Penelope smirked a little at Crow's reply. Not only had a great deal of time passed but the thief was now a viceroy and she doubted anyone in the kingdom of Younis would even guess that they were the same person. Well except Hartley of course but he wouldn't cause any trouble. She listened amusedly as Naida and Crow spoke only for her smile to fade into a more serious expression as Crow began to wonder out loud about what had happened to the staff. 

"That is strange, I suppose. Perhaps they're saving it for something."  Kane mused with a thoughtful expression. He paused before his gaze flickered onto Penelope. "You were apart of that mission too, weren't you?"

"I was." The knight confirmed with solemn nod. She frowned a little at the thought of the mercenary attack. "I always assumed that the rebellion had been behind it. They were a collective of fairly wealthy nobles so I'm sure they could have paid off quite a few mercenaries."

"Yeah but shouldn't the staff have been rediscovered by now if it was the rebellion?" Naida questioned. 

"Probably." Penelope agreed. She stared down at her drink, momentarily losing herself in thought. The whole situation was strange and it still haunted her. Even though the rebellion had been wealthy, that was quite a lot of mercenaries to pay off. The other unsettling factor to her was the fact that all the mercenaries were similar in their size and features. The knight wasn't sure what that meant but she suspected that where ever the staff had gone, the great threat Toreus had warned about was lurking. The thought sent a small chill up her spine. 

Besides her, Kane mumbled his agreement. The wench had returned with his ale and he sipped at his drink. The nobleman seemed to catch onto the dimmed mood and casted the knight a smile. "No sense in focusing on that now when you're trying to celebrate." he chuckled. "In fact, how about a friendly competition, first to the bottom of the mug wins."

Penelope raised an eyebrow at him. "How's that fair? Your drink's completely full and I'm already half way through mine."

"I think I may surprise you." Kane replied with a wink. He grinned. "Perhaps if we were playing for higher stakes fairness would be key but I don't see any reason to do that unless you want to grab a fresh mug." The nobleman shrugged his shoulders and then looked to the two half siblings. "Anyone else care to join in?" he asked.