Randomguy

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Perils of the Night

Aile Schulze

Name: Aile Schulze
Age: 18
Gender: Female

Personality

A serious girl who is calm and collected most of the time. Her teachers often described her as responsible and mature, but at the same time almost always had an addendum of 'don't get along with her peers'. The type of girl who would absolutely remind the teacher that they had homework. Despite everything, however, pretty much everyone knew that if you wanted to get things done, you go to Aile, and as she took her duty as the Student Council President seriously, even her biggest detractors begrudgingly tolerated her. She also has a high expectation of herself and of others, sometimes to an uncompromising degree, which led her to butt head with others. An infamous incident was Aile breaking up with her first boyfriend over organizational matters. She did not think that he was doing his job well enough as the student council's secretary, and thus removed him from the position, leading to an argument. Of course, most people considered her actions to be extreme, but she was a true believer in 'if things are worth doing, they're worth doing well', again sometimes—or perhaps most of the time—to her detriment.

Background
Born to the Schulze family of the Wohnglück conglomerate, Aile spent her childhood attending the best tutoring money can afford. From academics to etiquette in high society as well as artistic pursuit, Aile grew up with her entire day's schedule full of these tutoring. The Schulze family is descended from old German nobility, and they maintain a noblesse oblige look in regard to their company. In short, they are at its core a business passed down in the Schulze family though its heirs are expected to dedicate their lives to the company. Aile, is of course, no different in this regard, she has been brought up as an heir to the massive conglomerate with all the lessons and strict upbringing that come with it.

Her relationship with the rest of her family, is of course, more professional than the warmth provided by a conventional family, with many being people of importance in various sectors and family politics a commonplace occurrence. With her father being the sole exception. A former philanderer and rebel in his youth, Aile's father, Joshua Schulze tried his best to be laxer with his daughter and provide her with a more normal childhood, in particular introducing her to various games from chess, tabletop, and video games, and of course, duel monster—to the consternation of the rest of his family, in particular, his mother—at least until Aile was five years old. In a tragic course of events, both Joshua's mother and wife died in the span of a few months. His mother on a plane accident and his wife from an illness. As he took over the conglomerate, Aile began to see him less and less often, eventually the only times Aile would interact with him was through phone calls or emails amidst his supposedly busy schedule.

By the time Aile graduated from middle school, she got into an uncharacteristically rebellious phase and decided to attend high school abroad. After a heated exchange with her father (over a call, of course), she had permission, to attend school in Domino City, where an old friend—though apparently they’ve been estranged for a while—would act as her guardian. While Aile agreed, she had also managed to wrangle the concession of her living on her own. And so her new 'independence' life (as much as one can be independent as a teenager whose living cost is still paid for) begins. While living without the constant lessons and tutoring was nice, after a few months, Aile was starting to get restless at suddenly having too much free time. She eventually took to do some tutoring for middle school kids as well as joining the student government, eventually becoming the student council president as a first year. A feat that she repeated in High School.

In her 3rd year of High School, she found out that her father had gone missing on a business trip. After looking deeper into it, she had found the circumstances to be off, but further inquiry was blocked by the Wohnglück conglomerate. Her trail of investigation ultimately led to her guardian in Domino City, William Burke. William eventually revealed that her father, as the head of the Wohnglück conglomerate, was actually part of the secret society the Conspiracy, whom the conglomerate had been backing for a while now, and he had gone missing while conducting some business as a Conspirators. William himself was a member of their rival society, the Duelist Society, finding out Aile’s father's involvement with the Conspiracy was what led to their original estrangement.

What William had told her confirmed most of what she had found out from her own investigations, as well as giving better context to the situation. Aile’s current hypothesis was that the Conspiracy was responsible for her Father’s disappearance in a secret experiment that had gone awry. And so, to get to the truth of the matter, Aile was inducted into the Duelist Society through William.

