[h2]Candaeln[/h2]

Rolan knew he was far from an expert, let alone master, of alchemy by the time Silenna had finally admitted he wasn't going to blow himself up, at least probably. While it wouldn't show by the time the Knights escaped this place with their newfound training and experience, he had more than his fair share of burns, even attempting to be showing due caution when appropriate. He had filled his journal with a fairly dense volume of recipes, notes, and musings when he hadn't been busy preparing various mixtures and practicing techniques he never had use or knowledge of prior to finding another teacher. Still, he had focused his efforts as much as he could, spending as much time as he had available to learn and focus on just that, learning and cramming as much information into his head as possible. Eventually he had been informed that there was a celebration to be held back at Candaeln, something that he was going to pass on until he was, metaphorically, dragged out of the alchemy lab by Silenna.

Spending some time at least observing those who came along, Silenna practically throwing herself at Florian was understandable, frankly. If Rolan had to pick one of the knights, Florian was probably up there among the top choices, though he wouldn't be saying that particular comment out loud. Instead, he would be taking the opportunity to leave the party early, ideally with little notice. With the challenges ahead, he needed to prepare ahead of time, and would spend a great deal of time brewing and bottling a variety of concoctions that he had learned during his training. Knowledge of them would be useful once back in the real space, but better to put them into practice now. To do that, he needed to prepare, and that would need focus, so better to let the others who had more earned their celebrations proceed.

[hr]

[h2]Eastwards Road[/h2]

The plan wasn't great, despite its flexibility. Get past the veritable regiment of Knights, the personal retinue of the Talderian Prince being a veritable regiment of identically equipped, no doubt skilled, knights. Even after a portion stepped aside and out of the way, they were still hopelessly outnumbered. The plan was distract, scatter, and whoever had an opening breach forward and reach the throne. Easy to say, at least, and Rolan was near the back of the band of the Iron Roses, considering the options. Light breeze wasn't strong enough to worry him about throwing off his aim, and for once he was confident in not referring to his crossbow aim, although that would be vital as well. 

Plucking a bottle from his pack, knowing that they wouldn't be coming with him once they made it, Rolan hurled it high, the arcing bottle well above the ranks of the Talderian knights. At a glance, it would sail harmlessly past both knights and Throne, but without wasting a moment, Rolan brought his crossbow to shoulder, and loosed a bolt to shatter open the lobbed flask. The plan was to loose a caustic cloud of acrid smoke, something he had learned in a mistaken mixture while learning. Rather than remember it to avoid making the mistake again, he had weaponized his missteps in learning, keeping the formula as a way of disruption. The mixture wouldn't be killing anytime soon, not with how soon the heavier than air cloud would eventually disperse, but it would hopefully scatter and disrupt the center of the formation. More importantly, the disruptive effects of the acrid smoke would hopefully distract those unaffected by the vapors by helping their allies. That was his plan, you couldn't do much for a dead ally, but a blinded and coughing one, that one a tightly knit group of fellows would be quick to not leave behind. Still, as he reloaded, Rolan kept a wary eye out for targets of opportunity or, if he was particularly lucky, an opening to rush the Throne, warning the other Roses of his actions.

[color=lightblue]"Mind the smoke while you advance, it won't last long but the side effects will."[/color]