----

Armin had fallen asleep almost immediately afterwards, being exhausted from the day's events. When morning came and the room got lighter, he showed no sign of stirring, but remained peacefully asleep beside Dianne.

Earlier that morning, the few surviving Garveys from the courtroom brawl had been banned from the city. The king had declared that, if they were caught re-entering, they could be killed on sight. Sam and Sarah, who had been seen as the ringleaders of the operation, were still imprisoned, along with Jack, waiting for the king to release a time and date for their execution.

{Dianne remained asleep next to him, far too comfortable to wake up anytime soon.

Upon getting home last night, Jerry discovered that the Tussock Brothers broke into his basement before the trial and stole weapons. He promptly reported the burglary to Frederick and the guard.
Carl Tussock was sitting in his hidden camp outside Opalway, trying to devise a plan to save his brother. He had watched the news and knew what had happened. The presence of a ghoul was problematic and there was only one way his plan could work. He'd have to look around the region for a particular Crowdragon.

Jack Tussock sat in his cell, looking quite cross. He was angry with Sam for dragging them into this, angry that he had neglected to tell them about the ghoul beforehand, and especially angry that they took his helmet. Underneath, he was a wood elf with long ears and long, black hair. He didn't think it was fair that they halved his rations for punching the healer in the face when she tried to help him. "My visor was cracked."
he pleaded. "I thought she was Dianne.}

That morning, upon hearing that Jerry's house had been broken into, Frederick went down to the palace armoury. Various weapons had been confiscated from the bus after the courtroom skirmish; weapons that Jack and the Garveys had been using. Calling Ryder, he gathered them up in a car. The two of them then drove over to Jerry's house.

//Quiet morning,// he mused. //We've seen nothing of the other Tussock, which is cause for concern. I doubt he'd abandon his brother.//

{When they arrived, Jerry was standing on the steps, smoking a cigarette. He looked tired. He didn't sleep much last night.}

Jerry: "Morning, Frederick..."

Pythia might have been pleased to know that Crowley hadn't ventured into the Sovereign province in several weeks. His attention had been occupied elsewhere, stealing and fighting in the smaller towns. In Frostwood, people had been complaining about a creepy dragon who harrassed them night and day. They had hired a team of mercenery dragon hunters to kill it, but the creature had eluded them thus far.

Fred and Ryder got out. Ryder stayed by the car to guard it, while Fred walked up to the house.

'Good morning, Jeremiah,' he said briskly. 'No unusual occurrences or trouble today, I hope?'

Jerry: "No. Did you find the weapons they stole?"

'I've brought over all the weapons Jack had in his possession at the time of capture. You can take anything that belonged to you. However, since Carl hasn't been seen yet, some of the stolen weapons might still be with him.'

{Hearing of the rumors in Frostwood, Carl prepares to travel there. Disguising himself, he heads for Opalway, planning to steal a car. He will probably arrive in Frostwood by nightfall.}

{Jerry looks over what they brought.}

Jerry: "...Yeah, I'm missing an anti dragon rifle, some stakes, some revolvers and a shotgun. He must have them still."

'I'm getting people to search the city for him today,' said Fred. 'It's a lot of space to cover, however.'

'Wonder why he wasn't at the trial, helping his brother,' Ryder wondered. 'Maybe he was still too injured from when I beat him up.'

Jerry: "Could be...Or maybe he was lying in wait...along an escape path that they never got to use."

{Jerry starts taking his weapons inside.}

Seeing the amount of weapons, Fred helped by carrying a few in himself.

'Yes, that's possible. We were mostly watching the courthouse, so we could have missed him. It's plausible.'

Jerry: "That's where I'd put my money. I know he's going to make a move, the brothers are too close. Don't underestimate them. Those brothers are crafty. "

{Jerry leads Frederick down into a well lit basement. Inside was racks of weapons. Rifles, crossbows, pistols, stakes, swords, and ammunition.}

Fred took stock of his surroundings, then began to put the weapons away in what he assumed were the right places.

'I've no doubt. The prison building is heavily guarded. Both the king's guards and my people are stationed around and inside it. If anyone tries to gain access, they'll likely know.'

Jerry: "Unless they use portals again. You have no defense against magical portals."

'Yes. The only thing that can stop someone warping is a Null Zone. And we have nobody of the calibur to create those. However, the Tussocks don't seem able to create portals, which means they'll have to find someone who can. Regardless, I've asked the king to set a time for the executions as soon as possible.'

Jerry: "...Perhaps that is for the best..."

{Jerry didn't like the idea that his father and aunt were to be executed, but the old man had dug his own pit and dragged Sarah down with him.}

Fred gave no indication that he knew what Jerry was thinking about, or cared. He put the last of the guns away.

