nodded and left without another word, she had work to do and little time in which to do it, Zosne on the other hand had all the time in the world, well, as much time as was needed to root out traitors and stood up heading towards the first interrogations room pausing only for a moment to make sure that the entrance to the dungeon was placed under heavy guard to ensure that prisoners didn’t disappear suddenly, or to allow anyone in that would interfere with her interrogations. With that out of the way Zosne continued on and went into the first Interrogations room where she would have some much need fun and pleasure, there was a reason why this was her dungeon.


Meanwhile Freia collected the two squads that would be needed, being a senior officer granted her some right to command a certain amount of personnel, the Carriage and Supply Wagon was prepared in short order by personnel within their legion to ensure no tampering of anything, after what was discovered at the royal bedroom, she was not taking any chances with the special individual she was to pick up and bring back. After a moment, the two squads had formed up by the carriage and wagon, Freia with papers carried in an envelope under her arm she checked her gear briefly before walking up to the squads and spoke up “MOVE OUT!” with that they left the castle without any delay.  

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Al’gaan watched Gypsy a moment before he simply reached for the door the serpent keeping it locked faded away immediately allowing Al’gaan to open the door without issue but most of all, allow Gypsy to leave unhindered. Once outside he looked at her again and couldn’t help but stair at the champions mark denoting her as the strongest of them all and rightfully so he’d likely pale in comparison at this point with the seals in place. After a moment he changed his form to his demonic form and simply placed his helmet on his head as he started walking towards the entrance to head into the castle without delay, with things going on as they are he knew Gypsy would want to get there immediately and not waste any time if they could help it and kept quiet as he did so vaguely aware that the castle was somewhat abuzz with activity even as he moved to the nearest portcullis he was aware of to gain entrance into the inner wall.

As they moved he paused briefly when he caught the eye of the guards at the gate who immediately saluted and giving them a brief nod in passing as he head inside with a sense of urgency “we’ll report to Lady Zosne, if anyone’ll know what’s going on at the moment she will” he kept his pace as they moved.

Gypsy gave him a simple nod as she walked alongside of him through the gates and courtyard to the main doors of the castle. She didn't bother to acknowledge the guards that opened the doors for them. She didn't need to acknowledge them at all. She'd trained them.

This was a different Gypsy than the one that had spent the last few days with Al'gaan. Different, even, from the one that lived at the Fort. This Gypsy was almost cold and certainly seemed indifferent to the world around her. She moved like the trained killer she was: confident, cool, unemotional, and certain in her movements. She didn't seem to notice everyone that watched her pass by; some focused on moving out of her way, others focused on the way her leathers fit her form.

She moved through the main doors and up one side of the main staircase, finally pausing outside of the offices that held Zosne's main work space. She was looking at one figure further down the hallway, watching his movements as he moved toward a different hallway then disappeared from view.

In that moment, Gypsy acknowledged one figure: Harrow... She knew that he was responsible for the chaos going on, but also knew that the proof of his crimes was not her burden. That fell to Zosne and Brimstone.

Instead, she was the weapon that they would use to gain the revenge and justice the realm would need in the end. She was that weapon and she had no problem with it.

After Harrow disappeared from view, she gave Al'gaan a nod to open the door then followed him in and down the smaller hallway to Zosne's personal office. Brimstone was already there and got to his feet as they entered, hesitating as he saw the look on Gypsy's face.

He finally looked up at Al'gaan and gave him a nod, "We know the basics of who is responsible but we're working on the proof. For now... Zosne is in charge of Brianna's personal guard. Al'gaan, you're in charge of Merrick's personal guard. The one you sent is already guarding Cynthia. The threat against Gypsy is largely an empty one. Everyone knows how hard she is to kill..." he hesitated there, looking at Gypsy again but not sure what to say to her.

Thankfully, someone else opened the door and Kazha suddenly found Gypsy's sword at his throat and froze where he stood. Once she saw who it was, she sheathed the blade again, "Kazha... From now on... Knock before you open a door..." she told him simply, ignoring his nervous swallow as he noted the mark on her shoulder as well as the power in the blade she'd drawn.

