Xavier let a little chuckle escape him. The king was looking for the best? This sorry fort was hardly something that would qualify someone as king, and best was very relative in this tiny fort.

"What for? Or is that kingly secrecy at it's finest, he's not even telling you?"

Though Xavier sounded disinterested, his mind began working on overdrive. What did the king want the best for? Was it an exploration? A search for other lands? A mass execution so that nobody would take control? Or something else entirely? Xavier had to just wait and see. Maybe this would be worth his while...

Fraz shrugged at the question, "I have no idea. It can' tbe anything important, or he'd tell me, his best servant."
The messenger stuck out his chest in pride.

Xavier gave a sigh he made sure would be audible. "Alright, well, wish the king luck on his quest... He's going to need it to find the best of the best you speak of."

With that Xavier went silent, not even replying to anything that the messenger said, waiting until he left, in the same speed as the initial hurrying on the road. Xavier counted to five after he disappeared, then sat upright, to make sure he had taken off. Then Xavier leapt from the building, down to the ground.

"So the king's looking for people eh? I might want to get what I can out of this..." Xavier thought to himself. He started walking, calmly but quickly, toward the attempt at a castle the kind had made himself. There might be answers there...

...
...
...

Arriving at the castle, Xavier made his best effort to remain hidden, as he creeped further and further along the corridors of the castle, trying to get within earshot of the conversation... He thought he heard something as he walked further and further in, coming to rest just outside a door, ears perked.

(OoC: I will edit if I need to, but essentially, I'm going to try and sneak close enough to hear, but stay out of sight.)

((OoC: Jumping forward a little.))

The king eyed up the seven before him with a gleam of hope in his eye.
Three fighting men and women, one holy warrior, two light fighters and a mage... and an archer who had just been caught eavesdropping by the door, followed by another light fighter caught in the cellar attempting to steal food.
Nine, then.

A smile crossed his face, albeit briefly. He then began to speak.

"Humanity is in great peril. We have no food, no water, no heat, no life. You all know this perfectly well. There is no reason for me to repeat this.

"I am sure you all have been searching as hard as you can for a solution to our problems. I have called you here to step up these searches."

He sighed as he turned to Arathyra, "Miss Wolfswift, as your king, I now order you to search your late mentor's rooms. Before I was happy to let you grieve, but now we have no choice. Tear his chambers apart if you have to, but make sure no corner is left unsearched.

"The rest of you, I shall leave you to your own devices to seek a way. Maybe ask the more secretive of the townsfolk, I do not care. Return in one day, and I hope not to see you all empty-handed."

Sonia scowled, his face scarf lowered in respect to his sovereign.

"And what do you expect us to find?" he asked, his tone harsh. "Surely if something was there to help, it would have been found by now?" He scoffed, forgetting his place. "If you think there's something left in the city that can save us, the hunger's gone to your head."

He didn't know what he was expecting. If the king thought there was legitimately something to be found, he wanted more to go on.

"Great, so you want us to find food and water when there is clearly none in the city." "Why not just send us out in some random direction through the wasteland? You'd probably have better luck that way..."

Thinking to himself Leon realized... *Great the King is just punishing me, sure it's not painful, but this is just the start. I'm going to slowly rot away while hopelessly searching for that we all know isn't here... Why can't he just strike me down where I stand... I have failed to follow your teachings Father.*

Leon looked down and grabbed the pendant around his neck and let out a hopeless prayer for his father. Looking back at the king he asked, "So, what do you want us to do exactly, search in groups or by ourselves?"

*draws his sword and points to the ground* "I suggest we dig. I hear the cry of nature, may the ground lead us to nourishment for the Eaons into the Eaons."

The still-hooded newcomer stood, head bent, as the king adressed him, absorbing what little he was told. He was no longer the rootless, pity-swathed, pilgrim, weeping endless tears into a soul allready filled to bursting, now, he had focus, his warped mind had turned from itself to his surroundings, and his hands stroked the pommels and hilts of his scimitars idly as his riven soul began to think again, worm its way through the cracks of reasoning towards his goal.