'I'll let you know when I have more news.'

Jerry: "Yeah, thanks...keep an eye out."

{Jerry walked Frederick out, staying on the steps.}

Frederick briskly walked back to the car and got inside without a goodbye. Ryder climbed in the front, raised a hand to Jerry, then drove away.

{With a sigh, Jerry heads back inside.}

A little later in the morning, Armin stirred. Opening his eyes groggily, he looked around the room. //New day... I wonder how it'll go.// He didn't know when the prisoners' executions were being scheduled. Checking his phone, he saw no messages or missed calls. //No important news, then.//

With a quiet yawn, he settled back down to wait for Dianne to wake up.

{After a little while, Dianne began to stir. Letting out a massive yawn, she cracks her eyes open, not seeming quite awake.}

Dianne: "Hmmm....Luxia and ale are a bad mix..."

'Not a surprise, that.'

Armin propped himself up on his side and looked down at her.

'Are you awake?'

{Dianne's eyes slide shut. She seems to have fallen back asleep.}

Armin settled back to wait. Esme, however, was hungry and didn't want to be patient. About ten minutes later, she stood, stretched, and proceeded to jump on top of Dianne with a heavy thud.

{Dianne woke up at that, sitting up abruptly.}

Dianne: "Hmwah?! Was' going on?!"

Esme, unfazed, nudged Dianne's face with her snout, then happily leapt off the bed and scurried out of the room.

Armin sat up more slowly, chuckling. 'Are you alright?'

{Dianne squints unsteadily at Esme as she leaves.}

Dianne: "...Yeah...I just wasn't expecting that."

'I'm not surprised she was impatient, your morning habits are getting worse than mine.'

Armin gave her an amused look as he yawned and stretched, leaning against the headboard.

Dianne: "It's the season...It may be warm enough to stave off hibernation, but I'll still be a bit sluggish in the morning..."

{Rubbing her face, she tries to wake up properly.}

'Understandable. You're really not suited for winter.'

He sat beside her, content to just stay there and let her wake up in her own time.

{After a few minutes, she heaves herself out of bed, gathers her clothes, and walks to the bath to change. Coming out, she heads downstairs to make breakfast.}

Armin changed in the bedroom before trudging downstairs in pursuit.

'I haven't heard anything from Fred, or Jerry, or anyone else. I guess nothing else out of the ordinary has happened...'

Dianne: "Well, you know what they say. No news is good news..."

{With her and Esme's breakfasts in hand, she sits at the table.}

Dianne: "I got a text. Our car arrives today."

'Oh, well, that's nice.'

Armin considered briefly.

'We should probably look into buying a normal car. Since we got that car seat for Esme, we need something that actually has back seats, so she can use it. I'm still keeping the truck though.'

Dianne: "Yeah. After we wrap our presents, we can go to a dealership."

Armin absentmindedly made himself a cup of coffee, and stood gazing out of the nearest window as he drank it. The sky was bleak and grey today.

'So, is there anything in particular you wanted to do today?'

Dianne: "Actually, I need to talk to Frederick and the king. Thought I'd do that today."

'We'll head out and do that after breakfast, then. What are you talking to them about?'

Dianne: "I need to talk to Fred because if I'm going to keep bailing out his task force, I need to get paid. I need to talk to the king about funding my automaton project."

'Oh, right. That.'

Armin washed out his coffee mug.

'We'd better go, then, if we need to walk everywhere. I'll stay with Esme while you talk to the king. Unless you think it'd be funny to bring a baby dragon in with him.'

Dianne: "Actually, I need to bring something with me to the king that we can really only transport with the truck."

{Standing, Dianne puts her plate away}

Dianne: "Follow me."

{Leading Armin to the basement, she starts digging around the treasures. Eventually, she drags out a peculiar looking automaton It was made of metal and was rather clunky. It had runes carved into it, along with the mark of the cult.}

Dianne: "This...Is an automaton. I can bind a soul to this thing, and it will become animate. I can't ask the king for money without proving that I can deliver on my promise."

Armin ventured closer, running his eyes over the strange thing.

'Huh. So you've already built one?' He cautiously touched the metal. 'Well, these would save you from having to find dead bodies to make draugr.'

Dianne: "Yes, however, this is made of old steel. They're clunky, prone to rust, and slow. I need the funding to make better deigns. I have some old plans from right before I left the cult. In theory, I can make centaur and hydra automatons, but I need the right materials. Aircraft grade aluminium didn't exist back in my day..."

Armin scratched his head. 'Wait, so, if you can do /this,/ could you animate /anything/ by putting a soul in it, as long as it has moveable parts? Necromancy confuses me.'