He finally gave a nod and briefly touched his throat to make sure he wasn't bleeding, "Yes ma'am... Lady Zosne will be here presently... She's checking a few things..." he said simply and looked at Brimstone then back at the mark on Gypsy's shoulder before moving to stand next to the door, "I just came in to let Brim know..." he added, moving to clasp his hands in front of him as he simply made sure that the wall wouldn't be moving.

Brim had briefly felt his heart jump up into his throat but didn't relax just yet, "Gypsy... Please... There aren't that many in the castle that I can trust... And my sister is on the way..." he started, going silent when she waved a hand at him.

"It's fine... She's already slotted in my schedule... Has anyone warned Cynthia that the stress of Lareth's death may make the twins speed things up a bit?" she asked, gaining a blank look from every male in the room, as if they'd all forgotten the demonic legends about twins...  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Red Gypsy

Luna
Luna let out a pleased noise as she and Kam appeared in the castle in a flash of flames, finding the feeling of Kam's flames to be quite enjoyable. She leaned in for a quick kiss and then stepped back to look around. "You were right, Kammy," she said. "That was a pretty fun ride. I can't wait to do it again."

She started to hum cheerfully as she looked around the main hall. "I hope the guards got your letter. It'd be a shame if things got too pointy. I'm into it, but it would make things a bit complicated if I got stabbed repeatedly before I got to talk to someone important. I'd hate to have to make a mess out here. It'd be hard to clean up, and I really don't want to make a bad impression. Not when I'm here to actually be helpful."

She turned back to look at Kam again. "How long do you think it'll take for the guards to show up? I don't wanna be waiting too long. I have a habit of getting into trouble when I'm bored, and I get bored super easily. It'll probably get messy if we have to wait too long."

 

[Wolfe Garm]

Being Courteous, and patient

Red Gypsy

Dameon Black Alt

Lady Zosne Shunloh

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They didn’t have to wait long before Zosne opened the door to her office a note in her hand and slightly flustered by relieved when she saw Al’gaan and Blade there with everyone else and simply started barking orders “Brimstone, Commander go up to the Queen’s quarters expecting unpleasantries to occur when guests arrives, Blade you come with me, we’ve got to move to greet said guests, castle guards and legion personnel have already been taken care of to minimize any potential issues from occurring along the way but just the same I want you there in case something happens” Al’gaan looked at Brim and back at Zosne before nodding and waving Brim to follow not willing to question anything at the moment since it seemed there was someone who had arrived that required certain subtleties than not. As they passed Zosne handed him the letter and left it at that, seeing as Blade was with her Zosne made her way up to the main entrance and keyed her in on what was going on on the way there “Blade, Kam has sent a letter forward that he is bringing Luna here, who is seeking to speak to the Queen, things are such that I don’t want things to get out of hand but considering” she gestured at her shoulder “I’ve been tasked with escorting them to meet the Queen and I’m bringing you along with me to keep the peace, or if things go to far to deal with the problem understood?” Zosne didn’t wait for a response before they arrived at the main entrance and she simply opened the door and walked out to greet Kam and Luna.

Seeing them there she bowed slightly and spoke “long time, the Queen is expecting you please follow me” She nodded at blade as she waited for them to go inside and then she would lead the way to the Queen’s chambers to speak with Luna in private. On the way to the Queen’s quarters Al’gaan looked at the letter handed to him and shook his head before handing it over to Brimstone and speaking up “well that explains a lot, having two members of the council, as well as you and Blade is tight security compared to simply letting the guards and legionnaires handle the escort” his pace quickened slightly as they went to the Cynthia’s tower, not entirely sure he wanted to know why Luna was here let alone with Kam, but he had to suspect nothing good which was to say more trouble than it was worth and was likely to be an even more of a headache considering.

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is better than being rude, and no one wants that.

 

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

Dameon Black Alt

Kam gave a grin, "It'll be fine, you'll see," he assured Luna softly then showed the patience he was well-known for.

Gypsy simply gave a shrug, "Luna will be wanting to help with the issue. Killing Lareth hurt the twins, as well as everyone else. Luna has a hard rule about kids. You'll see," she said simply on the way to the door.

