The King and Queen had watched quietly as the last few remaining guests entered the room. They were introduced by Lady Ophelia as Eyrie Goldmoon and "The Broken Man". The King smiled lightly at Eyrie and nodded his acknowledgment, addressing her shortly. "I have heard that you are an exceptional enchantress. Your father made me one of the best swords I've ever had the pleasure of welding. It was supposed to be ceremonial, but it's still quite a bit stronger and more durable than most of my other swords." (Eyrie blushed slightly, partly embarrassed at having been singled out, partly pleased that the king had heard of her, and partly angry that he had more praise for her father's work than her own.) When Sebastian was introduced as "The Broken Man", the queen gave a small involuntary gasp and the King looked slightly pale, turning to Lady Ophelia. "Are you sure he is... safe?" Lady Ophelia looked at Sebastian for a long moment, then turned back to the King, leaning in closely and speaking softly in his ear. "Yes, your majesty. I believe that while he is certainly a broken and strange man, he is unlikely to cause any harm here. I have added an extra spell to his rune, suppressing any... accidental mishaps that may occur because of his presence here. I must admit, he is a bit of a wildcard, but I believe we can curb his potential towards our own ends." 

When Marianne Delacroix asked her questions, the King's attention turned back to her and he stood from his seat, addressing them all. "Very well then, Lady Ophelia and I shall explain the purpose of this meeting." He pointed down to the map, his finger moving from black marker to black marker. "These markers represent rumors, tales, stories and reports of dark dealings, corruption, heinous acts, dangerous criminal activity, and suspicious or mysterious circumstances all over our fair land of Pantos. Now of course, we cannot assume that all of them are connected. Many of them many simply be rumor and tales with no real facts or evidence to support them, while others may be isolated incidents. However, the nature of the tales and stories are so varied and disturbing that we also cannot assume that they are unconnected." He looked over to Lady Ophelia, who stepped forward next to the king and spoke in a strong voice. "These occurrences are far too numerous for this to be coincidence. Something is happening in Pantos, something has taken hold of our kingdom and is hiding in the shadows. I know almost nothing about this force that is behind it, save that it is malevolent. It's influence is strong and dark, giving it's nature away, but not it's form. All I can tell you is that it's influence is spreading quickly, and unless something is done I fear that these stories and tales that hide in the shadows will soon burst into the daylight and all of a sudden, no one anywhere will be ignorant of them because the horrors that we've heard of will be in plain sight, everywhere, for all to see, but it will be too late to do anything about it. That, is where you come in." Lady Ophelia's eyes glistened with steel and passion as she spoke, looking each of those gathered in the face.

The King spoke again, Ophelia's urgency and passion emboldening him. "We cannot allow whatever is behind these strange happenings to grow any stronger, so we have devised a plan to both crush it's influence and root it out. You are all powerful magic users, Lady Ophelia has assured me of this and I trust in her sense of a person's magical ability implicitly. I have gathered you here today in order to employ you in my service, directly under the command of Lady Ophelia, to investigate these tales, rumors and reports, resolving them to the best of your ability, and to discover the form or identity of the force behind them." The King's voice had grown very serious and full of authority, brooking no argument from any of them. "I realize that it may be inconvenient for you all to leave your lives behind in the pursuit if this quest, but I assure you that your families will be well taken care of while you are away, and you also have my personal assurance that should you be successful, you each will receive a reward befitting of your services to the crown and to the kingdom of Pantos, in addition to your status as heroes and saviors of the realm." He turned to his wife for a moment, who smiled lightly and handed him a small ornate velvet bag. He pulled the string on the bag and poured out several small golden amulets. The amulets were in the shape of a noble stallion with a crescent moon behind it. The symbol of the royal house of Pantos was similar, a stallion with a blazing sun, this symbol represented covert agents of the crown, working in secret. It was the symbol of the spy network of the King of Pantos. "Furthermore, these will serve as your badge of office, to be shown only in great need. Anyone who recognizes this symbol will be obliged to help you, but be warned, for if you make your quest known too often, our enemy, whatever or whoever it is, may catch wind of it." He looked at Lady Ophelia, who made a simple gesture towards the amulets, which then floated off of the table and levitated towards the magic users, one amulet per magic user, dropping into their hands or around their necks. 

The King gestured towards Lord General Feyne and said, "The General has given orders that, should you request aid from the local garrisons or keeps of the kingdom, you should be granted any such aid as you request. However, do not show your badges to any soldier except those of the highest rank in the area if you have any choice in the matter, for we are unsure which of our soldiers we can trust." Lord General Feyne stepped forward, a serious look on his face and anger blazing in his eyes, though it did not show on his face. "We have reason to believe that many of our own soldiers have turned spy for whatever force is causing these happenings. Many soldiers of varying rank have either participated in or failed to report or correct the happenings, too many for it to be coincidence. Therefore, though it shames me to say, you shall have to be even more careful while dealing with the soldiers of the crown. Those who remain loyal will help you, and those who do not will be outed, but you must still be vigilant. Your mission shall largely be secret, which is why there is no one else in this room besides the King and Queen, myself and Lady Ophelia. We have no reason to suspect our royal guard at this time, but we cannot stress enough the importance of the secrecy of your mission, at least as far as tying it to yourself. Should a rumor begin of your activities, our spies will do all they can to quash it, but you must make sure that there is no reason to suspect that you are the groups that have begun to fight back against these happenings." 

The queen spoke briefly then, her voice soft and gentle, but her eyes meeting each of theirs, conveying a strength of will and sense of determination. "We cannot force you to comply with this most urgent request for aid, but bear in mind that this evil, whatever it's form, it will continue to spread, to your homes, your loved ones, everyone and everything you care for. Would you really risk that for the sake of staying out of it?"