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[Haspen]

The Prince gave it a brief thought.

"No. The Afterbridge Inn isn't far away from here. We can rest there, unless someone has objections?..."

[Gaterhyme]

"That seemed almost responsible," Ivy said to Argos in what was perhaps a surprisingly mild tone.

"And," she said, turning to Aland, "if the choice is between an actual inn and lying down on the ground here, I don't believe I need to say very much."

[Caellath]

"No objections. I'm ready to march again."

[Haspen]

"Let's go then. Sir Purplecloak must be apprehended."

|=| Chapter 4: House of Madness |=|

Near the village of Rockfalls...

The stay at the Afterbridge Inn was very short. From several patrons at the popular establishment, Prince Aland quickly learned not only Sir Purplecloak's true name - Albertus Corlann - but also that he had his manor in the nearby village of Rockfalls. And thus, with great speed, the Prince was reaching the outskirts of the hamlet perched upon the base of the Blue Mountains...

"Once we reach the village, do you think the locals will help us? For all we know, Mr.Corlann might be paying them to remain quiet about his wares."

[Caellath]

"Heading straight to his manor is an option so there's no opportunity for a runner to tip him off and enable his escape."

[Aurorix]

"That seemed almost responsible," Ivy said to Argos in what was perhaps a surprisingly mild tone.

"You know it!" He shoots two finger guns towards Ivy, "You heard Alixia right? I'm totally folk hero material now! After we bag this purple cloak guy I bet at least one bard out there will make a tale about it! Heh heh heh... I can hear the songs now."

"Once we reach the village, do you think the locals will help us? For all we know, Mr.Corlann might be paying them to remain quiet about his wares."

"Knowing this guy he's probably got more than just one trap to protect himself in his little base. I say we just barge through the front door. Worse case scenario we give a little apology if he's innocent or get blow up by a dark magic rune hidden somewhere." He pounds his fist into his open palm for emphasis.

[Haspen]

"Hm... no, if we try to be sneaky, the locals will be vary and someone might tip him off. They know the terrain and local shortcuts better than us. Besides, I haven't heard anything about him running away from us. As far as I've been told, he was simply heading home..." Prince Aland stopped to think.

"If someone asks any questions, I'm- I'm Bolan the nobleman and collector of fancies, and you're my mercenary guards. I want to meet with Sir Purplecloak to peruse his fabled wares. Is that understood?"

[Caellath]

"Yes, Your Highness. I only meant it might be wise to avoid extraneous talk while in town."

Casslan did not glance at Argos when talking about the possibility of information leaking out.

[Haspen]

Prince Aland nodded in agreement, and the group continued to the outskirts of the village.

There was no sign of activity, however, as Aland's team slowly walked towards the buildings.

"This is rather unnerving..." He whispered as they made their way between first few houses. No one was staring from the inside at them, and although there was smoke raising from some of the chimneys, no sounds of usual everyday workings came from the houses.

Aland stopped the group with his hand. Noise was coming from the central area of the village, just around the corner of the nearby house. There were all sorts of voices, with one voice audibly trying to rise above the murmur.

"Casslan?" Prince Aland put his hand on his sword's grip, but kept it sheathed. "Could you check?..."

[Caellath]

"Absolutely."

Taking point, Casslan decided to get close enough to see or at least hear what was going on.

[Haspen]

Casslan could clearly see...

A group of villagers, all of them making noise and gathering around a tall man in armor, probably the local militia commander. Few more spears sticking out of the crowd suggested some of the militia was also present. The tall man was making gestures towards the crowd and Casslan could hear some singular words like 'investigate' 'worry' 'help' 'trouble' but it was hard to discern who was saying them.

[Caellath]

"A number of villagers around someone who seems to be the militia commander. They seem to be troubled, so I'll move closer."

[Haspen]

"Hm, but be careful."

[Caellath]

"Understood." With that said, Casslan moved closer.

[Haspen]

@Casslan:

Casslan managed to get as far as to the edge of the gathering without any villager realizing his presence.

"What if it is a disease? We need to a find a healer!"

"Or worse, an exorcist maybe! They could be possessed!"

"Please, calm down. Like I said, we will investigate. For now, all I can tell you is that to keep to your houses until we return from Mr.Corlann's manor. Is that understood?"

There was a mostly convinced murmur going on but few of the older women began to lament.

"H-Hey! Who's that!?" One of the villagers finally noticed Casslan, and the crowd split in two to get some distance. The tall officer and his soldiers glared daggers at the black-colored bodyguard.

"Introduce yourself, at once!" The soldiers nearby grabbed onto their spears more firmly, but no one was pointing any weapon at Casslan. Yet.

@The rest:

"I think he got caught."

"Caught? What??"

"Like, the crowd moved apart and the tall guy in armor is yelling at Casslan."

"I see." The Prince spent only a shortest of moments to think. "At any sign of violence against Casslan, we are rushing in."