Once the doors were opened, Kam gave another grin and nodded to the two females, "Ah... Proper escort, as expected. Luna, you may be legendary here, but now you get to meet a new legend for the demons. The deadly redhead is Gypsy Blade, Lareth's sister-in-law. And apparently he managed to get that spell working that made her his Champion... Impressive..." he said in a pleased tone before following Zosne with Gypsy following up the rear to keep anyone from messing with Luna while he explained a bit more for Luna, "Meet Gypsy with a staff and you'll find yourself measuring your length on the ground. Meet her with a blade in your hand, and you'll need funeral arrangements. She and Ash taught me the fine art of the dagger, as well as a few other tricks," he gave his former teacher a nod of respect, knowing that she'd earned it.

Gypsy just shrugged a shoulder, "I've got a few skills. Zosne is Brianna's official bodyguard, Al'gaan is Merrick's, and Cynthia has her own bodyguard as well. That leaves me free to act on other threats as needed," she said simply, knowing that other talk will have to wait until they were with Cynthia.  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Red Gypsy

Allistair
Allistair released Dev from the kiss and stepped back to examine their surroundings as he allowed the other male to realize that he had shifted them to Lareth's castle in the demon realm. He looked around, looking for any guards that may be there to greet them. He looked back over to Dev. "I sent a message ahead of us to let them know that we would be on our way, but it appears that there's no one here to greet us," he said. "No matter. I'm perfectly fine with waiting here for a bit for someone to show up. I suppose that it gives me a moment to take care of something else."

Allistair snapped his fingers and caused a few shadows to start pooling together, pulling one of his servants to stand in front of him. He looked over the servant for a moment. "While my guest and I are waiting, please take a look over my estate and be sure that everything is ready for me to return. My guest and I will likely be in the demon realm for a bit, so we will need to be sure that my estate is ready to receive us." He waited for the servant to offer a bow in understanding and then waved his hand and caused the servant to fall back into the shadows, sending him to his demon realm estate. He returned his attention to Dev. "My estate will be ready within the hour. That means that we'll have a proper place to go to when we're done here."

 

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black Alt

One of the guards headed downstairs and approached the pair, giving them a respectful bow before offering a note to Alistair, "I apologize Lord Alistair. The queen is in a meeting at the moment. But she has agreed to send notice to your estate when she is free to see you. She has also reinstated your full status on the Council, if you should choose to take it up again," he said very politely and respectfully.

But when he saw Dev, he paused and gave a heavy sigh, "As for you, Dev... We all ask that you please behave while you're here. The mess from last time was... Well, we finally got that cleaned up... Another mess would be..." he paused there when Dev held up a hand and shrugged.

"Not to worry this time. Alistair is temporarily holding my proverbial leash. And if he can't really hold it permanently he's promised to kill me. So it all works out," he explained then wandered back out the door before anyone could question him.

The guard gave another sigh then bowed to Alistair and left him alone to follow after Dev...  

[Dameon Black Alt]

Red Gypsy

Allistair
Allistair turned his attention to the guard when he heard the man approaching, grinning a bit at the bow. "No need to apologize," he said. "I understand that the queen must be busy. Especially with the way things are right now. The king's death would be hard enough for her without the chaos that I know has to be happening."

He gave a simple nod when he heard the mention of Cynthia sending notice to his estate when she is free to see him, though he raised an eyebrow when he heard that she had reinstated his full status on the Council if he wanted to take it up again. "I certainly wasn't expecting to be given back my place on the Council. Truthfully, I'm not all that interested in taking it back, but I'm sure that she has a specific reason for giving it back to me." He gave the guard a wicked grin. "Inform the queen that I would be honored to to return to my place on the Council. She and I can discuss the details in full once she's free."

He looked over to Dev when the guard addressed the other male, letting out a soft sigh when Dev responded by telling the guard about their arrangement. He shook his head a bit as Dev wandered back out the door and then looked back over to the guard. "No need to worry about him. I'll take care of him." He watched the guard leave with a bow and then turned to follow after Dev.

