So an elf, a man and a dwarf...

"I'll leave the details to our friend here. I think in the future we will have to have more people invested to the circle, perhaps even myself."

Alphonse nods looking to the dwarf, while responding to Karn as well.

"Well, we have been attempting to get around to that, but since Orianna disappeared last gather, and the scrolls were tucked away somewhere, we sort of lost that ability. Of course, I am sure Orianna intends to do this."

Waving his hand a bit to cut himself off.

"That point is moot at the moment however... So what seems to be happening?"

His eyes focused on the dwarf, waiting for what happened.

Seeing the human and elf finally finish the conversation, the dwarf speaks " My name is Alphonso, I am a worker at the armory. I was sent by guildmaster Henri. He told me to come here and let someone know that he will be coming through the healers guild circle soon. Something he said about talking to some one named Grimm and Napkin. Last I saw he was talking to someone named Vend, and they were planning on killing Henri. He even set up guardians to make sure everything went according to his plans. He looked very much alive, although I have never seen a Fendari that was not red, and he was solid black."

Alphonse raised a brow, looking at Karn after what the dwarf said then looking back to Karn, he nods.

"I see... Henri wants to talk to Lord Grimm, and Napkin... Both of which live on the plane of Death. But... A black Fendari? Do you know when he started looking black? Please come inside if you will."

Alphonse cycles the wards to let the two onto the porch and then inside to check the circle. As he walks in, Zeke runs up to him.

"Alphonse! I have something to tell you!"

Picking up Zeke listening to what he had to say then nods.

"Thank you Zeke... Though I don't know what or who that could be..."

Zeke nodded.

"I was scared!"

Alphonse chuckled and nodded turning back to the dwarf waiting for a response. Zeke returned to what he was doing.

" I do not know when it started changing his whole appearance, but I know during all hallows we got hit with some kind of magic, and it allowed him to fight the undead better."

Alphonse's look went blank, almost chilling. His voice was serious, and deep.

"Hit with a spell... fight against undead better... and he turned black..."

He looked to Karn.

"Sounds like high sorcery... a necromancy thing perhaps?..."

Looking towards the circle, Alphonse looks troubled.

"If he is got necromancy in his veins and its still there upon his body reforming... I do not know about how safe he shall be within these walls..."

Looking back to Karn.

"What do you believe we should do Sir Karn?"

Turning to the dwarf for a moment after asking Sir Karn his question.

"You say that Vend was involved? Where is he? And can you fetch him for us, please?"

If the dwarf agreed, Alphonse would cycle the wards for him, if not, he would listen to the dwarf's response then return his attention to Karn, awaiting his answer.

After thinking things over for a while, Sir Karn says "It doesn't sound like necromancy to me, necromancers tend not to give people a greater ability to kill their creations. A black fendari though...and he was wanting to speak to Grimm and Napkin. That means he wanted to go to the plane of death. Whatever the case, res him whenever you can, he might be able to give us more answers."

Sir Karn then looks to the dwarf and says "Alphonso, on a side note, you wouldn't happen to be part of the Knights of the Eternal Blossom would you?"

Walking inside, Sir Alexander shakes and the snow simply drops from his person.

"Greetings. Did I miss the party?" asks Sir Alexander as he greets everyone.

Alphonse turns and smiles to Sir Alexander bowing.

"Ah! Sir Alexander! Greetings. It appears we have a little problem. Henri has decided to go to the plane of Death to talk to Lord Grimm and Napkin. And apparently, he is black skinned now. Something hit him on All Hallows..."

He turned to the circle looking at it.

"He's suppose to be coming through the circle soon..."

Turning back to Sir Alexander.

"And it is good that you are here... In case things turn for the worst... Of course, I hope this gets solved soon. I was planning on returning to the Orphanage soon. Which, by the way, I would love it if you or Sir Karn could escort me back to Docksides. I took a big risk travelling here alone like I did, but I wanted to ensure all was well."

"Sir Alexander, good to see ya. Don't go anywhere, I have something for your boss."

Sir Karn then turns to Alphonse and says, "Alphonse, since when have you known a knight to be reluctant to help a damsel in distress?"

Throwing a playful glare to Sir Karn's words he chuckled.

"You still owe me for trapping a squirrel in the circle that woke up the entire guild."

Sir Alexander shoos Zeke over and sits down beside the circle, with his longsword in his lap and mace at his side.

