In the late dusk of the Great Horn Archipelago, the bridges between the four islands were abuzz with those taking to the other islands for more festivities. On the largest of the bridges (or underneath it, rather), an out of the way tavern and restaurant attracted only the locals, or those well in the now, the darker area past the staircase at the side of the bridge feeling foreboding to the unfamiliar. An orange haired lad with a yellow vest casually strolled inside, a nod from the tavern keeper directing him to his desired room. Opening the door without as much as a knock, Saffron stepped inside, seeing his peers sitting at a table laden with various meats, breads, and cards. Chadwick’s face shone bright as we swept hair out of his face as Saffron arrived. “Saf, brah! You made it bro! Ready to go do some biss’?” Marv was rubbing his eyes, a headache coming on as his dark eyes saw out through his fringes. “Hi.” He let out, focusing back on the cards. Chadwick was holding his cards nonchalantly, Marv could peer and see he had a pair of kings. “I fold.” He said as Chad looked over at him “Aw, what’s the matter Marvey? Not really up to play against the Chadmeister?!” His tanktop draped over his torso as tight as it could be, the “Reddical Dreadical” font going from one side of his chest to the other. He grabbed another bite of his sandwich. “Saff, sit down bro, you wanna join next game? Ya’ boy’s on quite a streak!” A frown of irritation forming on his face, Saffron took his seat, stating, “I was hoping we could focus on the ‘biss’.” Placing her cards down for a moment and scooping up another bite of food, Kobicha said, “Well, it was supposed to just be a time killer, but some of us don’t like to lose.” “You mean you don’t like to lose,” Saffron noted. Kobicha didn’t deny it, as she refused to fold. ”All right, Chadman’s going all in. What’cha got Kobi?” Chadwick said with his trademarked grin on his face. River was flipped, the Two of clubs and four of hearts was added by a three of hearts. Marv groaned. “He’s gonna win again, isn’t he?” He asked groaning as Chad’s face was as if stuck in a smile. “Just a two pair, looks like,” Kobicha said, showing her two of hearts and three of spades. Growing even more disinterested, Saffron plated up a bit of food, eating politely. Chad’s smile faded for a second. “... That’s not very Redical of you.” He said, showing his one pair of kings and Marv let out a one syllable laugh. “HA!” The blue clad ninja laughed, leaning back in his chair. Chad looked at Marv and gave him his worst stare. “Fine, you win Kobibabe.” Chad told her with a less genuine smile this time. Giving a brief, coy smile, Kobicha put her cards down before taking another bite of food, before Saffron swallowed, asking, “Are we ready to get to real matters now?” Kobicha started, “Chad can play some solitaire while we get things done. Now, some of my men have been watching the troop movements of the Antler Kingdom, but they haven’t been very effective. They’re just patrolling sites with other valuables: banks, nobleman estates, etcetra.” “So useless, then. My scouts are keeping watch on the Antler Nobles. The King and Queen are safe within the palace for now, but in case of an attack, they have an escape plan - where their bodyguards will leave them to a tunnel, which leads to a nigh impenetrable bunker. “ Marv mentioned. “My guys have been brewing ruckus down at the docks, harbor and marketplace. The people are just raring to get down with the reddical way.” Chad added, while he was shuffling the deck and went to play a round of solitaire. “And the Quartz Company is get arms into the hands of our collected forces. There has been a brief wrench in our plans with that man, Chester, still being alive, but he hasn’t been deemed as a major threat. Goldenrod is handling him. That leaves our matters on dealing with Johannes and coming up with a way to capture the King and Queen before they get to their bunker so that we can demand surrender. Otherwise it all hinges on Cerulean to break it open, and his power is much better suited elsewhere.” “Like breaking necks.” Chadwick said with a chuckle, piling the cards on top of each other. Marv smirked. “So, what are your individual assignments during all of this?” He asked, knowing full well that while the heads of the companies might be working together on this, their tasks would be in the nature of turning the situation to the advantage of their own company. Kobicha began, “I”m not too suited for combat, so I’ll be manning mortars and the like supplied by the Quartz Company, keeping the enemy disoriented and scattering, along with sending out some general information. I could use an extra squad of information runners though: we don’t have enough crows to go around, and they’re too smart to like fighting anyway.” Looking over to Chad, she asked, “The Crimson Company has got more men than they can handle, right? Send some fast ones over my way.” Chad smiled “Oh men? That’s no problem. We got fresh pledges by spades. Most of them are fast, bloodthirsty lil buggers, too! This here Antler kingdom’s got plenty of people who’s ready for a nice little barfight.” “.. The entire capital city being the bar in this metaphor of yours?” Marv added and Chad nodded. “You know it Bro! What about you, Marvbert?” Marv grimaced. “I’m to plant explosives and blow the gates. Then it’s deeper behind enemy lines, wrapping the King and Queen up quite nicely for the boss.” Kobicha looked over to Saffron, wondering, “And you?” Saffron admitted, “With the Quartz Company’s efforts dedicated to keeping reinforcements from returning to the palace, along with scattered support, there’s no room for me to command any troops personally. Which leaves me the option of either targeting a notable wildcard such as Johannes or Chester, or aiding in the kidnapping of the King and Queen, which would hopefully end the battle as shortly as possible.” “If you’ll avoid being in my way, you can put your sword to the King’s throat if you’d like.” Marv told Saffron. Saffron gave a slight smile. “I’m not one to disappoint.” --- The day after, and the festival was in full swing. It was still a day or so from completion, but the weekend was traditionally the busiest period. The castle’s grounds were clear, short of the occasional troop patrol, but the city outside was positively bustling. A parade was set to come to its end in front of the palace this evening, but those in the know knew that it was not going to come to pass. Clad in the armor of a Balder knight Saffron made his way through several palace corridors, surprised at how bustling they were with soldiers. Was their intel wrong? Putting it aside, intending to focus on the mission, Saffron went about the throne room. The King and Queen weren’t here, but that wasn’t the first step. Trying to avoid looking suspicion, he kept his eyes peeled for his contact, but nowhere did he see that familiar face.