Achronum

Talrae Reborn

“You lot are all the same.” Rowina sighed, opening the door to let the Tinker in. The space beyond the immediate entrance was a small living room, a couch and two chairs around a small coffee table. Two bookshelves framed a window and a fireplace recently quit sat smoldering still. The kitchen could be seen to the right and a short flight of stairs would take people up to a study and a bedroom or down into what was presumably a basement. Rowina tugged on a thick rope just barely in reach of the fire place as she stocked it back to life. Muted jingling could be heard upstairs, scuffling and muttering accompanying the sound.

“You’re the one we’ll see tonight. Can’t be up at all hours and still put things together without them exploding after all.” The woman sighed as she got a fire going. “Now what exactly are you looking for? If you’re coming to us, you’re looking to specialize but we each have our methods. Guns and explosives? I can teach you a trick or two. Something a bit bigger, more complex? My husband can- Speak of the devil.”

Alfor Ratshrew

“Yes, enlighten us my dear boy. What grandeur do you plan to provide this poor world?” Alfor Ratshrew clumped heavily down the stairs, a delighted smile on his face at the sight of a fellow Tinker, drawing another sigh from his wife. Even if the boy only wanted Rowena’s expertise, it would be with a hovering husband and another hour of work to get him back into bed. “Are you trying to reach the heights of the Windswpet Ribbons or dive to the depths of the Viscken Whirl? Survive the tempestuous Friliand Flames? Come come. Tell us what majesty you intend to impart with vision, imagination, and gusto!”

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There was some muttering among the forty of so adventurers milling around the guild hall, none of them immediately taking to the idea. One man however, stepped up adjacent to Cecilia and grinned. “Come on, you yellow bellied curs! Riches and war? What other ways can we work off a little stress before we lay our heads down to rest? How will you be prepared to take on the day if you don’t practice and why put off until tomorrow what can be done tonight!” The player, Gauis, grinned as fifteen others agreed, all focusing on the money.

“Lead the way, fearless leader. We’ll all be snapping at your heels on the battlefield soon enough! Gaius chuckled with a slight bow. “I can’t wait to see what confidence brought this about. I hope you can dodge a bullet.

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

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Location: The Mutant Underground
Skills: N/A

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James slept through most of the day, the repeated attempts at fixing his crush up taking more than he expected. When he did wake up, it was the afternoon and he groaned as he rolled out of bed. He still forced himself through stretching and several laps around the area just to stay active. His next goal was a phone, which he was temporarily side tracked from when food was announced and frankly he didn’t care what the fare was. Hunger is the best spice and was he ever starved His food disappeared almost the instant he got it and his hunt for a phone resumed after he helped clean up. He found one as the mission team assembled and James couldn’t help but poke at Max or Tome or whatever he went by.

“No fire this time, alright? You’ve got enough arson under your belt already.” He chuckled as he passed Tome before he left. “Break and leg and all that! But don’t really. Still a bit worn out. I recommend waiting til tomorrow!. James suggested as he headed over towards Colossus. He pulled out the piece of paper Casper provided and created a new contact, Casper <3. He typed out a message, still a little nervous, and turned his attention back to the group.

Hey, its James! Still not 100% about coffee since I slept through the entire day but at least we can chat through here in the meantime. I hate for you to think I ghosted you!

“I bet you’ll do great! It’s not so hard after the first few sessions and it’s easy to practice even without a partner.” James encouraged Leighton, only thinking about the sparring and not the power part of the issue. “I’m definitely down to spar. Been a few days since I could get work up a sweat not related to pissing off the authorities.

