Alphard was quite surprised when Kazaro announced that they were all formally invited to join the Knights of the Blood Oath. These guys were the elite, the best of the best, the cream of the crop. They had been at every Boss Fight from the Town of Beginnings. Alphard was rather conflicted over the whole thing, though. On one hand, to even be asked to join the Knights was a huge honor. An honor she normally would have jumped on in seconds. On the other hand, did she really need to join the guild? Alphard had a partner now, one who had already stated his willingness to die for her if need be. A partner who was looking rather confused right now. Alphard slunk over to Jason and asked him what was the matter. 

“Well the whole thing is rather confusing I must say!” the speedster responded.

Alphard put her arm around Jason’s shoulders and grinned a wicked grin. “It’s the whole Knights of the Blood Oath thing innit? I mean [i]come on[/i]! They’re practically Arthurian and they have the same ideals as you mentioned that you have. You must be giddier than a schoolgirl at the thought of joining these guys.”

Jason laughed and shook off Alphard’s arm, “Nah milady, I don’t wanna join these guys. They already asked me to join them anyway. Yeah, one of Kazaro’s compatriots found me about ten floors ago and gave me the whole spiel but… I dunno. They seem to share my ideals on paper, but in practice… things are quite different. No, what I’m confused about is what’s up with this Fitch guy?”

Alphard’s grin froze on her face. “[b]WHAT?[/b] You’ve already been asked to join the Knights? No, don’t answer that. I’ll just explain about Fitch and just forget what you said. Fitch was a member of our group before you joined and a beta tester to beat. Just before you joined us, we lost someone else. Her name was Yari and she was married to Fitch. It was really hard on all of us though; she was really the glue that held our group together. Ever since she died, Fitch has been…distant. He disappears a lot. I don’t know why he wasn’t invited to the Knights, but it’s pretty clear that it hurt him.” Alphard paused for breath and considered Jason with a raised eyebrow. “Here’s the real question though: are we going to join?”

Jason paused slightly before reminding Alphard that he would follow her wherever she went, so if she joined the Knights, he would as well. Alphard could tell that he was conflicted, though. She thought back to what he had said earlier: that, in practice, their actions were less… well [i]knightly[/i] than they at first seemed. Despite the part that Jason played in Kenshin’s death, he was still the most honest, true, and trustworthy man Alphard had ever met. If he believed that it would be a mistake to join, then she would trust his judgment. Alphard nodded, mind made up. She turned to Kazaro and loudly announced, “Jason and I will [i]not[/i] be joining the Knights of the Blood Oath. We intend on seeking our own truths in this world, not those set forward by Heathcliffe.” She bowed to Kazaro, “We mean no disrespect, but we want to find our own path. We won’t work against you or your recruitment of others. Indeed, we most likely will fight alongside you in future Boss Fights! But we do not wish to join your guild.” 

Jason caught Alphard’s eye and gave her the slightest of nods, signifying that he was in agreement with all that she had said. Then he stepped forward and addressed the group as well, “We would also like to extend an invitation to any of you who do not wish to join the Knights. You may join us in our travels if you so please, for milady informs me that we will continue on the same path that we have already begun. We will continue to work alongside the Clearers and to take side quests in order to increase our chances of survival. We WILL get out of this hellhole. And we will do it with the strength of our own arms!” The last bit was said nearly at a shout. Clearly this was something that Jason believed in very strongly. With one final glance about the room, Jason turned to Alphard and inclined his head deeply. She smirked at his outburst and led the way out of the room. The two left and went to their separate rooms, spending the rest of the night contemplating the ramifications of what they had just witnessed and said.