Deck

Monster
Noble Knight Medraut x3
Noble Knight Custennin x3
Noble Knight Brothers x3
Noble Knight Iyvanne x2
Noble Knight Borz x1
Noble Knight Gawayn x1
Noble Knight Drystan x1
Noble Knight Artorigus x1
Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn x1
Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms x1
Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x3
Effect Veiler x3

Spell
Reinforcement of the Army x1
Called by the Grave x1
Camelot, Realm of Noble Knights and Noble Arms x3
Noble Knights of the Round Table x1
Heritage of the Chalice x3
Noble Arms - Clarent x1
Noble Arms - Arfeudutyr x1
Noble Arms - Caliburn x1
Noble Arms - Gallatin x1
Noble Arms of Destiny x1
Noble Arms - Excaliburn x2

Trap
Until Noble Arms are Needed Once Again x2

Extra Deck
Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights x2
Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus x2
Sacred Noble Knight of King Custennin x2
Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn x1
Knightmare Unicorn x1
Isolde, Two Tales of the Noble Knights x1
Ferocious Flame Swordsman x1

New York By Night (A Vampire The Masquerade RP) (CLOSED)

In case anyone is wondering, I'm waiting for Enzo's post @Bounce since if I'm understanding correctly, Ian can't hear what the ghosts told Enzo. No rush though, just in case you \were waiting for me since I usually post first

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Perils of the Night

still interested?

@RickyG85

Kinda, I do have a character in mind, I'm just not sure what to do about the deck, honestly. I'm not sure where to begin building deck with the ruleset you've linked. I'm not sure I fully get link and XYZ

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

“I guess it was wishful thinking to hope you came to see me.” said Fia with a smile. She walked around the tree to meet Carnatia. “I’m just waiting for now for the sap to become thick enough to collect. It sounded tired before, so I don’t know if you can get it to answer, but I would love to listen to it speak again.”

Carnatia sighed, as she asked rhetorically, "I would not live down the bathing debacle, would I?". Her brief moment of vulnerability from having been caught off guard would follow her for the rest of this expedition, it seemed...unfortunately. Also, further misfortune was that Fia turned out to be correct and that the Ent did not speak again, leaving Carnatia no answer to her query. Not being an expert on talking trees, Carnatia gave up, walking back to the rest of the group.

"So, any more concerns? Don't be shy with me, we are in this together, and I would like to hear all inputs from my friends."

Carnatia turned to Gray Flame, "I attempted to inquire the Ent on the Ruins of Lasse, to no avail. Unfortunately it...he? has returned to slumber. As our guide, anything else do we know about the Ruins of Lasse? What was it originally? And what else we might expect aside from the phantoms and miasma you've mentioned?"

Her lips then quirked into a thin smile,



"After all we do not want further 'surprise' now do we, Sir Gray?"

@Randomness@Mas Bagus

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

"Yeah... about that," replied the Gray Flame meekly. As he looked back at Carnathia, there was a glint in his eye, something that indicated what he did was not merely for pranking, but for an important reason he could not share.

"...Sorry?"

"Sorry does not quite cut it, Sir Gray. What would you have done had one of us attacked the..."

Sir Tree? No, was it Ent? Fia did call the tree by that mythological name for talking trees in legends, and the tree did not correct her, so Carnatia supposed that was an acceptable form of address for the tree.

She continued, "...Ent? It does not seem prudent for us to provoke an entirely avoidable fight."

Still, she supposed there was no use to make too much of a fuss about it now. She sighed, as she sheathed her rapier back, "I suppose what is done is done. But please, I implore you to be more forthcoming next time."

Carnatia then watched as Gray Flame joined Vesemir, Engelbert, and Tillius. The quartet discussed the mission, with Gray Flame explaining why the group would head towards the ruins at night. Apparently, it was so they could see the miasma of negative energy better, and hence, avoid it better. Vesemir then suggested for the group to rest until midnight, where they would make for the Ruins of Lasse. Carnatia thought that was sensitive enough, although...now that they had gone ahead and woke the Ent up, perhaps gathering some information would be prudent.

