Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Pokémon Center

Zack sped up once he left Looker's eyeline, pushing his way through a crowd as they attempted to pass through the sliding glass doors into the battle yard. He entered the main lobby, then made a sharp turn for the front exit.

'Ah! Zack! What fortuitous timing!' Dexio said from the front of the queue. 'As instructed, I have saved your place in line, and it just so happens that my place - that is your place - has now reached the counter for the--'

Pausing, Zack watched Dexio blather on though no sound came out. He unlatched his pokéball belt and passed it over to the aide, then carried on through the exit. He pulled his holocaster from his backpack and pressed End Call on Mia, then scrolled through his contacts.

'Where are you, bud?' Zack flicked his way through the contacts list, but Kelly didn't appear on it. His heart raced, and he stopped at a fountain in the courtyard outside of the pokémon center. Zack went through his notebook; mainly filled with details of pokémon battling, he had the foresight to list his friends' actual phone numbers just in case. Kelly was at the top of the list, right below his ex-girlfriend Robin.

Zack carefully keyed the number into his holocaster and let it dial out. It beep beep beeped on loop before his caster's robotic voice said that the call had been blocked.

'God ******** dammit,' Zack sighed. He couldn't be sure if the number didn't work because Kelly had blocked him, or if a Darkhorse Hunter had just covered their tracks. 'Please don't be dead.' Zack went back to his written contact list and rang the number at the very top.

Anistar City Hotel - Suite 19D

While Benedict got up to answer the door, a holocaster started to flash amidst the pile of clothes that surrounded the bed. The four bodies stirred, and one of the people checked the caster and groaned.

'Yooo, Robin, it's yours.'
'Uhhh?' said Robin Carella, peeling her way across naked bodies until she hung over the edge of the bed and stared at the incoming call. 'Noo...' she picked up and said, 'What.'

'What to you too,' said Zack on the other end of the call, his volume on low.
'Real charismatic, Zack,' Robin replied, yawning as she sat upright. She didn't bother keeping the bedding over her chest, wasn't anything anyone in that room hadn't seen before. 'Did you strike out with your new girlfriend? Crawlin' back to what you're missing?'

'That's not why I'm calling,' Zack said, sounding impatient, which gave Robin a small sense of satisfaction. He absolutely struck out with his new girlfriend. 'You seen Kelly recently?'
'Franklin? Yeah, why?'
'How recently? Days, weeks?'
'I don't know, a few days. Did something happen?' Robin asked. Zack didn't respond. 'Zack, what happened?'

'Nothing. Just can't get a hold of him.'
'You're a shitty liar, boy. If he's ignoring you, it's for a good reason,' Robin said, no heat to her voice; any anger she felt towards Zack was just cold sadness by now. She decided not to dwell on it. Robin sighed. 'I'll try calling him. He doesn't ignore me.'

'Lord Balibar would like to formally support the Hero of Kalos. Should you accept he would like to have you sign it today, have a gym match to introduce you to the world as his sponsor, and tomorrow evening we will have you at the estate for a dinner. You may bring one... or more guests. Whatever it takes to satisfy your desires.'

Robin's heart jumped. 'Gotta go, that's my cue.' She hung up on Zack and stumbled out of bed. She tip toed gingerly across the room, keeping her boobs hidden with her arm as she stood by the door next to Ben. 'Oh, pick me. That's absolutely up my alley. I can dress real well.'  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Ben did his due diligence and read the contract. It was a good deal, anyone would get everything they needed from getting 8 badges for a while. Which meant convincing someone to drop would be easy by comparison. It gave the nobles a definitive number to beat in bribes and time to manipulate someone.

It went without saying that he was probably going to be targeted immediately no matter how many people stuck to him if he said no. "Hero of Kalos? Please tell me you won't actually use that name." Ben feplied, voice low enough he wasn't sure the two gentlemen had actually heard. He didn't realize someone had snuck up behind him before the voice spoke. That was... Robin? Robin. Pretty eyes, bit of attitude. Apparently ambitious. All good traits.

