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[SeriousConcentrate]

"Wait, go back a minute. You're talking like... she's still alive?"

Lillian put her hand on her forehead and looked down, almost literally stunned by this news.

"I thought..."

"For so long, I thought I had killed her, and I had to live with that... and now you tell me she's not dead...?"

...but I honestly don't know if I feel relieved that I didn't kill her... or angry that I suffered all this guilt for so long, for nothing.

"Um, yeah... the ship... Uh..."

Lilly waved a hand as if to indicate everything, clearly flustered.

"Uh, remember how I mentioned being kidnapped? It's a long story, but the guy behind that came here to find the Heart of Bor. And we're trying to get to it before he does. As for the supplies, you can thank the leaders of Kizamo and Lady Anne-Laude. I wanted to come when I first heard about the siege, but... well, there wasn't much I could have done on my own to help. I'm just glad we can do this much."

She indicated the ship again, and also her allies.

[Solymr]

: The Heart of Bor...? Johnny took a heavy breath. Alright, we can talk about that later, I think. There's certainly a lot to talk about. And you said Lady Anne-Laude? The one from Auroch?

: Indeed, Sir Rose. I assume news haven't reached the city since the start of the siege. Sadly, Auroch has fallen in hands of Ixion, and Lord Luso is no longer with us. I guess that would make me Lady Luso, but I won't take on my new title until Auroch is taken back. You can call me Anne-Laude. As you see, Kizamo has agreed to help us in the war against Ixion, and they have sent this marvelous invention to bring help to this city and a message for the Archbishop.

Johnny blushed at being called "Sir", but he regained his composture soon enough.

: Oh... That's bad. I should bring you to the captain of the guard then. He'll know how to handle the help. I'll be right back, Lilly.

Johnny and Anne-Laude left as the crowd opened up, while the crew of mages and the rest of the group unloaded the rest of the crates and bags. Nikolai approached Lillian.

: Everything alright then?

Just a moment later, Johnny came back without Anne-Laude.

: Okay, where were we?

[kj1225]

Kyle approaches the official looking group with a barrel of something over his shoulder. He turns to Nikolai first.
"Ey, where should I put this? I think it's like, potatoes or something..."
He pauses and looks over to the one called Johnny. He looks the lad up and down before speaking.
"Nice hair."

[Powder Miner]

Apparently feeling a little theatrical, Senija climbs down the rigging on one side of the ship, with a bag fastened around her back -- then when she reaches the ground, she takes a look at John Jr., squints, and looks between him and Lilly a few times.
:"Hmmmmmm..."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Lilly decided the first thing to do would be to make introductions.

"Hey guys, this is my younger brother John. John, this is Kyle, a former pirate, Senija, a wyvern rider, and Nikolai, an inventor from Kizamo. Sen was part of the original group that busted out of Strohnban, and we picked up Kyle a little after that. Nikolai's been a pretty big help too."

Lilly put her hands in her back pockets.

"Well, we were just at the part where this masked guy came here to find the Heart of Bor. He's the kind of guy who can't be planning anything good with it... which I guess is obvious, since he's looking for it in the first place. Anyway, our group came here to stop him - hopefully by finding it first and keeping it out of his hands, though I don't know what we're going to do with it - and try to help a little with the siege."

[kj1225]

Kyle deposits the barrel on the ground. He side eyes Lilly for guidance/silently asks if this is someone who doesn't like her.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Lilly gave Kyle a thumbs up and a smile to indicate there were no problems here.

[kj1225]

Kyle smiles and goes over to the lad giving him a hefty pat on the shoulder.
"Welp, any family of Lilly's is a friend of mine! ... Or something. Pleased to meet you John!"

[Solymr]

: Same to you, Kyle. And thanks. Johnny ran his hand through his hair. Then he whispered so that no one could overhear what he was saying. So you found out the Heart of Bor is near here, right?

: You know too? But we had to go through an ordeal to find that out!

: You could say it's like a family secret. Lilly, do you want to go to the house?

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I suppose I'd better. It's like fixing a dislocated joint, y'know? Better to just... pop it back into place quickly and not drag it out."

Lilly knew the way back to the Rose home, but she gestured for John to lead the way anyway. She'd feel better if she wasn't the first one through the door.

[Solymr]

: Let's go then.

Johnny lead Lillian and whoever was following to the Rose family house. As they walked, Johnny started talking.

: You know what I learned in all this time you were gone? I learned to keep my mouth quiet and listen. Then people stop thinking of you as a threat, even your own family, and I listened, even when they didn't know I was listening.

The group passed in front of the Church, with it's distinctive spires.

: I found out Dad had a book where he kept note of all his business matters. Sort of like his version of a diary, secret and all. And I decided since they weren't going to tell me anything, I would have to find out on my own.

They walked along the main street, and turned right on a secondary street.

: I found out many things. Not all of them interesting, but two stood out. One, ten years ago, very detailed in how Dad invested all our money into a failure of a project: unearthing an ancient artifact from Alberal. You remember that, right? Well, not the artifact thing, because he kept it all secret, but he shared enough to know that we were in trouble.

Johnny and the rest reached an opulent looking house.

: Two, a deal made with Sir Matthias Argent. Your name was there too. I understood then why things became the way they were, and now it's come full circle.

Johnny opened the front door of the house and entered.

[kj1225]

Kyle would have followed after the two. Just in case there was trouble.

[Haspen]

Laura followed also. To keep Lily safe of course, not for any other reason.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"A secret ledger... that sounds like our dad, all right."

Lilly walked beside and a step behind John, grateful to have Kyle watching her back. Especially with Laura around; the guardswoman was basically the worst possible person on the team to be tagging along to meet the family. And she had a feeling Laura knew it too and was doing it just to put the screws in. There wasn't really anything she could do about it though.

"But yes, I remember that. For awhile it seemed like we would lose everything; the story he always told me was he invested too much in a shipment of goods and it had been stolen. And I certainly remember the deal."

The deal she had made to save her family. At the time it had seemed like the only possible thing she could have done, but even looking back on it she still felt the same. Maybe she didn't get along with her mother, and maybe she had overindulged in the sibling rivalry with Ivy, and maybe her father had always been a little distant... but they were all family. What she had done was worth it.

"So, Sir Argent, how is... his son doing these days, do you know?"

[Solymr]

: Micheal took him to the Argent estate near the capital. Micheal and his family moved there too, the last we heard from him in his last visit was that he got commended by his superior and might be promoted soon. He also brought William with him. The kid seems to be doing good, living with his father, near Micheal's family... and away from ours.

Johnny brought everyone to the main hall.

: Dad should be in his office, Mom and Ivy are in the garden, and some of the stuff you left is still in your room... Tell me, how important is this Heart issue?