"I know, Sir Tiral, but we have no idea how much time we have before they figure out their assassination attempt failed," said Fanilly, her composure returning somewhat more strongly as she turned to face the mage-knight. "We have some time to get ready, but beyond that we have to move as soon as we possibly can." The blonde girl turned towards the exit... and couldn't help but notice the electrical slap that Marianne had delivered to the old man. She took a deep breath, shook her head, and cleared her thoughts. No. They had to get going. For the Princess, for the assassin's sister, and to stop the defilement of a tomb. "Let's go, Iron Roses." [hr] For a few moments, Bethany couldn't understand why one of the knights had greeted her with such a tone, shrinking back slightly. however, at the other's words, she blushed slightly in embarrassment, rubbing at the back of her head and averting her eyes. "I-I had to act q-quickly... s-so..." she trailed off. At the time, all she'd been thinking about was keeping Eliabelle safe. Given the Princess was already being defended, the next best option was to place a barrier over the doorway and ensure there was no escape for the assassin. That had certainly paid off, as it was far easier for the Iron Roses to corner her like that. If Eliabelle had been killed... Bethany didn't want to think about that. The Princess nodded to Gillian's statement, and they continued up the stairs. The castle was lavishly decorated, a splendid showing of the Royal Family's power. Paintings of notable nobility, heroic scenes from history, and of course, members of the Royal Family, lined the walls. Two in particular stood at the end of the hall. They were by far some of the largest paintings, both depicting a rather striking sight. The first was a scene that every adherent of the goddesses would know. The towering, black knight, a crown of spines rising from his helmet and clutching an enormous sword . A single, ethereal-seeming young woman in armor, clutching a silvery blade. Both of them on a rock jutting high above a plain. The battle raging below. The Duel between Saint Lilianna and Orodrunn was the end of the war between all peoples of creation and the forces of the second dark lord. She had, in the end, miraculously shattered his black blade, Angroron, and pierced his armor to slay him. The second painting was of a scene more familiar to those born and raised in Thaln, that fit rather well with the scene beside it. Elionne stood clashed in furious combat with Merrn the Kinslaughterer. Prince Merrn, still clad in his gleaming, royal-seeming armor, had butchered the other members of the Royal family by surprise in the night, all save his younger sister, whom he had become obsessed with. Elionne, another object of his obsession, had challenged him in battle. In a bout of furious combat in which Merrn believed 'he would make them his', Elionne slew the mad Prince by beheading him, and the Royal line survived through his younger sister. The moment in which the reviled madman met his end was a popular subject, as it also symbolized the survival of the Royal Family. It was at once a horrific tragedy as well as a message of hope. Eliabelle turned to the left, and soon enough they reached her room. Within, it was rather lavish, with a four-poster bed laden with pillows(and a stuffed dragon toy) and blankets, a large bookcase full of various volumes, a desk, a body-length mirror, a nightstand, and even access to a balcony. The glass and steel doors leading to the balcony were shut. Bethany remained silent, still blushing faintly and shuffling her feet. Eliabelle, desperate for some form of normal conversation, headed to the bookcase and took a red-bound novel from a shelf. "S-so, have any of you read [i]Fireheart[/i]?" It was a hundi-written novel, about a young hundi on her coming of age journey. It had become quite popular in recent years. [hr] A brief stop had been made to account for anyone who could prepare quickly, but time was of the essence. The Iron Roses had to move, and they had to move quickly. The graveyard was, thankfully, not too far away, even if it was a rather haunting sight to behold in Fanilly's opinion. The elaborate gravestones, some depicting Mayon reaching down towards the grave of the dead, a few similarly constructed, but with Reon instead. Others showed family symbols, or conveyed what the dead interred there had done in life. Some were simple, wishing the deceased a good afterlife. And then there were the mausoleums. They stood larger then the other graves, and what was visible was only a small component. They stretched underground as well, holding generations of dead. Fanilly admitted, privately, that she found being in a graveyard at night rather disconcerting, but... she couldn't show such a thing. The Cal Family's tomb was rather easily-recognized. Atop it was the eight-pointed star that symbolized the Cal family. As Fanilly knew, each point symbolized something, but she had never learned what. They had refused to allow Phoran Cal to be interred there, and had stripped him posthumously of his status as a member of their family. He was so hated that his surviving daughter had refused to acknowledge that she shared his blood. His tomb looked unguarded... from the outside. But gods knew what was going on down there. Fanilly turned back to the others. "Once we're inside, Vosahnn will lead the way," she said, nodding her head towards the Nem assassin. Her name, as she had written while they were preparing, was Tili Vosahnn. "We'll take out as many of them as we can on the way to the bottom floor. Once we're there, we'll need to act quickly in order to ensure Kyphi's safety, and slay the necromancer before he can act." It was around that moment that the door to the Cal Mausoleum slowly creaked open... and a guard stepped out. He'd need to be silenced quickly. They wanted to get inside before there was an alarm.