Honestly, Juliet had been his first thought at the offer of a fancy dinner party. Noble help to get through noble spaces. But Robin did volunteer... Could he just drag her along? It was dangerous. Actually, that wasn't the most pressing answer he had to give. Accept or die. "It's too good a deal to just pass up." He signed the contract there and handed it back. This was a bad idea. But better than the 'please target me' option. "And it sounds like Robin will be my date to meet with Lord Balibar." He turned to her and gave a smile. Bad ideas all around. "Is there anything else that needs my immediate attention?"  

[Spinne Biss]

Anistar City Hotel - Suite 19D

"No," the taller man said as he looked over Benedict's signature. "Everything else will be texted to you within the-

Benedict's cellphone would ding with a text message from his stylist who was ready for him at the Anistar City gym.

few seconds." The man nodded to Benedict and did not bother to acknowledge Robin. "We will see you and your date tomorrow, your stylist will catch you up on the rest."  

[Jump Einatz]

Coumarine City Pokémon Center

"Are you even listening?"
Salieri shook from her daydream. She'd been recalling what Ramos had told her in her head. "Obviously," she lied. "Just give me the abridged version."

The young Nurse Joy at the counter stood with Durendal's Pokéball in one hand, the other hand on her hip. "He overexerted himself. The armor is still stitching up. Your Pawniard can still do light activity, but I recommend keeping him out of battles for the rest of the day."
"The rest of the day?!"
"You won't get anywhere pushing him too hard. He needs to heal." The Nurse sighed. "If you're that desperate to train, grind against Fletchlings."

Durendal was her most trusted Pokémon. Her sword. If she was attacked by another Darkhorse Hunter she'd be at a disadvantage. Sal took his ball back and sat on a couch in the lobby.

Of course she wouldn't push Dune anymore today. He was her friend. But did she love him? Sal's guts crawled again as she replayed her Gym match and Ramos' encouragements again. Luck was something she had grown to detest. Everything she had in her life was something she'd fought for. Earned. To be handed what you wanted because the universe made it so felt like entitlement to Sal. Like the silver spoons nobles were born with. Once upon a time, a young Salieri would have wept over a hand out for her and her family. Now, she shunned the idea. Luck was for her, to put it simply, nothing to be proud of.

But Ramos said it was love that saved her match. And so she was at war with herself, because if she wasn't lucky, then she had more love than she thought she did. Sal wasn't sure how that was defined. If she had love, then why wasn't she happy?

I don't want to think about this. Salieri spun the Pokéball in her hand, fine on the outside and reeling on the inside. The fun she had over the caesura, was that love? The memories she made? Why can't I be satisfied?

The storage closet she was sitting next to opened with aplomb, and out popped Matheson. He readjusted his rusted orange long coat, adorned with sponsorships patches, and shut the door behind him before spotting Sal closer than he thought. "You did it!"

The two of them had spent a fair amount of time together during the caesura. They even went on a second country hopping date. Before the Fishbone incident, Sal thought of ending their budding relationship before it started. They were from two different worlds, and Salieri's world opposed the place he had come from. He was engaged in an arranged marriage, to a woman Salieri detested.

But they were young. And reckless. And they liked each other. So they settled on something casual. It had been a long process of negotiating. No definitions, few strings, little commitment. They were testing the waters, because they weren't ready to leave the beach yet.

Sal stood up and let him hug her. The roiling inside her simmered down. Matheson had a lot of qualities Salieri admired. He was kind to everyone. He was responsible, and loyal to his people. He was competent, but didn't take himself too seriously. His usefulness as a resource and link to nobility couldn't be understated. And all of this was wrapped in a package shaped like a handsome boy with a nice a**.