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Requiem

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Location: The Hellfire Club
Skills: N/A

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Requiem sipped at the red wine he procured earlier from the club’s reserves, a younger vintage than he normally indulged in but surprisingly pleasant nonetheless. Pleasing hints of cinnamon contrasting a silky elegance proved the wine’s vintage inconsequential. Requiem hummed as the other two spoke, ignoring Jinx as usual and affirming his opinion on the newest member of their team. Confidence and resolve etched themselves into her every movement, something Requiem could appreciate since they manifested in a far more mature manner than the brat’s, and she clearly held herself to a certain set of standards. The two were like night and day, though he wasn’t sure which would cause him a greater headache. On one hand, there was the jester whose behavior was a chronic pain and caused him to play the diplomat far more than he liked. On the other hand, there was Anastasia who seemed like the type with ambition and those with ambition often caused more problems than they solved. She’d probably push to take over the investigation and Requiem had little problem letting her.

He worked better behind the scenes anyways.

“I recommend ignoring his antics. Acknowledging the behavior is an err you will ultimately regret.” He commented amusedly after another sip of wine. “As for our discussion, Ms. Reinhardt has the right of it. We must move forward with the assumption surveillance is constant here so we’d do best to catch our newest addition up to date. After our debriefing yesterday and confirming with Mr. Shaw no investigation report was made due to the primary security contact’s death, Jinx and I made our way to Frost Headquarters where Ms. Frost intercepted us. She escorted us to the holding area for the Sentinel and after a short investigation, we discovered very little. As was to be expected. Scuff marks on the floor, metal fragments not handled in the theater, security footage showing all four of the inner circle accessing the room along with the triplets with Reeva and Mystique with Magneto. Ms. Frost and Mr. Shaw indulged in carnal pleasures, Ms. Payge and the triplets access the equipment and then made a phone call, and the last pair used the medical room before leaving for the day. The Sentinel appears up until an hour long blackout and then is missing when the footage resumes. Again, as expected. Ms. Frost is apparently running her own investigation and superficially is willing to collaborate.” Requiem explained. Although they’d discovered little, they had a few avenues available including Jinx’s little love interest. And he planned to fully take advantage of that particular little instance.

“Would you care for a glass of wine while you give your opinion on the matter, Ms. Reinhardt?”

Of Blood and Magic

Interacting with: @Hero@Obscene Symphony

“Hm. If the boy enters my service after I finally leave this inane institution, that may not be the worst idea. But something to consider another day. For now, I believe I’ve made my choice.” He stated, releasing the boy’s chin. “As much as I’d like to mark that same one, it’d unbalance his entire appearance.” Varis gestured at the sword resting on the boy’s left hip, the sword that never seemed very far out of reach for the boy. He’d have to keep an eye on that. It wouldn’t do to have his mage dependant on one particular item. The boy was past his dependency age; Varis would find a way to deprive him of the item if deemed necessary. He made yet another mental note on this boy, the number of them quickly piling up, and pushed into the store.

A soft bell chimed as Varis walked in, a bright “Welcome! Take a seat and we’ll be right with you.”coming from the vampire behind the half counter. The inside was a modern aesthetic, a black leather couch against the wall behind a coffee table covered in various art albums and a simple rug sat beneath them, separating them from the wood floors. A student chatted amicably with the woman behind the counter as she typed into a tablet. The back of the store could be clearly seen, framed between two rows of partitions that held a tattoo station. A plethora of art examples and pictures covered almost every inch of the parlor, presenting plenty of inspiration. Soft music played through the store as a muted whirring came from behind one of the partitions.

“You’ll handle this now.” Varis corrected her as he approached the counter. The woman looked up and the retort died in her throat as she looked at the individuals entering her shop. It took her half as second as she blinked between Varis and Eris but her customer service smile finally made its appearance. The student at the counter stared slack jawed at Eris and his hand slowly crept towards his pocket. “Your business is done here. Any tab remaining will be added to mine. You are dismissed. Boy, escort him out. Now.” Varis informed the other at the counter without so much as a glance. The vampire at the counter frowned briefly at the treatment but kept her commentary to herself as she pulled up the Sinnenodel’s reservation.