She walked over to the Ent, joining Fia, "I do not mean to intrude, Lady Fia, but I have some things that I would like to ask Sir Ent here."

She then turned to the Ent, "Pardon me, Sir Ent? If you would be so kind, may I inquire some things of you? We plan to head to the Ruins of Lasse, is there anything you could tell us about it? For instance, what should we expect to find there, perhaps any dangers we should do our best to avoid? Or any notable sites between here and there."

@Mas Bagus@Randomness

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Perils of the Night

I'm somewhat interested but I want to ask how much knowledge of the TCG itself is required? I mean, I know the basic rule but I've only played casually, and I really last played during the synchro era

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson & Gray Flame

---

Despite Gray Flame’s words, Carnatia did feel as if she should still check just for sure. Even if there were no illusion magic at play, the tree could still be an anomaly. There were enough rumours regarding this region that Carnatia felt it would be unwise not to investigate on the off chance.

Still…her disenchantment methods were not exactly the typical ones utilized by mages—or artificers—rather than discovering the true essence of the enchantment and then unravelling it based on arcane theory. Her method was more based on the school of thought from Eastern martial arts that Master Tokimune taught her. There, it was common for martial arts to have the philosophy of ‘severing the chains of fate’ or ‘cutting through karma’. In her case, she more ‘severed’ the metaphysical concept of the enchantment with her mana.

So ideally, they should probably also have someone else along who might identify it better than her for more information. But it was what it was.

And so, Carnatia replied, “I do think we ought to investigate it, Sir Gray, just in case.”

Led by Gray Flame, the two approached the peculiar tree.

Carnatia drew her rapier. She would not immediately strike at the tree, but as she had no idea what sort of arcane phenomenon she was dealing with—if any—she used her rapier as a focus, as she had her mana reached out to the tree.

As the mana reached the tree, Carnatia closed her eyes as she honed her senses, using the mana to ‘palpate’ any traces of mana and magical enchantment surrounding the tree.

‘Now then…I wonder what I might found here,’ she thought.

The tree, towering before them remained unchanged, neither was any layer of illusioned reality shattered around them. The Gray flame stood still, watching patiently.

"So, do you find anything?" Gray Flame asked her after a while.

Carnatia replied, “Well, as far as what I could perceive, there is no enchantment of any sorts. But I did the have the impression that this tree is special. The word that arose in my mind was ‘ancient’, and this tree is quite connected to the forest around us, or rather…perhaps even nature?"

Gray Flame nodded his head before replying, "Let's stop for now and try with a different intention."

He removed his glove and touched the bark. "Channel your magic, not as a means to discover, but as something.... well, like a greeting. Say: Im Carnathia, tele lema dareg insa lyenna. It means "I am Carnatia, I wish to afflict no harm upon thee."

In response, Carnatia sighed, "Sir Gray if you knew what this is, you could have simply told us. Though I confess to some degree of curiosity on my part, so…”

Carnatia then willed the mana to stop prodding at the tree, and instead but simply allowed it to gently touch the tree. She then repeated after Gray Flame, “Im Carnatia, tele lema dareg insa lyenna.”

They waited for, and it seemed there was nothing happened, at first.

But then, four meters above its roots the bark started to part, the branches swayed, and a face, as if it had been chiseled and onto the trunk started to take shape and move.

Carnatia reflexively put her rapier in front of her, starting to imbue it with magic, before the tree started to speak.

"Hrum, Hoom," murmured the voice, a deep voice like a very deep woodwind instrument. The ground around it trembled and a raven could be seen flying off from its branch with a noisy caw.

"No... no, no need to be sophis-ticated with me. You-- sounded like that she-elf from a long time ago. Nobody wants to remember her, neither do I, for barks and roots! No, no need to use your ancient language---"

Two upper gaps that were supposed to be the eyelids peered down and studied Carnathia with its amber-colored, iris-less eyes. The transition between its speech was slow, and the voice that came out from its wrinkled wooden lips was solemn. "Your ears--- they are round like the leaves of Northern Beech. Humans, hmm hmm? What a rare sight... Alas! not usually a friendly, or lucky bunch, what do you want?"