It didn't take him long to catch up to Dev, and he cleared his throat a bit to get his attention. "It seems that we have a bit of time to kill while we wait for the queen to be available to see us. Luckily, I know just how to fill that time." He held out a hand for Dev to take. "Come along, Dev. We can head to my estate and be sure that everything is set up properly." He waited a moment for the other male to take his hand and then dropped them both into the shadows, travelling to his demon realm estate.
[Exit]

 

[Red Gypsy]

Wolfe Garm

I'll make the suite for Tempest and Brimstone later.

Gypsy followed Zosne to her personal training area and raised one eyebrow at the suggestion presented. She moved for two staffs and tossed one to Zosne before removing her blades from her back to set them just outside the sparring circle, "Actually... I believe that she wanted you to find someone for me to kill... Knowing Cynthia, she didn't mean playtime..." she said simply then nodded towards the staff, "Stick with this. If I have a blade in my hand, even a practice one, I'll drop into kill-mode," she added, knowing that Cynthia had no intention for Gypsy to kill the Royal Spymaster...

Gypsy only waited for Zosne to enter the ring with the staff. Then she started the fight and proved her skills. She didn't lose her temper. She took hits and gave them. They both moved like skilled dancers and hit like hammers. They kept moving until Gypsy finally swept Zosne's legs out from under her and pressed the tip of the staff to her throat. She barely kept herself from putting it through the other female's throat.

She finally backed off and tossed her staff to one of the few other demons in the room and moved to collect her swords, "You can have Al'gaan find me when I'm needed. I need a shower," she said simply as she headed back to her tower. Right now she was in kill mode and it was very close. She wasn't entirely certain that she was safe to be around others right now.

They'd gone around that ring for about three hours and Gypsy was showing no signs of it other than being covered in sweat and the first signs of bruising. She still moved like the deadly weapon she was and everyone cleared out of her way as she headed for her tower.



Outside, the group Zosne had sent out returned with a carriage and the precious cargo they'd been sent for. Freia checked the surroundings then reached into the carriage to help the cloaked female out, "Get that luggage inside. She's in the chambers next to the Queen's tower," she ordered then pointed to five of the others with her, "You five, with me," she added then nodded to the cloaked female, "Ma'am..." she said simply then gestured inside.

They surrounded her and escorted her through the castle to Cynthia's old room. It was known as the Queen's Chambers and had been expanded into a a full suite so that Brimstone could be housed with her. Being housed next door to the royal family would allow for some protection until the female could be freed from the mess she was in. It wasn't much, but it was the best that could be done for now.

They got her to the new suite and inside before anyone could see her. Brimstone was waiting for her. They talked for hours before he finally had to let her rest from the trip.

Then he went to find Zosne to give her the news they were waiting for...

When he found her in her personal training area, he gave her a simple nod, "Tempest said he's arranging the contract while he's here. I'll have to manage to get hold of it somehow. I hate this, Zosne... I was never made for being a spy... But we'll have him by next week... Can we wait that long?" he asked her softly. Only when it was just her and her most trusted could he let his mask slip and show the truth. And so far, only Khaza had seen what the strain was doing to him. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the strong war demon, Brim would have broken by now. He knew he had to be strong for his sister. But even he had his limits...  

[Red Gypsy]

Dameon Black Alt

Moving into Lareth's Tower

Dev behaved himself during the trip back to the castle and simply grinned at the escort waiting for them. Seven guards for an escort was a bit excessive. But Dev knew that it was because of his last trip to the demon realm and the mess he'd made. This time, however, he didn't assure anyone. He simply winked at Allsitair as they were escorted through the castle to the queen's tower.

After all, Allistair had said that he'd be cautious with behavior until he knew any different... Dev was obliging that for now.

But even Allistair couldn't miss the looks his new pet had gotten from the staff they passed as well as a few of the aristocrats along the way. They all openly admired Dev for different reasons: some admired the clothes he was wearing, but the rest admired him for the lethal aura that seemed to surround him. They all knew that Dev was dangerous, just not how dangerous... Still, for most demons, that was more attractive than sweetness... That made Dev a rare commodity in the demon realm... And raised Allistair's value as a result...

When they got to the door to the queen's tower, the escort also shielded them all from anyone else watching as they entered, showing that there were no risks being taken with Cynthia at this point...