"Hmm, black you say. And this was from Ol Hallows? I pretty much went through everything he did and I haven't turned black. But then I am resistant to necromancy and chaos magics. No telling what the real downside other than life force being taken away for those boons, but it did help me immensly when I was fighting the Tyrant King's necromantic bitch.

Be warned, if he has chaos, death, or necromancy about him, De Sala might kill him before any of us can. Make sure you keep the circle raised, until we can confirm his cleanliness. If not, it will be a race to see if he can outrun a life guardian's anger.

I do not think, Grim will get involved. This is our fight, not the Primarchs. I swear, who the hell put the idea in his head that going to the Death plane was a good idea.

Anyways, I am just here to pick up supplies for the front. I am heading back out shortly. I might be able to make a detour towards Docksides. I think my men and I can protect you." says Sir Alexander as he points out the window.

Turing to Sir Karn.
"It is good to see you Sir Karn. Though why are you here. Shouldn't you be leading a group of Rose Knights up to the front. They would prove quite useful up there right now.
Anyways, got that off my chest. What can I do for you?" asks Sir Alexander.


((out the window, you see around 30 men, 20 of them are barbarians and a few orcs standing around their horses, while the rest seem to be laborers or not old enough to fight yet standing or sitting in the three wagons.))

Alphonse nodded at Sir Alexander's words.

"What you said on De Sala's actions is exactly what I am expecting. Of course I'm worried about Henri's sole intentions. Not to mention I know his fire power. I seen him throw some pretty high powered spells. Though I have a mute and some binds and pins in memory."

He walks over to the center of the circle, shuffling around within the several layers of robes, shirts, and shawls. He finally pulls out his netted orb and sits it down in his lap after sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"And thank you Sir Alexander for your help. I've been helping Kalei with the Orphanage while she trains me to be a Healer. Oh, which I should point out. By next gather, I will be able to cast Healing, instead of Cures."

A mischievous grin spreads across Sir Karn's face and he says "Yeah, I guess your right, you did need your beauty sleep. One second, I'll be right back."

Sir Karn heads into a side room and returns a few moments later with a sealed envelope in his hand. The envelope has a red and white, wax seal with the image of a rose on it.

Sir Karn looks at Sir Alexander and says, "This letter is from Sir Julien, of the Knights of the Rose and it is intended for Sir Ryan, I would have delivered this sooner but I don't know where your order's compound is. I would prefer to deliver this in person, so Alphonse, If you don't mind making a slight detour on our trip to Docksides I still can. As to why I am not on the front lines leading the Rose Knights, two reasons. I was not tasked with it by my superiors, and I have another idea that could be equally as useful."

"You are welcome to ride with the caravan. The Order compound is a few kilometers north of here, in walking distance. The big farm, you can't miss it. Although there are not many around that could help you atm. Most of the Knights are off around the Oasis doing their thing. There is a group of refugees around the Order compound, so if you see a bunch of tents and people, you are near it. Just ask who is the Protector Knight, and they will point you the way" says Sir Alexander to Sir Karn as he turns to Alphonse.

Shaking his head at the young healer.
"Do not worry about Henri hurting anyone. Just keep the circle up until you know he can be trusted or what not. I would be more concerned of De Sala than of Henri.

That is good news, in time, you might actually be able to heal someone." says Sir Alexander as he takes a loud belly churning laugh.

Alphonse shook his head smiling.

"Never, I do not mind. I would enjoy the trip. This is the most travel I have gotten, and I'm suppose to be a traveling merchant... So, I don't mind joining your travels."

Nodding to Alexander.

"I have no worries to be honest. I have full faith in DeSala's abilities. Oh! And do you know of anyone I could learn on training with a staff?"

"Alphonse, if you want weapon training, look no further than your own guild's Knight Protector. I would be more than willing to put you through the ringer, Zeke can tell ya, you have it coming."

OOP for a second. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. Work has been keeping me busy.

Here the IP part.

Alphonso looks at the elf " I think that Vend was involved. Thats the name of the person that was talking to Henri.Right now he is at the armory, hopefully locked behind the wards, and not able to get out."

Turning to the human, " I am not part of the Knights of anything. I am just a simple miner and armor smith."

Seeing Sir Alexander enter the room " Sir Alexander, boy am I glad to see you. Henri has gone to the plane of death to talk to Grimm and napkin. Dont know the reasons, but he sent all the workers away for a while. Judging by your return, I am guessing that Jacob found you."