‘A talking tree?’ Carnatia thought.

When she was researching the region before taking the job, she had heard that elves ‘talked to the trees’ to retrieve lost adventurers. She had thought that was a turn of phrase or perhaps some form of druidic magic, but it appeared it was more literal than she had thought.

Speaking trees did exist in many myths and legends, in Westernant, there was even a tale of the rhyming tree, deep in the Great Evercoln Forest who had aided many heroes of myths and legends. Was this tree one such mythical creature?

Noticing the tree looking expectantly at her, Carnatia replied, “Apologies…er...Sir? Forgive me, I am not quite sure how to address you. We did not mean to disturb you. It was merely that we saw another tree that looked identical to er…your personage…? In any case, we meant to ensure that we did not come across illusionary magic intended to make us walk around in a circle.”

She then sighed again, as she glared lightly at Gray Flame,



“Sir Gray, it was unbecoming of you to spring this on us. As I said, since you seemed to be aware of this, you should have just told us.”

"Shit! The treee! It talks!"

There were some... words of fear heard behind them, and there was Vesemir, who stood at a respectful distance with his journal at hand, utterly amazed as he recorded the conversation.

"Yeah... about that," replied the Gray Flame meekly. As he looked back at Carnathia, there was a glint in his eye, something that indicated what he did was not merely for pranking, but for an important reason he could not share.

"...Sorry?"

Journey Through Aereos

Aelyeth

As the two were nearing the gates of Noble Heaven, Aelyeth spotted a familiar man...Christopher, if she remembered the name correctly. He was the one who recruited Ebthor and herself for this job. Christopher was sprinting frantically, making a beeline for Ebthor and Aelyeth. Clearly, something was amiss.

"Unhand me," Ebthor said the moment Christopher grabbed his arm. Aelyeth sighed as she shook her head lightly at—the now familiar—curt behaviour of Ebthor. Before she could say anything, however, Christopher continued, "Please, hurry. I don't know how much time we have," Christopher urged them before darting toward Noble Haven.

They better pay well. So, what do we do? Ebthor asked her through their telepathic link.

'We help them, of course.'

Aelyeth replied immediately as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. Then, realizing who she was saying it to, sighed, before adding, 'If nothing else, it would be a showcase of our ability to our employee, no? Proving our worth seems prudent to me.'

The two then rushed after Christopher to the gate, where they found him speaking to the warbeast they encountered on the road earlier, confirming Aelyeth's suspicion that he was part of the group hired by Simon.

Without even waiting for the warbeast's reply, Christopher rushed to the estate.

Knowing that Ebthor wasn't exactly the best person to make a first impression, Aelyeth approached the warbeast.

"Considering his rush, this isn't really the place for conversation, but I'm Aelyeth and my companion is Ebthor. I assume you're also asked to help out? Shall we then?"

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

“Are you perhaps a little envious, my dear Carnatia?” said Fia coyly. Fia continued to smile at the orange haired spellsword, tilting her head as though adding pressure.

"N-No, that is not what I–" Carnatia started saying. Though, just at that moment, her brain decided to betray her with a stray train of thought.

"Though given his build, his arms must be firm with rippling muscl–Ack! This woman is dangerous, she almost had me."

Fortunately for her, though, Forbann's next words killed all of Fia's momentum.

“I think you’re fine to go first, Carnatia. A bath wouldn’t go amiss, no,but unfortunately I don't think that most baths in Varenheim could fit me, especially the bath of a cabin in the middle of the woods.” he regrettably had to turn Fia offer down.

"So, unless you wish to use the thunderstorm to wash ourselves, I'll unfortunately have to decline." He joked, trying to abate any disappointment his rejection might have caused.

"He...cannot be this oblivious, is he?" Carnatia thought. Well, nevertheless, it spared her from Fia's teasing, so she did not have a single complaint.