“Your reservation requests magic only but it was noted he has a minor resistance to life magic. Depending on the degree of tolerance, we may still have to use the machine to ensure a clean piercing.” The vampire finished typing into the tablet and looked up at the group again. “The one getting a piercing is Aaron Stra-” She double checked the screen and the blond. She seemed confused, for good reason, but she pressed on nevertheless. “Did Mr. Starag need to select an earring?”

“No, he does not. Just see that he gets through this as quickly as possible.” Varis pulled out the box he brought from the dorm and set it on the counter. The woman opened the box, eyes the two earrings critically for a few moments before closing it again.

“Well then if everything is in order, we’ll have you on your way in less than an hour. Feel free to sit. We’ll have him back as soon as Jacob is done with our current client.” Varis turned away and snapped his fingers, pointing at the couch.

“You’ll stay there until you are called. Once you are finished, you are free for the rest of the evening. I recommend you take the time to familiarize yourself with the area. Remember your curfew.” Varis instructed him before turning to Eris. “Now that my official business is finished, you had something to attend to right?”

Of Blood and Magic

Interacting with:@Hero @Trainerblue192

“That is concerning. Lets see what we can do to get this all sorted out.” The male receptionist gave a reassuring smile as he accepted the documents and started typing into his computer. “Alright, Salem Spellman let's see where you ended up. Here we go! Your partner is-” The man blinked for a few seconds, typed again, frowned as he clicked and typed away. “Ah.” an uneasy look passed across his face for half a moment before a polite calm replaced it.

“Due to some concerns, it seems you were reassigned and your belongings were moved to your new dorm. There were a few items confiscated and I’ll print you that list in a moment, but you’ve been reassigned to Victor Astorio. Your new partner has your dorm key as well.” The receptionist pulled a form out from underneath the desk after a few moments of a printer whirring to life. “Here is that list. It seems like a few varieties of poisonous plants mostly. You can find them with the Plant mages. Is there anything else you require help with? He handed over a new map of the dorms, circling the Astorio dorm for Salem’s convenience. The other noble dorms were also labelled.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

James Kingston

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Location: Outside the Quinjet
Skills: N/A

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“For starters, my top priority was securing medical services for the comrades everyone so easily dropped. Who knows what the inhuman did to Sapphire and a punch to the face from Howlett never wakes up well. Furthermore-” James continued, his temper finally rising. This is the second time one of these short sighted imbeciles have concerned themselves with him rather than continuing with the mission. James next comment froze on his tongue in disbelief as his legs locked themselves in place. Turning at the waist, he leveled a flat glare at Runa. “I appreciate your interest in monopolizing my attention but I can tell you now, I’m not particularly interested in you.” He called over his shoulder at her. He let out a long sigh defeatedly. “Next time, someone let the hulk pummel me to death.”

“Very well Niah.” James shrugged. “Since you all are so convinced this is true, what would you have me do? I shall defer to your expertise since anytime I do anything else I end up getting knocked into the spirit realm, frozen, or suffer short term paralysis apparently.” James crossed his arms, eyebrow raised at her. “Point the way and I’ll do my best not to go off “half cocked.” These people were exhausting but at this point, he wasn’t really sure what they wanted him to do. After the initial shock, James sincerely believed he would have to play the villain in this little charade to help motivate those bonds of trust Banner apparently handed out like candy. Plus, they’d probably need someone inside slowing the process down to give them enough time to determine whatever they were attempting to figure out―multiple realities were clearly a farce―but between Diggby so clearly confused and Buatista so insistent, James must have missed something. So he decided he’d just follow along with her for the time being.

Talrae Reborn

“Probably a wise choice.” Aleka laughed as he stole the tankard back. He took a sip of his own, frowning as he thought for a bit. “Guess it depends on what you’re looking for. There’s any number of them, ranging from massive tiny. The Heaven's Oath is one of the largest currently, with around fourteen hundred members. If you want something a bit more… risky, there is the Legion of the Wolf. Rumor has it their leader pushed to go after a few red players for some reason and people in the process so they need to replenish their ranks. A group called Last Genesis just lost their Marauder so they’ll probably be looking for someone to replace it. Their members just peaced out of here in fact. Mage girl, Archer, Trainer just headed out after fiddling with something on their dashboards it looked like. Mage went left, the other two went right if you want to talk to them.”