They weren't the reasons Salieri liked him. She liked him because he made her feel like she wasn't a loser. And so she hugged him back and allowed his mood to come into her space and change her own. "I did, didn't I?"
"I knew you would." Math hesitated, then added, "Buuuuut I wasn't so sure you'd do it on your first try. That was close, dude!"
"Don't remind me," Sal said, rolling her eyes and dying a little on the inside. "It's all skill, baby."

She opened the double doors and they stepped out into the sun. The two of them strolled slowly on the path weaving through the back of the Center. Sal guessed that Ramos' profession had a heavy influence on the town, because the training grounds at this Center were adorned with hedges and shrubs, manicured lawns, and carefully planted flowers. Wide weeping willows waved in the wind, their branches looming up high.

"You're good. Real good. But Dune is something else."
"You got that right. Tell it to him next time, he needs the boost."
"I'm serious, Sal. I heard some sponses talking about you. And him in particular."
Sal eyed him, curious. "Yeah? What did they say?"
"They were impressed! Especially by Durendal. It's week two, people talk. You might just land a sponsorship after this."
"Tch. I'm already sponsored, ya dork."

Sal flicked the keychain on her beltbag. Dangling from it was the emblem for Restaurant Le Yeah in Lumiose City, which was a Chimchar in a chef's hat holding a plate of something delicious. Math peered down and laughed, flicking the keychain. "Nice! Did you always have that?"
"Hell yeah, dude! The Aviads are my number one fans. Plus, Mia's dad bakes the best soft pretzels. It's the greatest perk ugggghhhhh."

Matheson gave Salieri a moment to drool a river in front of him. "That is sweet. I'm, uh, not talking about that though. I mean that is awesome and now I want a pretzel-"
"I'd punt a Lillpup for a pretzel right now..."
"I'm talking about big labels. Labels that can give you money."

Salieri stopped under the zig zagging shade of one of the willows. She appreciated the way he had phrased it. Clearly, he didn't think any less of her for touting Mia's family business. "They're not gonna sponsor me, Math."
"Yeah? Why not?" Matheson turned around to face her. "You're objectively good at this."
"Because I'm not an image person." She made quotes in the air around that label.

Over the caesura, Salieri had almost been approached to be a sponsor for a Kalosian clothing line, until they had deemed her to be 'not the fit we're looking for'. It didn't take long for her to find out (through Mia's search engine martial arts) that Sal had indeed been scouted by multiple companies, only to be glossed over for someone who fit the bill better than her. Apparently, regularly calling out the government and her somewhat grungy lifestyle didn't make for good advertising. Who would've guessed?

"I image-ine you're better than you think you are." Matheson grinned from ear to ear, and Salieri put her hands to her cheeks in horror.
"Oh my Arceus that was terrible."
"You liked it!"
"That was the worst thing to happen to me all week."
"C'mon."
"Maybe my whole life. And I mean, my dad is in intensive care."
"It wasn't that bad."
"It was worse."

Salieri shook her head and started walking again. She brushed some hair away from her face, realizing she hadn't seen herself in a mirror for a few hours. "Thank you."
"Of course."

The truth was, she was ok with not being sponsored. She wanted validation, and she definitely wanted the money. She wanted the money quite badly. But she didn't want to give up who she was, whoever that might be. And Moze had always told her that if a corporation didn't want to deal with you, you were probably doing something right.

So when she saw a glimpse of the nearby TV in the window of the Center, and saw Helena's Gym match against Ramos being broadcast live, it stopped her in her tracks. Helena didn't look like herself. She looked like one of the Unovan Girl dolls Sal had stolen from one of the rich kids at her school as a child. "The ******** hopped over one of the hedges and opened the Center window. She leaned in, hovering over the couch inside and the trainer with the remote sitting on it. "Can you turn that up?"

The trainer, not blinking an eye at the strange surprise girl bursting in through a window behind her, silently obliged and raised the volume. "A trainer endorsed by Lord Balibar himself! Helena Redgrave of Unovan descent! For the first time in history see what she brings to the table!"