Unfortunately, however, Fia was relentless, seamlessly transposing to her next line of attack.

Fia walked around the table towards the spellsword who took Fia’s place in line for the bath. She reached out and rested her index finger and thumb under Carnatia’s chin and cheek, pulling the two of them closer. “If size is the issue, then perhaps we two would be a better match.” Fia looked into Carnatia’s eyes for several seconds.

"P-Pardon?" Carnatia spluttered. She was not a stranger to being flirted with, but considering her former status as a high-ranking noble and most people whom she interacted with were nobility they were usually much more restrained. And after her exile...well, she mostly kept to herself.

Before long, Fia cracked a smile and her eyes closed shut as she chuckled. She pulled back dramatically and sat down on one of the loose chairs strewn around the table. Fia moved one of her hairs that got stuck on her face out of the way.

"Ah...a jest. I see. Haha, somewhat crass for my liking, but I suppose the use of levity is subjective as they say," Carnatia said, trying to laugh it off. She continued, "Ehem. Well, in any case, I will be partaking in the bath first then."

Carnatia then vacated the premises, heading to the bathroom, led by Nanashi.

---

Carnatia de Luson & Nanashi

---

"...In any case, no need for formalities Miss Carnatia. I am now just a mere commoner since my adopted mother died. I usually house chores back home, when I am out of the mission so my body moves on its own. Since you took Miss Fia’s spot, I shall guide you into the bathroom," Nanashi said as he led the former noble to the bathroom.

Carnatia nodded, “Ah. Sir Takumi then, since you refer to me as Miss. You say you do house chores often? That’s quite admirable, I do too, but…ah, I’m not that proficient at it, sadly. Though, enough to get by.”

Nanashi then led Carnatia to the bathroom, before allowing her to enter. After a moment, he hollered from outside the door, “Is the water temperature warm enough, Miss Carnatia?”

“It is, thank you,” Carnatia replied, letting out a small sigh of contentment as she soaked in the warm water, getting rid of the chills from the heavy downpour that beset the group earlier.

“So, who is your master and where did you meet your master? What is the purpose of you having him as a master since I recall that you are a noble.” Nanashi asked.

"Former noble. Though I suppose you noticed, well, to be honest, I'm not quite able to entirely shed my noble persona. It's not as if I am hiding it, I just opt to not mention it nowadays since my circumstances are somewhat complicated. So I would appreciate it if you do not bring it up, especially around the others," Carnatia clarified, perhaps there were others who hadn't realized that she was a noble, Carnatia coped.

She then continued, “His name was Wakita Tokimune. He was a travelling monk who was visiting Greydare—a city in the western part of Westernant—At that time, I was…not exactly in the best place, to say the least. Master Tokimune took me in as his student and taught me various things, combat skills or otherwise. I probably would not be where I am today were it not for him.”

"I see, as for me, I am once a war orphan before. People didn't want to approached me until that day, an elven woman approached me. I kept following when I was young, I never gave up and I was desperate. She adopted me and let me trained as a Shinobi. After that I served her until at the very last moment of her life. I was the one who made a mercy kill for her to ease her suffering. I decided to go here and let go her remains, as she wished,” Nanashi replied.

“…Well, Master Tokimune is not exactly my adopted father. But I am deeply indebted to him. So I do empathize with the great respect you had for Miss Eiko who—like what Master Tokimune did for me—helped you out when you were in a tough spot. Were it Master Tokimune’s wish, I too would embark on a dangerous journey to ensure he was buried how he wanted, not unlike what you are currently doing.”

“Is that so? Also, I didn't have future plans once I done it, to be honest,”

“Surely your particular skill sets would be in high demand? Ah, but I suppose if you do not wish to continue being an adventurer after this expedition, there are not many employment options that utilize such skills aside from being part of a nation’s espionage corps. Well, at the very least the pay for this expedition is large enough for you to live comfortably for a while. If you’d like my advice, perhaps take a sabbatical using the money to figure out what you want to do with your life next.”