{Dianne simply chuckles.}

Dianne: "In a sense. Look, give me a dead body, and I can raise it with no prior preparation. However, if you give me an inorganic effigy, a mere imitation of life, I can't inherently give it life. But, these runes here allow me to bind a soul to the effigy. Dead things once had a soul, so they have the capacity to hold one again. Inorganic things were never alive, so I have to, in a sense, tack on the soul to it by use of magical runes. Does that clear things up?"

'That makes sense. I can see the runes on it. The draugr made of dead things never had those.'

He contemplated something.

'Out of curiosity, is it possible to put a soul into something that's already alive? So there'd be two souls in one body?'

{Dianne gives a puzzled look, scratching her chin.}

Dianne: "Funny you should mention that...Dolorus was working on a spell specifically for that before he died. However, it was so he could possess other entities, not bind two souls to the same frame. The runes could probably be modified for that, but...that comes with a slew of complications. One soul could force the other out, it might overload the brain's electrochemical interactions and induce brain death, one soul could become in twined with the other, but only one is in control....lots can go wrong."

'True. It doesn't sound like something that's worth experimenting with. A bit dangerous - and no real benefits, that I can see... Can you pull a living person's soul out of their body?'

He wasn't sure why he was asking these questions, besides simple morbid curiosity.

Dianne: "Yes. I've done that before. It's not pretty, and it's difficult to do. Why the sudden interest in necromancy?"

Armin shrugged. 'Just curious. Bringing up the automatons made me think of what other things you could do. Obviously, there's more to it than just animating corpses.'

Dianne: "Understandable."

{She begins to drag the automaton out of the basement, dropping it with a thud in the foyer.}

Armin followed her up to the foyer.

'So, are we gonna wait until our truck arrives, and then go out? Or shall we visit Fred now, and the king once we have the truck?'

Dianne: "Fred now, king after the truck. Esme? Where are you?"

At the sound of her name being called, Esme came trotting over to them from the other room. Armin gathered his shoes and jacket.

'Alright, let's head out. It's a fairly long walk from the park to Fred's place...'

{Putting on her coat, Dianne walks outside. Shifting, she waits for everyone to get on.}

Armin swiftly vaulted onto her back, followed by Esme.

'To the skies, fair lady,' he said playfully.

{Dianne just smiles in response, taking flight. A little while later, she lands at the park.}

Dianne: "Alright, time to walk."

Armin and Esme jumped down onto the cool grass. As the trio left the park, Armin took the lead, briskly walking down the street in the direction of Frederick's house.

{Shifting back, Dianne keeps up with them.}

Dianne: "I hope he's not busy."

'I don't know if he's working at the palace today... I should probably check that, actually...'

Armin pulled out his phone and sent a text as they walked. A few minutes later, he spoke again.

'No, it's alright. He says he's at home.'

Dianne: "Alright, good. So long as we're not intruding."

After a long but uneventful walk, they arrived at Fred's place, a one-storey house in a quiet neighbourhood. A car was parked outside, but there was nobody in sight. Armin walked up to the door and knocked; moments later, it opened to reveal Frederick.

'Ah. Hello to both of you.' He slid back to let them in.

Dianne: "Good afternoon, Frederick. I hope we're not intruding."

{Walking in, she surveys her surroundings.}

'No. Come inside.'

Armin and Esme followed, shutting the door. Everything had been thoroughly cleaned since Pythia's stay, and some furniture had been changed entirely. The living room had a coffee table, with a two-seater couch on one side and an armchair on the other. It smelled faintly of citrus.

'Sit down, if you like,' Fred offered. 'I think I know what you're here for.'

Dianne: "Thank you, Frederick."

{Sitting down, Dianne begins.}

Dianne: "So, about my services. Be straight with me, Frederick. Do you just want me to join the guard under the umbrella of your task force? Just have me on your payroll?"

'Full time, no. Most of the things my network does, we wouldn't need you for. However, you are, obviously, useful in situations that we aren't equipped to handle. Like the rescue of Artie and dealing with Chief Viridi. I'm happy to pay you for any jobs like those on an individual basis.'

Dianne: "Ok, and what would be the going rate? And are you funding this out of your own pocket, or does the king fund everything?"

'The king doesn't fund my personal network. It comes from me.'

Fred pulled up a small notebook and flipped through it, looking at something.

'Everyone gets a wage of SQ8 per hour, and are paid extra for especially difficult, time-consuming or dangerous tasks. This is completely negotiable. We discuss it either before or after the job is done. Injuries get additional compensation. For reference, when I sent Ryder to chase the Tussock brothers out of the city, he got SQ1,500. You would be getting single, large payments like that.'

Dianne: "Ok. That's perfectly reasonable. In that sense, I would be like an independent contractor. Really, after everything you do, the king doesn't fund you? Hmm...well, I'm going to the palace today to ask the king to fund a research project."