Matheson bobbed his head over Salieri's, forming a Scooby-Doo esque stack of observers with her. "Is this the game? Cause the Paladins can still play this season if they take it today but after last week I just don't know about Rodriguez-"
"Math shush." Sal listened to the announcer, read the closed captioning to double check, and allowed her jaw to drop. "No way."
"...oi, that's Zack's sister, right? You guys are friends? Maybe?"

Sal backed away from the window. "The Gym! I'm going to the Gym!" she yelled as she started to run. Confused but intrigued, Matheson followed.
"We're not gonna make it to the match, Sal!"
"Doesn't matter! I just have to catch her before she leaves."

She rounded the corner and her feet hit the pavement. Balibar had endorsed a Unovan. It was unheard of. It flipped the paradigm. Salieri had to know what happened.

Coumarine Gym

The shutters on the glass ceiling of the arena reopened when introductions were done, going from makeshifts spotlights to fully fledged sunlight. Across the arena from Helena, Ramos rapped lightly at the base of his spine with his knuckles.

"Seein' you whippersnappers bloom 'efore ma eyes warms this ol' man's 'eart. Congratulations on yer sponsorship, 'Elena." He regarded her with the same calming respect he had given all of his opponents today.

His hand hovered over a set of Pokéballs slowly, patiently, before settling on one. Ramos gave it an underhanded lob, and out came an Abomasnow (Lvl 40). The Pokémon's bristly face had been pruned to resemble the whiskers of his trainer. Embedded in a collar around his neck was a blue and green gem. A Mega Stone. It was something Ramos reserved for trainers who showed up in kind.

The Gym Leader spun his shears in his hands, and the bolt that joined both halves together glowed with the Key Stone embedded inside. A light connected between the shears, Ramos, and his Abomasnow, before the Ice type was cocooned in a shell of swirling energy. It shattered like glass and faded away, revealing a much larger, more jagged form.

The Mega Abomasnow shook in place and bellowed, releasing a Hail from its body that covered the arena. Sharp pieces of ice fell from above, threatening the floor before.

"This'll be a one on one match. Whenever yer ready, 'Elena," Ramos spoke, louder than usual to make it over the Snow Warning but still as calm as always. "Good luck."

Lumiose City - Mia's Bathroom

Mia looked down with her toothbrush dangling in her mouth as Zack ended the call. She hadn't said anything when she picked up because she had been brushing her teeth, and now she was glad she hadn't. She heard everything.

"Um...the ********?"  

[Marsuru]

Anistar City Hotel - Suite 19D

'That's great. Thanks, Ben,' Robin gave Benedict a smooch on the cheek and hurried away from the door and to the suite's en suite. 'I really gotta pee.'  

[Spinne Biss]

Coumarine Gym

Helena allowed herself to feel Loki. Playful, mischievous, calculating. He was her growing up with her brother. Calculated pranks and jokes that required cause and effect. Like a bucket on the door that dropped water on you when you entered the room. Or a cream filled donut with all the cream siphoned out and replaced with honey.

A smile played across her black and gold colored lips, and the keystone at her wrist began to glow. Loki would glow once their bond had been achieved. The gem at his throat lighting up much brighter than the glow of his body.

As the color of his harder leathery bits changed they would also expand creating more of a sage-like outfit. A gem opening from his forehead like a third eye. Facial hair grew like a sage beard as the number of spoons multiplied until there was five.

Mega Alakazam was ready.

"He's stronger than us," Helena said simply. It was a truth both of them knew. " Helena also knew that her opponent didn't have a single move in his kit that could allow him to do what Korrina did.

"Calm mind." She felt the change through the bond and adapted to keep them connected. Alakazam took the first flurry of hail as if it was nothing. His pain was hidden and erased by his calmness.  

[Jump Einatz]

A wave of awe emitted from the audience after the second Mega cocoon burst open. Mist and dirt swirled in the Hail, and the air sparkled with the shimmering glints of the falling ice. The battle had begun.

