[YOUR RESPONSE: PICK ONE]

[A] *Clasp her forearm for a warrior's handshake* "Always."

[B] *Cross your arms with a smirk* "Sure, why not?" 

[C] *Laugh* "Thanks, but is it really being the best when no one else is available?

[D] *Sigh* "I'm going to regret this, won't I?"

"I knew I could count on you-" Aeryna says with the first smile you've seen from her all morning. "Now let's figure out a plan." She straightens up as she rereads the parchment, looks briefly off into the distance, then begins to pace. "What we know so far, and I use 'know' as best as I can: In our attempt to meet with Mars to talk about the Autumn Edict, the elusive and suspicious reason for my promotion, Mars was compromised, incapacitated, and left for dead by means of advanced Nullpriest technology and arson. Whether by design or by luck, we were able to save his life at the cost of revealing our involvement to whomever plotted against Mars. Nevertheless, he clearly believed it was important to work together today, the day of the Rite of Succession, to some common end and wrote this letter as a brief reminder for what he believed to be our best course of action. In it, he stipulates three things;

1) The best tasks for us to investigate are; 'weapon, time, and target' -insinuating imminent danger to the life of the present or future Septarch.

2) The task Mars anticipated being best suited to investigate was the Autumn Edict itself, which is related, though somehow not directly, to the attempt on the life of the Septarch.

3) Investigating the Autumn Edict myself is dangerous and would somehow be detrimental to my position within the Reach, which is apparently necessary to advance our presumed collective interests." She stops, exhales, and looks to you.

"The bad news is we don't know a whole lot, the good news is that this makes the first steps fairly simple. We know either the present or future Septarch is the target and today, everyone who fits that description will be at the Rite of Succession at Coldwin Keep. Head there and figure out the three details Mars suggested were possible to discover regarding the anticipated assassination; who the intended target is, when the assassination is planned to occur, and what the weapon may be. After that, anything else you can find to protect the target or incriminate someone can be useful if we are lucky enough to have a solid case before an attack is made. If not... we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Also! Don't forget to be on the lookout for anything related to the Autumn Edict. In case you need a reminder, take this."She folds up the yellow parchment and holds it between her fingers as she hands it to you. You nod as you grab it from her with a copper scaled claw and put it into your own satchel.

"Another thing!" Aeryna continues. "The Rite of Succession is going to require a ticket for entry, at least through the grand entrance. I'm sorry I don't have one for you, but if you can't find one, I'm sure you can always find other ways of getting into the castle."

Terri nudges her and glances at the position of the sun. She nods and gives two flourished whistles as the faint sound of hooves begin to stir nearby. 

"For what it's worth, be careful. The Reach has been running exercises to prepare for all kinds of attacks today and there will be very stressed out guards with little patience everywhere. While I could probably spring you out of jail if need be, who knows how long that could take today and you're kind of our only shot at this, so try not to cause too much trouble. In the meantime, I'll see about scouring the reachman’s code and conduct manual for old loopholes, just in case, while I'm doing whatever boring thing I end up doing today. Finally-" She shifts her gaze to meet yours. "-none of that means anything if whoever is behind all this catches on that you're on to them. Keep a low profile for as long as you can."

A few huffs from two newly arrived steeds set the siblings into action. Terri quickly checks his saddle straps and climbs atop a grey horse while Aeryna does the same for her own brown and black spotted mount. She gathers her reins and begins scanning the horizon for the border of the forest. "We have to go, but if we have any urgent updates for you, we'll seek you out. If you need rest, don't go all the way home, at least try the Greybend. Not the fanciest, but... it does the job." She orients her horse south before turning back to you one last time. "I'm sure we'll find each other somewhere in the chaos of the day...Good luck."

[YOUR RESPONSE: PICK ONE]

[A] *Grunt and Nod*

[B] "I've worked too hard to rely on luck now."

[C] "Thanks, I'll need it."

[D] "You're gonna owe me a whole new retirement after this."

The corner of her lip curls before she nods to you and both her and Terri ride off on their steeds into the Silver Birch woods. As the sounds of galloping horses recede towards the main road, you begin to wonder about your own. You search the tall grass near the clearing where the other horses came from, and sure enough, find a large section of negative space. Pushing into the grass you see the strong, slightly overweight, curled up, white and brown speckled body of Porridge, sleeping with his tongue hanging out between his large teeth and a few strands of tall grass. Hearing your approach, he wakes, retreats his long tongue, and instantly starts chewing without lifting himself, pleasantly surprised by his leftovers. A smile comes across your face as you see your longtime friend.

[YOUR RESPONSE: PICK ONE]

[A] Pet his belly

[B] Give him scritches behind the ears

[C] Feed him some tall grass.

[D] Just watch for a moment

After enjoying a brief moment, you let him know it's time to go, but Porridge continues to lay there and chew, lost in a moment of bliss. You clear your throat in the lower register of your draconic vocal chords, reinforcing your intent to get him to move, and after a moment, he begrudgingly rises, grass stuck all over his left side. As you climb atop, you recognize how for that one, simple moment with Porridge, there was no threat, there was no risk – just peace. As you take one last look at the charred remains of what was once the peaceful home life of the last person to get involved with the situation you're jumping into, you find yourself replaying and cherishing that moment with Porridge in your mind like you used to remember other memories before going into battle; the muscle memory of understanding your own mortality. A long dormant yet familiar thought creeps back to you: "This could be it. The last moment of peace you'll ever experience."

As you ride out to a chorus of morning birdcalls and a symphony of flittering yellow birch leaves amidst the mountain wind towards Coldwin Castle where the fate of the Septarch of Ophanheim is intertwined with yours, you take stock in the truth you've held to all your life: you've survived this far. Though you set out with hope that this time you will be so fortunate, you can’t help but wonder what will be lost if you’re not.

(Go to page 1.1/ACT I)