'Well, I do have a part-time job in the palace guards. That helps me to pay my network. But no, he doesn't actually fund me.'

Fred put the notebook down and looked up.

'What kind of project is this?'

Dianne: "It's a defense project. I want him to fund my automaton research. I can create mechanical centaurs, infantry, and hydras to help with anything that threatens the kingdom."

'Oh, I see. Yes, that sounds useful. The citizens might be less afraid of mechanical defenders than walking corpses, at any rate.'

Dianne: "Exactly. Robots are more palatable to common people than zombies. Also, they'll be better suited to deal with invading hunters. If one or two are destroyed in the fighting, no life lost."

'What are the most significant differences between these automatons and your draugr? In function, strengths and weaknesses?'

Dianne: "Strengths would be a much longer shelf life, greater durability, and greater resistance to light magic. Weaknesses being that they might be slower than the organic constructs, and they're expensive to make."

'Hmm. Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing how they might affect future conflicts. Did you need to discuss anything else?'

Dianne: "Just if I'll be compensated for my prior two jobs I did for you."

'Yes. Now, obviously the second job is worth more than the first. Fighting Viridi was dangerous, and not just physically. I'm not sure you know of all the possible outcomes of that day. If Viridi had killed the boys, or if you had been forced to kill /him,/ it could have had disastrous consquences.'

'Like what?' Armin said curiously.

'If the boys died, it would have sparked outrage and the Sovereigners might have lost trust in non-humans, just as they were starting to gain some. If Viridi died, the rest of his tribe may have sought revenge. It was a delicate situation.'

Dianne: "I did warn Viridi that if he killed the boys, it could lead to war. And if I had to kill Viridi to save them...I might have had to wipe out his entire tribe."

'Yes, that's why it was such a risky operation. Gone wrong, it could have led to the death of hundreds. But I'm grateful that you avoided killing anyone,' said Fred. 'Now, payment... for the Artie operation, given the relative lack of danger, I'd say between 200 - 400 SQ would be fair. Opinions?'

Dianne: "Fair. But, give it to Armin. He hit his head coming out of the cave."

Armin glanced at her in slight surprise.

'Very well. I'll have it transferred to you, dad,' said Fred absently. He opened his notebook and wrote something. 'As for the Viridi mission, given how dangerous it was, the possible outcomes, and the severity of your injuries... How about 2,500? It's the highest I can feasibly offer right now.'

Dianne: "That will do fine, Frederick."

'Very well. Then that's everything covered,' said Frederick. He wrote some more before closing his notebook and putting it aside.

Dianne: "Thank you, Frederick."

{Standing, she looks to Armin.}

Dianne: "If there's nothing else, we'll be on our way."

Armin stood as well. Spotting Esme about to claw the arm of his seat, he hurriedly picked her up.

'Well, thanks, Fred. I hope paying us isn't going to put you in any trouble. Especially if you're doing this all out of pocket...'

Fred waved dismissively. 'I have more than you might think. It's fine. Thank you, though.'

Dianne: "Really? What, did you loot old man Sargon's treasure hoard?"

{She asks chuckling.}

'Well, I did find a good amount of money in his old base in Shacklestone after he died. I took everything I could find. Along with that, I have over 200 years of life savings, inheritance from my mother, and wages from my guard job. It adds up.'

Dianne: "How about that? I might not be the richest one here after all."

{She says, amused.}

'There's no chance I have more than you. The gold you found in Barnabas's crypt alone would ensure that.'

'Well, at least you're doing well for yourself,' said Armin.

'I suppose. Well, if that's all, I'll be seeing you.'

Dianne: "Alright, we're going to go get our truck. Have a good afternoon, Frederick."

'Look after yourself, Fred.'

Carrying Esme, Armin left the house. He set her down once they were outside.

'So, where do we need to go? The airport?'

{Dianne pulls out her phone, checking the text.}

Dianne: "No. We need to go to your place. They shipped it on a flatbed."

'Alright, let's head over there.'

With Esme trotting confidently behind him, Armin set off for his house.

{Dianne walked along, pulling her coat around herself a little tighter.}

Dianne: "I hope it's not going to snow..."

'The forecasts say so. But they're never that reliable anyway.' Armin glanced at the sky as they walked. The thick, greyish white clouds certainly looked like they could snow. 'I'd like if it did, but I know you won't be so enthusiastic.'

Dianne: "If it happens, it happens...but good luck getting me out of bed."

{She chuckles.}

'Well, I'm not bringing you breakfast in bed, so you'll have to get up eventually,' he replied, amused.

Dianne: "What do you have against breakfast in bed? You wouldn't even do that for me when I was debilitated from the light weapon."

(Posting new room)