Sir Alexander gets a big grin on his face.

"Let me remember how Jacob so eloquantly put it....

"Alex, get your plated behind back here now. The guildmaster and some elf are planning some nefarious acts by the sound of it. There is even a straw golem barring entry to the Armory, I am not getting any business done. (a very bad dwarven accent)

By the urgency, and fortunately needing to come back and resupply anyways, I am here Alphonso. Though I can figure Henri went to ask Grim for aid against the Tyrant King. To bad he didn't talk to me first. Grim isn't going to help, especially since the Alliance forces are sending him soo many spirits to rack over the fires of the death plane to begin with. Better to ask Paladine of the Life plane for help, at least we could get some healers out of it.

Though I will wait here if you do not mind Sir Karn and Alphonse for Henri to return. I figure I need to talk with him before having the golem destroyed with fire arrows by my men and personally dragging the elf out and killing him in the center of town if he sent the guildmaster to his death." says Sir Alexander.

Looking up at Sir Karn, he grinned.

"Wonderful. After my training with Kalei, I planned on learning to fight with the staff so I have a little firepower and some defense so I can be a bit more useful on the field."

Looking to Alphonso, he nodded to his words then looked to his orb, seeming to focus his spirit. Then looking to Alexander after his words.

"I would welcome your stay. For I don't know what to expect if Henri were to pop out of this circle hostile. And just in case, Zeke, I'd like you to stay outside of the circle with Sir Alexander. That way if the knights and De Sala need to beat him down for turning me into a pile of ash, they can do so."

He turned back to his orb but continued to speak.

"On any case, I would also welcome your stay since I will be joining you on your trip. Also, I heard you say something about Orianna's password, and also heard rumor of her helping at the battle. Is it true that she is back in safe hands?"

"Orianna is in good and somewhat high spirits. Her cheerful disposition always brightens the troops day. Her healing has saved many a life. As I have heard, she was first helping with the raids in the Oasis, until we stopped the Akadi troops approach and they are currently huddled down behind their fortifications of New Akadi.

The password is just to let Ms. De Sala know its me, and I am not tainted. With my perchant of getting necro tainted, although thankfully my knight training has limited that now, it is to let her know not to kill me when I walk in. Being untainted, I can easily make good remarks toward the guildmistress, unlike when one is tainted, they tend to be at odds with anything dealing with healing and life.

I still have an oath to protect the Healer's Guild, and I will stand by it. Not to mention my Order has seen fit to task me with the protection of Shadowmoor and the guardianship of the Armory along with Sir Ryan during the normally hectic times we usually face." answers Sir Alexander.

Alphonse nods and continues to concentrate on the orb, listening to his own thoughts in his head. Then he speaks again, directed to Sir Alexander

"Now, if Henri had a plan to see Lord Grimm, this Vend guy might have just been aiding him. And also, I would say we should give this guy fair trial to explain his actions..."

He now fell silent once more, continuing to meditate.

"My friend. I am a knight. Not only that, I am in the service of the High Druid and I am sworn to uphold his laws as if I were a warden. That is the duty of the Order of the Eternal Blossom. That is our difference from the other Orders. We are the High Druid's knights. With our oaths we are given the responsiblity to dispense his justice. I have given willing into justice when I have been responsible for other's harm. I have and will cut down anyone if they break the law and I am witness to it. If I am 100% sure of one breaking the laws, I am not only suppose to intervene and dispense justice, but I am required to, by my oath. I am not sure it is as strict for Sir Karn and the Order of the Rose. They have a different Lord they serve, than we do.

Though, your caution is well founded. If I were going to simply dispense justice, I would not be sitting here with you fine people. You would be seeing a bonfire outside the Armory and myself standing in the center of town, announcing crimes and beheading the elf. As I see it though, I do not have all the facts, thus I wait here for Henri. I have done and seen enough slaughter to last me a life time." says Sir Alexander.

Alphonse just nodded for a moment before finally leaning back to gaze around, awaiting for Henri's spirit to arrive.

"Actually, to be honest, getting some quiet time is nice. When you've been dealing with orphans for the past three months, you begin to miss the battlefield. Of course, I enjoy the work with Kalei and it also puts me close to the ships so I can maintain good contact with the Merchants and communication with my fleet."