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“Is this a poor jest? Are you babbling for no reason beyond your own amusement? Pretend to have some command over language and try that in some sense of coherence this time.” The woman snapped, all but ready to slam the door in Prome’s face. “And quit groveling like a hound at the table. If you have a shred of self respect, right yourself and speak plainly.”

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“Yes Ma’am. It, like us, is always open and its training grounds available for use. You may not find a sparring partner at this hour however. There area few training posts available for use on the second floor of the arena if you’d care to practice there.” He explained, a detailed map of the Arena springing to life on her dashboard. The main floor held the Arena proper, a massive room with a large sand pit in the center. The second floor was dedicated to training and a weapons rental area was marked. The training dummies were close by. The third floor was pure black and labelled with ????.

Of Blood and Magic

Interacting with: @Hero@Obscene Symphony

The relief at escaping the overcrowded transport manifested as a long sigh after the crowds dispersed. Varis found the general clamour unnecessarily overwhelming and the mingling of the inferior with the superior in such a tight space left a faintly bitter taste in his mouth, not to mention the cretins swarming Eris at every possible moment for their fifteen minutes of fame. The behavior of those left him mildly concerned for the welfare of the state. It just reaffirmed the Noila’s reluctance to push a proper standardized code of ethics and behavior across the common class supported such impudence.

“Puerile.” Varis clicked his tongue disapprovingly at the bats frolicking and had half a mind to order Aaron to encourage the loiterer to move along. Allowing the rabble to linger would only bring the attention of the others. He followed its flight when it rejoined it’s peers and Varis put it from his mind as he looked around the town. Varis had Eloise setup the appointment before she met with one of the family’s suppliers, not interested in setting foot here until he had to. The town was… homely at best, barely a step above a hovel in his opinion. The entire place was little more than a leech on the Noila Academy but it was what was available so it would have to do. Perhaps he’d stop at the bookstore. Little one like these often misunderstood their stock, overlooking the inherent worth of older titles in favor of the passing fancy of the masses.

“Quickly now. The sooner we finish, the sooner we may quit this place.” Varis sneered as he crossed the street, approaching the tattoo parlor. He paused outside the shop, eyes skating over the artwork decorating the outside of the building. Few pieces showed more than a modicum of talent but those that did shone starkly against the banality. Applied to an appropriate medium, the artists may actually make something of themselves. “A beggar’s medium crippling a savant’s talent. What a disappointment.” Varis shook his head when a sudden thought caught his attention. He hadn’t decided which ear to have pierced yet. He turned, caught the boy’s chin in his hand, and turned it this way and that as he inspected which one he preferred.

“Considering your medical files are incomplete, a fact that will be brought to the royal family’s attention, is there anything else you want to tell me about before we continue?” He demanded of the boy, turning his attention to Eris for a moment. “Can you believe the Royal family somehow managed to overlook this? I found it preparing him for dinner last night. Apparently, he wasn’t worth the effort of a thorough exam.”

Interacting with: @WeepingLiberty

Damien eyed the mages on leashes warily. Sure, that kind of play was one thing but it definitely didn;t look that play. Was that what vampires did to their mages? He took a quick look around, checking other mages’ necks. Was everyone wearing a necklace marked like an animal? Damien had thought most of them fashion choices but maybe not. He grimaced at the thought of an angry Lucan slapping something around his neck but Lucan didn;t strike him as a lock and key kind of guy. Maybe more of a corporal punishment but at least he could try and dish that back.