Ramos stood waiting with his hands behind his back. It was not everyday that he got to battle against a challenger capable of Mega Evolution, and quite some time since the last one. He smiled, unflinching in the wind.

"Light Screen," he told his Abomasnow gently. The Frosted Tree shook his shoulders, spraying frost and pine needles out from his sides. A green bubble spread around him, fading to become translucent once it reached its maximum size. Ramos was a patient man, and that extended even to his powerhouse Pokémon. To rush in foolhardy would be disrespect to his opponents. He would not be caught underestimating them.  

[Spinne Biss]

Coumarine Gym

These were the first moves of a game. Pawns set forward in chess. As the number of possible moves decreased, the finale would show itself. The time for manipulation, for chaos, existed after the first few moves but before the last few.

"Calm Mind." Helena repeated and Loki would become even more calm. The settling into her focus was a strange feeling. It wasn't a hyperfocus where she tunneled, but a focus on everything. Loki could see the entire board, and Helena could as well.

The more refined it became, the more of the board Loki could simultaneously contemplate in mere seconds. The second wave of hail struck Loki but he did not move. Not yet. They were a moment before chaos. On the precipice of the rubicon.  

[Marsuru]

Shalour City Pokémon Center

Zack returned through the center's double doors, forcing a group of trainers to disperse as he walked through the middle of them. He was deaf to their annoyance, too busy thinking. Interpol, the Darkhorse Hunters, Kelly. Everything was going to s**t all at once and he needed to figure it out. His mentor taught him to compartmentalise, said it was the greatest trait for a clear mind.

'Your pokémon, good sir,' Dexio said with a cheery, exaggerated bow as he presented Zack's pokéball belt to the trainer. Zack took it without a word and started clipping it back around his waist. 'No ailments to speak of, according to the computer. You know, we have a similar device at the Sycamore Lab, although ours is a generation or two older but is no less effective. Oh, the tales I could regale regarding how we acquired the funding for that. Umm, Zack, where are you going?'

Zack walked back out of the pokémon center and began his way through Shalour's streets. Dexio hurried after him.

'Was it the battle against your sister? You know, I checked the scheduling for league matches earlier, and she is due for another gym battle later. I must say, that is very impressive for someone so inexperienced.'
Zack kept walking. Shalour wasn't a huge city but he still had to keep an eye out for the route signs. 'Just stop, man. Don't you get tired?'
'Tired of what?' Dexio asked, apparently puzzled. 'I should inform you that I have a very robust personal fitness training schedule and a profoundly health-oriented diet. The last time I ate candy has been documented, and I keep the date pinned to my refrigerator to dissuade--'
'I'm going to look into this Grant thing,' Zack said, and Dexio stopped dead. 'Too much is happening, I need to focus. Where did you say his dex was found?'

Route 12 - Fourrage Road

The sun beat down over flowering hills, hot and dry. Zack wiped sweat from his brow as he knelt down atop the verge. It was a trail well out of the way, no surprise that nobody had reported anything strange until now. Cooking under the sun like that, the smear reeked. Dark purple strewn across the dry earth, Zack could taste the bitter scent of rot from yards away. Not pretty.

'Oh my...' Dexio seemed a loss for words, and held a handkerchief to his mouth as he turned green.

This used to be a person. Zack felt sick himself, just hid it better. ********, they were looking at a dead body. Nearby, plastic and metal fragments stuck out of the dirt, winking in the sun. Did they used to be pokéballs?

'I should call this in,' Zack said to himself. The others would want to know about this. Everything about Grant's body matched the way they'd found Allard's. Slim chance it wasn't the same killer, given the MO. Should Zack have told Looker about this?

He watched Dexio heave into some bushes. No, bringing Interpol in would take control out of Zack's hands. And if he did catch up with Grant and Allard's killer, he might be able to find out something about Kelly's disappearance. He refused to believe his friend was dead. He was too strong to get taken out by these chumps.

