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Magnus' depression carried all the way through their journey home, the minotaur seeming far less imposing with his hunched back. He was less sad about the tunic now, and more feeling the dread of having to confront Rebecca about it. He had no idea how to go about it, since he barely knew her beyond her kind act and orderly nature...he didn't want to lie either, as that was far more cruel than just telling her he ruined it. By the time they were at the guild, Magnus had wracked his brain about enough to come to only one conclusion.

He had to apologize to her, and accept any consequences as they came. 

It was a frightening thing to offend a woman, as he'd learn seeing his brothers-in-law getting put into back breakers for messing up something real bad with his sisters, but he nodded resolutely. Taking in a deep breath in case she was there already, Magnus came in with the others, prepared to die. Luckily, Rebecca wasn't back yet, so that gave him time to at least write a farewell letter if it came to that. He really...didn't understand women well. At all.

When they walked in on Niel though, he saw the strange stone that he was carrying, with...what looked like runes etched into it? He hadn't imagined that Niel was a magician. Perhaps he'd simply purchased it from a wandering bard? Regardless, it fascinated Magnus a bit. He'd never seen Niel in a fight before, so maybe the reason he seemed unimpressive was that he was some wizard's apprentice turned adventurer. Regardless, Magnus remained quiet as the conversation at hand carried out, wondering if he'd ever seen something like that at the Port. He wouldn't mind having one of these...bardstones for himself. Maybe it'd make a nice return gift to Rebecca...or a mercy offering. When the opportunity came with Arletta offering Tali a tour, Magnus smiled, nodding eagerly. [color=FF5353][b]"Mhm! Leave it to me, Niel!"[/b][/color] he said before eagerly getting to work on whatever dish it was that Niel was preparing. He'd have to remember to ask Bart or Freyr about those flowers that Kyle needed. Bart's been around, so he'd know, and Freyr is from a forest dwelling people. It might be racial profiling, but hey, it was the best shot he had.

After a while, Magnus would eventually pop the question on his mind: [color=FF5353][b]"Niel...what was that stone on the table you were using? I didn't take you for a magician."[/b][/color] It was a bit to the point, but Magnus thought that maybe it was just an invention of some sort...Maybe Niel had a dream just like Kyle! Turning eagerly to Niel, Magnus' eyes were sparkling. [color=FF5353][b]"Its song was really nice...it reminded me of a bard I met on the road my first time to the guild,"[/b][/color] he said, an innocent smile on his face. His mental image of Niel was now far grander than it had been before; It'd take a genius to fit a song into a stone, after all! That or maybe his naivete was perfect to explain it away.
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[@Eviledd1984], [@Rune_Alchemist](CHR)

Nephele remained deep in thought until the crash sounded; Until that moment a seed of doubt had been festering, but...upon seeing Christine's father buried under that chandelier, bust lying on the ground, a wave of nausea filled her stomach. Creeping up her throat, she had to fight every urge in her body to vomit...he...he was dead, wasn't he? A clenching of her fist nearly shattered her claws as she applied pressure to her palm, trying not to over react. Well...how could one overreact to what could be a murder? No...such a death couldn't be an accident. Rather, Nephele needed to spring into action right now. The chandelier could only be hung from the second floor's back wall, so unless someone managed to cut the rope with a thrown dagger, that meant whoever did it was not only still on the second floor, but close as well. A quick glance was given to Maria, as she saw just how...lost she looked. No, she couldn't return that look in kind. Rather, the black scaled dragon's eyes seemed determined and angry, not at Maria, but at the scene before them.

[color=A9A9A9][b]"Maria. See that no harm comes to her,"[/b][/color] the dragoness managed, a slight quaking in her voice as she literally started running after a murderer, returning to the second floor...or at least, to where she believed they had to be. The closest room to the back wall on the second floor...that was her best option for now, the most sensible place to suspect someone would cut the chandelier free from. Claws at the ready, and a noxious purple mist permeating about her mouth as she ran. She was prepared to paralyze anybody that got in her way. She only hoped that Maria and Christine would be safe...