“Lets just keep going.” Lucan;s warning clear in the back of his head. Keep your head down or you might get killed. And looking at those poor people on the shit side of a leash, he wasn’t entirely the vampire had been exaggerating as much as he’d originally thought. “Lucan says that those inds wouldn’t have much of an issue burying you six feet under and I’d rather keep my head long enough to learn enough magic to fuck them up later.” Damien wouldn’t, conflict was not his forte and he was sure his partner would shut him the hell down, but he was always one to talk a decent game. You had to with three parents breathing down your neck and no mistake could be hidden fast enough from three pairs of eyes. It was all about how you sold it rather than how well you hide it!

“So, how do we get to town? We drove through it but I was more concerned with the terrified and attracted conflict about my partner to really pay attention.” He asked cheerfully, trying to keep her mind off the rudeness of the vampires.

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

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Location: The Mutant Underground
Skills: N/A

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“Thank you for having me.” James shook the proffered hand gingerly, careful of her condition. “It’s been a springe couple of days” James didn’t push to continue a conversation, both because the woman clearly had duties to attend to―not to mention some time to herself―and a sudden wave of dizziness washed over James and he clutched at Max’s shoulder as a throbbing in his head roared to life. His other hand flew to his head, attempting to rub away the tension instinctively, as he followed Colossus gingerly. Four times in a day was clearly a few times too many but now all the excitement of the “rescue mission” and the warehouse and Casper wore off, it was catching up quickly with him. He barely registered Max’s flamboyant display. The pillow and sheets were barely in his hands before he slumped to the ground with a sigh. He gave Leighton a weary wave and a matching smile.

“As crazy as you are, I envy how much you can do that Max. ” James mumbled at Max before turning his attention back to Colossus with a strained smile. “Thank you for helping us.” James would have offered more at the time but all he wanted to do was rolled himself into the blankets and let the sweet release of sleep take him away until tomorrow. He’d set out figuring out where to find a phone in the morning when he had a clear head and worked out exactly what the plan was. The way things were now, he was just kind of drifting in the wind. Not something he’d like to do when he’d recently fled from the authorities. But that was a future James problem.

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Requiem

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Location: Frost International HQ
Skills: N/A

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The times Requiem could say Jinx surprised him fit easily on one hand. However, as the boy started thinking on his own for longer than half a second, Requiem had few qualms adding this to the list. What a refreshing turn of events despite the fact that security cameras would not be affected by a standard magnet. It wasn’t unlikely that the White King, considering the breadth and depth of his mutation, could develop a strong enough field to affect the transmission lines but in higher security locations like Ms.Frost’s domain, Requiem doubted something as simple as magnetic shards would cause a lapse in footage like this.

“Thank you, Ms. Frost. Once Jinx is satisfied with his findings, I believe we’ll be on our way.” Requiem took the tablet from Jinx, using his phone to notetate when each person entered and left and the time missing from the footage. They had two paths to follow now: traffic footage surrounding the area and the security guard obviously smitten with Jinx. Poor thing has awful taste in men. Each option offered a nice variety of opportunities to pursue and Devon always made a point to say variety is the spice of life. A bittersweet smile twitched at the corner of his mouth at the memory, a late october night while the three of them were still in school and Devon demanded they try a few different whiskeys. A few turned into ten rather quickly and they all spent the day in bed the next day nursing vicious hangovers. A fond chuckle threatened to escape but Requiem maintained his composure while he waited for Jinx to complete his investigation. One hand rested firmly on his cane and the other pun his rings absently. “Thank you for your hospitality despite the lack of notice, Ms. Frost.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

James Kingston

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Location: Outside the Quinjet
Skills: N/A

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James just wiggled his fingers goodbye as Diggby marched down the ramp out of the Quinjet. James sat back again, rolling his neck as he did. Considering he was still stuck in Sapphire’s ice, he didn’t have too many options other than wait for their grand ploy. Which was fine. He could take the time to organize how he wanted to hunt them afterwards. Of course they wouldn’t launch an all out manhunt. The political consequences of the masses learning of any form of dissent in the ranks would be… problematic. Since it wasn’t his area of concern, he didn’t know much of Shield’s intelligence on the Human resistance but that would be his course of action.