Well, she assumed he was talking about future job prospects, rather than the grim tradition of the ritualistic suicide she had heard was practised by samurai and shinobi. If it's the latter...Carnatia wasn't exactly equipped to deal with it. And to be honest, she'd rather not, really. They had just met with no relation prior, so it did not really concern her nor was it her responsibility, though pragmatically speaking, a loss of manpower in this expedition would be regrettable.

“Well, I just came from the mainland of my country so I don't have any experience of being an adventurer. Speaking of money, I do have inherited money that currently deposited at the harbor's bank. It's quite abundant which gave me uncomfortable feeling when I boarded to a ship. Perhaps I could open some business but not in my country. I no longer able to go back there and yeah I keep that in mind, thank you for the advice,”

Fortunately for Carnatia, Nanashi indeed was talking about future prospects. Carnatia then replied, "In that case, I suggest opening a business that makes use of Eastern customs. Perhaps an oriental-themes restaurant, or an eastern tea shop, or perhaps a massage parlour. The exotic nature of it could help you penetrate the market and garner quite a bit of interest."

The two then talked for a bit more, exchanging business ideas since both of them had plans to open businesses after the expedition. While Carnatia would not exactly propose opening a business together since she barely knew the man, networking was never harmful, just in case Nanashi opened a successful business venture in the future.

Eventually, Carnatia finished her bath while Nanashi prepared the water for Fia.

---

Carnatia de Luson

---

The next morning, Carnatia noticed that no one had claimed the enchanted items yet. To Carnatia it seemed such a waste considering their utility, especially the brooch. Even were they to not use the items now, they could be potentially useful in the future. And so, Carnatia decided to take care of them for safekeeping. Of course, she would advocate turning them into the authorities once they came back from the expedition, and then as the owners were–presumably–dead, one of them could submit the necessary paperwork to claim it legally. She would if no one else wanted them. At the very least, they would sell quite a bit of money.

The problem was that while she could carry the brooch and the lamp with no issue, the blades were too cumbersome for her to carry with no intention of using them. Therefore, the best course of action would be to convince someone else to carry them. The obvious choice was Forbann considering his stature, however, Carnatia decided against it since due to his obliviousness he might not be the best person to deal with Engelbert and the Gray Flame who had been curiously protective of the items.

Her choice, eventually fell to the ex-soldier, Tillius. Not only did he have the build to easily carry them, but as a former officer in the Westernant army, and an orc at that, he must be experienced in dealing with unpleasantness. His disciplined and stoic nature, should be enough to rebuff Engelbert and the Gray Flame should they start asking.

After breakfast, Carnatia then talked to the orc, managing to convince him to keep all three items for safekeeping, just in case they would be needed later on.

The group then continued their journey, passing through the Village of Lindunn, into the ancient road that led into the forest. It was the infamous forest, spoken by adventurers as part of cautionary tales. Of hearing from so and so's friends–or acquaintances–who had been in an expedition through the forest who never returned, or return forever changed, their mind addled. Of course, as in many wild adventurer tales, the truth hardly can be ascertained.

Led by Gray Flame as their guide, they ventured into the forest, Carnatia acting as an outrider as usual, at least until it was decided that it would be too dangerous for her to ride separately from the rest of the convoy. She was now riding close to the wagon, keeping pace. Eventually, they stopped in a glade, not far from the oddly well-kept road, about to make their camp.

One thing, however, stuck out to Carnatia. It was the peculiar chestnut tree near them. As an outrider, Carnatia had kept a watch on their surroundings as per her duty, and so she vividly remembered this chestnut tree. It was the same one she encountered back when they first ventured into the forest.

"Tonight, Ser Vesemir?" Asked Engelbert with a slight tilt of the head, peering down on the map. It's... hmm, looked like it was actually close enough to feasibly reach, but a night march was an entirely different beast than daytime. "It would be quite dangerous, if only from the risk of someone tripping and breaking their ankle. May I know the reason why?"