Zack reached for his holocaster and was about to call Mia again. He considered her to be a kind of control station, coordinating information between the crew. Once Esme's archive of Darkhorse Hunter research became digitised, Mia had that burden. His hand stayed, hovering over the caster at his neck.

What if she told Esme about this? She'd get involved, no question. If someone Zack loved had ended up like this, he wouldn't hesitate. He didn't want her to wind up like this too. Dexio was right, surprisingly, they were better off keeping this to themselves. He removed his hand from the holocaster and reached to his pokéball belt.

'Serene. Hazard.' Zack took out two balls and dropped them at the killsite. The Kirlia and Gengar appeared in a flash of light. Serene covered her face where her nose would be almost immediately, while Hazard bounced around joyfully. 'Serene, can you scan this area to figure out what happened here?'

It was a long shot, but if there was some psychic trace of the event, then Serene might be able to pick up on it. Maybe work out a trail. She nodded, but didn't let go of her nose. With a sorrowful glance at the smear that was once Grant Mei, her eyes glowed electric blue as she pulsed with psychic energy.

'Hazard, does he have a ghost? Anything that could help?'

The Gengar pirouetted then stopped with a salute before bouncing around to look for ghosts.  

[Spinne Biss]

Route 12 - Fourrage Road

He was screaming. His entire body, his Pokemon, everything had ended so painfully, so slowly. The echo of the trauma carried through him and, as her materialized, out into the world. For days, it was all he had known.

But now he was here. Real. Alive. No. Grant wasn't alive, there was something wrong about him. Something had pulled him out of what he knew without understanding to be himself. He was lost in it, haunted by it.

"Who are you?" the ghostly visage of Grant asked as he turned his head to look at Zack.  

[Marsuru]

Zack frowned, looking for tracks. He'd needed to hunt his share of pokémon during his training at the academy. It was considered a survival skill; they had a whole class for it. He couldn't see anything short of wild pokémon tracks. Funny thing about the dirt, it looked like it had been freshly sieved. Like someone had carefully taken up the top layer and sprinkled it back down. Did the killer do something to cover their tracks?

'Do you see anything?' Dexio asked, holding his handkerchief to his nose as he approached. 'I can certainly smell something...'
'No,' Zack said. 'Whoever did this is a pro. They don't want anyone following where they went next.'

Zack couldn't see Grant. Even as Hazard awakened the trainer's spirit from the everafter, Zack wasn't spiritually attuned enough to see it in the ghostly flesh. Perhaps someone gifted with Aura like Gurkinn might've been able to perceive him. Zack's gaze went through Grant's ghost as he scanned the horizon for likely places to travel.

[Kekeke! Heeee caaan't seeee youuuu,] Hazard's ghostly voice echoed, literally, seeming to come from every direction as she cackled and bobbed around. She apparently took delight in Grant's dismay. [But I caaaan! Kekekeke!]

Grant would hear every word in the language he spoke best. There were no language barriers in the spirit realm, not even between people and pokémon, assuming those pokémon were ghosts.  

[Spinne Biss]

Route 12 - Fourrage Road

Grant stared at Hazard, his own mind trying to make sense of everything. "I was in pain." He looked down at what remained of him. "I was murdered. All of my friends, my Pokemon." His expression twisted into one of horror, panic, agony. He looked back to Hazard.

"You have to fix it. You have to help me!"  

[Jump Einatz]

Unknown Cavern

When Moze had first seen the base of operations, it felt like something straight out of a comicbook. Ratio's lair, for lack of a better term, was a small cave system hidden deep underground. The individuals rooms of the cave were carved out further than they'd naturally occur, creating wide open spaces with high ceilings lit by crystals that could be found in other Kalosian caves. The floors had been covered with steel. At first, Moze's footsteps had echoed throughout the entirety of the base. After the training, they never made a sound again.

