"... Hmph. You shouldn't doubt the words of the Moonlit Queen. I've already made my agreement with you, Children of Man," the fae ruler declared with a wave of one black hand, one of her bare feet crunching in the chill-less snow as she stomped irritably, "My little sister will have her prize. You won, fairly."

Indeed, the fae in the transluscent dress faded away moments later, appearing, now, with three small boxes drifting through the air in front of her. Each one opened in turn, revealing an unadorned golden ring, a green glass frog that could sit in the palm of a young child's hand, and a black dagger.

"... Pick whichever two you like," she continued with a huff, "[i]I[/i] am far more fair then my little sister and won't ask you to give up your own prize."

She seemed to care little about elaborating on what each item did, but it was unlikely that they were ordinary.

Fanilly took a deep breath. She hadn't expected a prize, but before that---

"And the duke's wits?"

"I'll return [i]those[/i] personally," responded the Moonlit Queen, still looking away, though her black eyes glanced towards the paper that Lady Gertrude had offered to her, "If I can't keep his wits, then at least I can make him feel rightfully guilty for how much he's ignored me."

At this point, there was no reason to doubt the Moonlit Queen. She'd been more than fair, and Fanilly suspected she believed that giving them something extra would make them more likely to help when it came to the retrieval of the shard of Angroron.

Who could possibly have penetrated a Fae realm and stolen something from a Fae Queen's treasury?

The Knight-Captain took a deep breath. Whoever was collecting shards of the Hole in the World couldn't possibly have good intentions. While she had no idea how many shards of the blade could possibly be within Thaln's borders, there was no question that they had to do everything in their power in order to retrieve them.

"In that case---"

[hr]

It was a grey, overcast day. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, and though Reon's warmth would still be felt, her light was dampened by the potential for a rainstorm.

Still, the rain too was a blessing, though one more associated with Mayon then her lover.

The duke's wits had been returned to him, as promised. They had been able to retrieve a prize for the Moonlit Queen's sister and return with a prize of their own. In all respects, the mission had been an overwhelming success.

And yet Fanilly could not take solace in that outcome.

The Moonlit Queen, seeking the return of something stolen from her, had been happy to offer whatever information she could. There had been an intruder, apparently, one she had initially sought to destroy, but who had stopped her, and told her of the Duke's neglect. It had been something she already felt, so when the figure suggested she do something about it, and offered their assistance in the matter, she'd felt no reason to refuse.

It was after she departed from her Fae realm to steal Duke Thedric's wits that the shard must have been stolen.

But all of that information was, while concerning, far from the worst of it.

The figure had mostly obscured their form in dark cloth. But one trait was fully visible, clearly. One identifying item.

A blank white mask that bore the image of an eye. Just the same as the image that had appeared from the mind of the dying, cursed Golden Boar commander.

There was no doubt in Fanilly's mind that such things had to be connected.

She couldn't rest. She couldn't relax. Despite their success, she had to do something. It was her [i]duty[/i] to do something.

It was for this reason that she found herself in the library, mere days after the events of their mission to restore Duke Thedric's wits, in hopes of searching out any little scrap of information that she could on the potential whereabouts of the shard of Angroron.

Of course, surely the Knight-Captain was not the only one preoccupied with important matters. There was the matter of the prize that had been granted by the Moonlit Queen for one.

Lady Gertrude had received a black branch from the Moonlit Queen as well, after the reveal of her nature as a Witch to the fae monarch, without much further explanation. Lord Arken had given her a message requesting a meeting as well.

The knights had potentially gained another long-term guest.

And there was word of the approach of special event hosted by the crown.