Carnatia interrupted them, "Pardon me, Sir Engelbert, Sir Vesemir. While that is a matter of great import–and I too would like to know why we have to make for the ruins tonight–there is something else I would like to confirm first."

She then turned to the rest of the group, "Tell me, do any of you recognise the chestnut tree there? I could have sworn I had seen this very same tree when we entered this forest. Before we discuss our next step, perhaps it is wise to ensure we haven't been caught in some sort of illusionary trap, forcing us to walk around in circles. I had heard some ruins have traps of that nature."

@Randomness@Deide@Remuri v2@Conscripts@A5G@Mas Bagus

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

“I’m not offended, dear.” said Fia. She smiled at the spellsword. “It would take a lot more than that. I guess I’m just not mindful when it comes to the folly of politicians.” Fia shrugged her shoulders. She then shifted her gaze to the masked elf. It was hard to gate his state of mind or emotions due to the mask, but the way he shook his head dismissively was telling. “You know something, don’t you, dear? Something about the house, perhaps? The people in the picture? Is there a reason for not telling us?”

Well, if nothing else, Carnatia was glad she did not burn any bridges. She still thought Fia's earlier remarks simply served to exacerbate the situation, but regardless it was fortunate she did not take it personally. Furthermore, it appeared that both Carnatia and the sorcerer were of one mind regarding the Gray Flame and Engelbert's reaction to the photograph.

Perhaps having been questioned by two people, the Gray Flame decided to shed some light on the matter.

"Gray, You can call me Gray Flame. Without the 'sir' if you feel so inclined. That's what my colleagues in the Adventurers' Guild called me." the masked elf said ruefully, glancing at the young noblewoman. "I've been to Nuria several times, so I think that's how I earned the honor to be here. As for your questions, miss Carnatia, and Madam Fia, It seems the youngsters in that photograph had quite a reputation in Varenheim's special forces. Yeah, I believe I myself had heard about him because it was not every day they casually transferred someone from a different branch to The Sentinel. It is similar to Royal Guards in Westernant, so you know how prestigious the position is."

Carnatia couldn't help but feel that there was still more to it, but it was pretty clear that the Gray Flame was not intending to say more, and so further inquiry at this juncture would only serve to antagonize him, and possibly Engelbert. She would keep it in mind but for now...she would let the matter be.

Therefore, instead of pushing the matter, Carnatia nodded, "I see. Well, as long as it does not become an issue in our expedition, I shan't press further. Thank you for indulging me, Sir Gray."

Having settled the matter—for now at least—Carnatia's attention turned to the armoured man who had helped them by providing some sort of magical flames, as he introduced himself as Rezello Fulsteel-Ashton.

Shifting his weight as he took a step forward, Rezello began his own introduction. "I suppose I'll go next. My name is Rezello Fulsteel-Ashton. I was trained as a knight in the city of Scheel, in the northern frontier of Westernant. For those of you know, well, you know, and for those of you who don't... in the interest of time, it's not a story I'll go into now. Suffice to say, as of ten years ago I am no longer in service of the city..."

Ah, one of the surviving sons of House Ashton, then? Ten years ago, the inhabitants of the city of Scheel mysteriously disappeared. She was but a child in early adolescence back then, but she did remember the panic that swept across Westernant. Many nobles were especially concerned that their fief would meet the same fate as the city of Scheel. There were many speculations back then, that they were whisked away by the mythical fae of legends, or it was a magical experiment gone awry, or even some sort of a divine punishment. He remembered her father had commissioned various great mages and scholars to devise possible countermeasures to avoid the same phenomenon happening in their Duchy. In the end, it was for nought, no one had come up with any concrete theory and no similar phenomenon happened again, after some years, eventually the event was remarked as a mysterious anomaly.

As Rezello demonstrated his magical capabilities, Carnatia's eyes could not help but be drawn to his peculiar mask. the rest of his armour was somewhat typical of what one would expect to be worn by knights of Westernant—Carnatia recognised his armour as the armour of the Sten Corp knights, though Carnatia heard the order disbanded after what happened to Scheel—the mask looked particularly out of place, it was not something she had seen any Westernant knights wear before. And being the daughter of the most prominent knight noble house in Westernant, she had seen many Westernant knights, so it was peculiar that she did not recognise the mask.