“We’ll aren’t you so nic- oof!” James grunted as he was unceremoniously thrown to the ground after being dragged out. Worth it for the amusement of watching Reed struggle. “Oh how original. Bravo bravo. And for your next trick, will you be pulling a dove out a hat?” James clapped obnoxiously as he stood up and dusted himself off. Shaking his head, he immediately made his way towards the Banner residence. He’d use emergency services to get the three of them away from the Banner residence and into contact with the American Embassy who should be able to get them in contact with shield.

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

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Location: The Morlock Tunnels
Skills: N/A

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“Anyone would do it.” James flushed under the attention and the kiss. It took him half a second to register it but he beamed back at Casper. Damn, he was cute when he smiled. He’d have to find out what else made Casper grin like that. James took a moment scrambling for something to write with as Casper rattled off his number, jotting down on a piece of paper and folding it up to slip in his pocket. Something nagged at the back of his head, something about Kathy and sobriety, but between the rush of relief at not being a useless tool and something awesome just happening, it got shoved back again along with the rest of the precarious tower of emotions building up where James firmly crushed them down until he could sort through them.

“Of all the days to have left my phone at home.” James sighed but his smile didn’t waver. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll absolutely find a way to get in contact but I guess I’d better get going before Erg tosses me out by my collar.” James joked. He paused for a moment, eyes darting between Casper and Blink. He was a little uncertain but since he apparently got himself wrapped up in all this craziness he may as well enjoy thing when he could. He grabbed Caspers hand and pressed a light kiss to the knuckles, playing off the man’s knight comment, and chuckled as he headed over to Blink. When she opened the portal, he gave Casper one last wave before stepping through, still beaming.

“Sorry to intrude! Just had to finish up fixing their electrical systems. Uh, I’m Ja- Wait, are we using the real names or not real names?” James asked quickly, remembering Tome insisted early he picked one.

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Requiem

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Location: Frost International HQ
Skills: Diplomacy

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“Thank you for your patience, Ms. Frost. We appreciate your time.” Requiem said as he accepted the tablet, flicking through it for the day of the break in. As he expected, it did little to clarify matters. A missing segment. How boringly predictable. At least it would have been impressive if they’d managed it on camera. But it does beg the question if someone altered the camera footage or if it was the result of mutant power. Every second he spent here only added more questions rather than clarifying them and that was incredibly counter productive. And of course, Jinx. Requiem could already feel the headache forming behind his eyes at being around the boy for so long.

“If you have time to jest, you obviously need more work to do Jinx. If you care to see what occurred that day, feel free to peruse at your leisure in the other room.” Requiem spoke cordially although the polite smile he kept up was a tad more strained than before. He picked up the tablet and passed it to the child, exchanging it for the shard in Jinx’s hand. Requiem frowned for a moment, unfamiliar with the shard, and offered it to Ms. Frost. Metal shards could easily just be from broken equipment, a chair or a projector, but it was the only out of place thing they had to work with so far.

“I’ll admit I’m unfamiliar with the material but considering how well you take care of your affairs, I’m surprised to find something out of place here.” The situation they were in was… unfavorable. Although she may not harbor feelings of ill will towards them specifically, the tension that would inevitably arise between the King and Queen who obviously share some connection, as fleeting as physical affection is, puts the pair of them in a situation that could turn this far more deadly than he desired. Plus, having the White Queen as an ally could only be beneficial.

“Ms. Frost, I believe I owe you an apology. It’s clear you’re frustrated with the situation and it was not my intention for you to feel that we are encroaching. I erroneously believed we would be expected when we were given our instructions and for that I apologize again.” Requiem spoke sincerely, offering an honest apology for the slight. “You’re influence is far vaster than mine but perhaps in order to correct our hasty King’s incorrect assumptions, our individual investigations could collaborate for the time being. Neither I nor the boy are particularly known on the public stage and that grants us a bit more flexibility that anything with your name attached.”