Outside of necessities -beds, baths, and beyond- the rooms contained what they needed for their operations. Equipment, research resources, weaponry. By the time Moze had joined him, his teacher had amassed a stockpile that would make any real rebellion blush.

He coasted on slippers through the halls, wearing black sweatpants and a blue hoodie. It was always brisk in the lair. A family of Noibats slept upside down over him. They, and the other Pokémon who still took refuge here, had been Moze's neighbors for a few years.

"The trick is to really sauté the side with the skin." Moze held out a plate with one hand, balanced precariously on his palm and splayed fingers. A Magikarp filet with asparagus and eggplant. Unlike Salieri, who ate like s**t, Moze had picked up some recipes after he started seeing Mia, in an effort to impress the daughter of a chef. "Like you want that s**t crispy, homes. Salt, pepper, little soy sauce marinade. So easy. I lived off this for months."

Prou hovered an inch off the ground next to him, nodding enthusiastically and leaning forward to take in the aroma. They'd been cooking a lot over the caesura. She could feel how happy it made him to have more people to care for again. She felt the same way.

"Between you and me," Moze said in a hushed voice, looking around and over his shoulders. "If I didn't make him veggies I don't know if he'd even eat them."

She giggled and covered her mouth. Most of the rooms in the caves had open entrances. They stopped at one of the few that had a door, and Moze knocked. "You up?"

Coumarine Gym

Ramos rose his eyebrows, pleased. The last few trainers had been aggressive. A change of pace was nice. It was all about the little things. He sighed a slightly nostalgic sigh.

Abomasnow shuffled his feet, puffed up his cheeks, and fired off a rattling round of "Bullet Seed" at Loki. The tiny blue seeds whizzed through the air at the meditating Psychic, for a total of 2 plus the mystery number seeds throttling through the Hail. The Alakazam's mind was bolstered, and so Ramos attempted to attack his frailer body. He felt it was time to put some pressure on.  

[Marsuru]

Zack took out a map he'd picked up at the Fourrage Road route station, and turned it this way and that. While he had done well at his survival skills class, the one thing he'd always struggled with was map reading. And general navigation, for that matter. He really only shone with the practical s**t, making camp, and such. Hard to visualise what he saw ahead of him as a bunch of blobs of colour and ********. Dexio,' Zack shoved the map into the aide's arms, forcing him to almost drop his handkerchief in Grant. 'Look for the best route to the route stations from here. Chances are that's the way he went.'

[Kakakaka! I can't!] Hazard swooped around then landed in front of Grant. Her ghastly teeth were as big as his head as she grinned. [You're deader than doornails! Look! That's you! Kekeke!]

She pointed to the stinking purple smear on the ground. A chill wind blew, cold enough that even Grant would feel it, and Hazard flew up into the air and floated beside him.

[We're looking for the person who did that] she pointed again, first to the smear, then to Grant's ghost, [to you. THINK! You saw him, kekeke, you saw him after you died. Where did he goooo?]  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Ben would smile and nod politely at the two outside before closing it as politely as he could. Robin was off a moment later and Ben finally felt alone enough to sigh. Okay. Bad ideas all around, and he needed help before he went to that meeting. So he set to work on three texts.

One to Mia. I was just sponsored by Lord Balibar. Need details on him.

One to Sal, she'd probably be the most frustrated. "Hey. I was sponsored by Lord Balibar. Just giving you the heads-up."

And lastly, from his unsecured line, to Juliet. "Lord Balibar invited me to a meeting tomorrow evening. I don't know the culture for noble dinner parties. Got any advice?"

Once those were out of the way, he stepped to the bedroom where the last three in bed had begun to stir and called out to them. "Hey. I'm gonna go get something to eat in about 10 minutes at the latest. So anyone who wants something can come with. Checkout is tomorrow at 9 AM so anyone who just needs somewhere to crash is good until then." And once everyone had made their opinions on the matter known and was ready, he'd set out.