Well, regardless, Carnatia had no intention of digging deeper simply to satisfy her curiosity and risk committing a faux pass. Therefore, Carnatia averted her eyes before Rezello could hopefully notice and instead replied, "I did hear what had happened to the city of Scheel yes, though as you did not bring it up yourself, I suppose it's neither here nor there. Regardless, I recognised your armour, it's gladdening to have a knight of the famous Sten Corps with us for this expedition."

The Eastern man introduced himself next. A shinobi by the name of Watanabe Takumi, whose purpose in joining this expedition was apparently to bring the ash of his adoptive elven mother. It was an unorthodox reason, but one that she somewhat understood. Taking care of one's parents' funeral was only right as a form of filial duty. It was somewhat complicated in Carnatia's case as having been exiled, she was technically no longer part of the de Luson family, and thus, no longer a child of her parents. Still...were something to happen that left one else capable of taking care of their funeral, Carnatia would probably acquiesce to take care of the matter. Despite everything she did owe much to her parents.

Watanabe then continued, explaining what he had meant by spirit.

"A spirit that dwells along with the house dwellers. They are those who protects the home, looking after the entire household spiritually.

I couldn't sense the souls of the previous dwellers here. It seems that they already departed into the afterlife." he replied to the orange-haired noblewoman with a warm smile.

Carnatia nodded, "Ah. I see, that was what you meant by a guardian spirit. Yes, I suppose that would be an apt enough translation. My own master did hail from Eastern lands, the same as you. So I have heard of tales and legends of such creatures. The Zashiki-warashi or akashaguma, for instance."

Carnatia did not put any stock on their existence being real, herself. But from her Master, she did know that many people from the East believed in their existence.

"Well, in any case, a pleasure to meet you, Sir Takumi...ah, or perhaps Watanabe-san? Oh, and once more, thank you for preparing the bath."

Carnatia was not exactly fluent in their language, but through her old master, she did pick up the language. Including the preferred form of address. As so, Carnatia's former noble upbringing kicked in. Addressing someone with how their custom dictated was a common diplomatic tactic, as well as considered to be proper manners.

And with that, the rounds of introduction were over. Evelyn then spoke again, giving her assessment of what was to be done with the items Roxas found, as per the Gray Flame's request.

"Perform any necessary maintenance to return them to full functions, if needed, then give them to someone who can make the most use of each artifact; the brooch to-..." She paused briefly, her eyes looking to the side for a moment before returning to Gray Flame's eye slots, "-...a healer, the lamp to Sir Takumi, and the twin swords to Sir Tillius or you, Sir Gray."

"I quite agree. The brooch in particular would be of tremendous help, halving the mana cost for healing spells. It would help us avoid situations where we have people in need of healing but our healer having no mana left to cast healing spells. If nothing else, I would say that the brooch would be a boon in ensuring the survival of our group in the worst-case scenario," Carnatia remarked.

She then let out a sigh as she continued, "Now then...if you all would allow me, I think I will take advantage of the working plumbing of this house to take a warm bath."

Although...she turned to Fia, who was propositioning Forbann to take a bath together a few moments ago.

She coughed, her cheeks slightly tinged red, as she blushed, "Erm...yes, er...Lady Fia, if you have any intention of doing... ahem...licent—er..."

She stopped from saying 'licentious acts', considering the presence of Evelyn, who was but a child.

"...certain acts with Sir Forbann, then I believe it's common courtesy to have the rest of us use the facility first...yes? So if you do not mind..."

Her blush intensified at the rather awkward situation, before she composed herself by taking a deep breath, "I-In any case, I'm sure you do not mind allowing myself to use the bath first, yes?"

@Randomness@Mas Bagus@Remuri v2@Valkon@Izurich@Deide