-----------------------------------------------------------
"You're an assassin, Raze, a Devil-Cursed merciless killer, you don't solve problems, you make them."

"How many did you put to your blades for your dreams? How many nightmares did you spawn for your hollow psyche?"

"Hey, Raze, how about some charity work? How about you put this entire rotting 'fort' out of its misery right now?"

"Sometimes evil negates itself, doesn't it, you've always been able to walk the line between a merciless butcher of the innocent and a crazed slaughterer, you've got power, just apply it right, you know, a little pressure at the foundations of all this mess..."

"Oh, you're good Raze, give yourself a pat on the back and a diamond ring. You've got an excuse to start over again...after all, desperation is the universal condonance."

"Oh yes, I can see that, the black hearted, damned, assassin with his soul ripped in three ways by three devils which were all owed a part of it, acting as the noble knight protector, I think I'll take that diamond ring before you use it as a murder weapon."

"True, but directed murder...or assassination. No, famine has completed that task for us...all we need is a spade. Not even cover of darkness this time, after all, the mage will be in her master's chambers."
--------------------------------------------------------

"Perhaps," Hissed Razor's lips, his hooded eyes glaring out at the two who had spoken. "It would not be such a bad idea to heard people off into the wilderness. Shall we start with the ailing and feeble, or the dissenters? With luck their bodies might draw vultures, which in turn could sustain us for weeks if rationed properly. The grin that flashed out revealed twin flashes of metal where Razor's incisors should have been, replaced instead by silver fangs."
"In absence of such a solution, I shall have to revert to my own methods. I shall require a spade and pick to break the ground and at least an hour's solitude outside the city walls and complete isolation whilst I dig."
"Is that acceptable?"

The king eyed up the seven before him with a gleam of hope in his eye.
Three fighting men and women, one holy warrior, two light fighters and a mage... and an archer who had just been caught eavesdropping by the door, followed by another light fighter caught in the cellar attempting to steal food.
Nine, then.

A smile crossed his face, albeit briefly. He then began to speak.

"Humanity is in great peril. We have no food, no water, no heat, no life. You all know this perfectly well. There is no reason for me to repeat this.

"I am sure you all have been searching as hard as you can for a solution to our problems. I have called you here to step up these searches."

He sighed as he turned to Arathyra, "Miss Wolfswift, as your king, I now order you to search your late mentor's rooms. Before I was happy to let you grieve, but now we have no choice. Tear his chambers apart if you have to, but make sure no corner is left unsearched.
-----------------------------------------------------------

The mage knelt down before her king, despite his words. The young lady did not enjoy being commanded to doing things, however it was her king, and she would show no disrespect.

"Yes Mi'Lord. You have ever been patient with my loss. It is as you command, I shall search his chambers for anything that may help us."
Arathyra rose from her knelt position and turned to the others shaking her head. Her ice blue eyes flashing anger towards them as reflected within her words.

"How dare any of you show disrepect to the King who has always cared for us. He has always done what was best for each of us. Our Lord had no control and is also suffering loses due to the lack of food, and water. Do you see him eating and drinking any more than us? Do you not notice that he too loses weight? He endures the same that we ourselves endure. I would advise each of you to hold your tongue, as you seem to be forgetting your places. You stand before the King! I advise that you show the respect that is due. He could have abandonned us those years ago, when he realized the drought would not end, however, he is a Great King, and he stayed with us to fight against it. We have all worked individually to try and find answers to the heat, yet we have not worked together. We have all suffered great losses because of the heat, and the lack of foods and water. My loyalties lie with my king, where do your loyalties lie?"
The woman stood straight up with ice in her gaze towards each of those who stood before her King. Each of them had lashed out towards the man who had always had their best interests at heart. As King, the man could easily have crept away in the middle of the night when he knew the lands would turn to death. Their King would not abandon them, and she would ensure that the loyalties their King deserved was shown to him.

*kneels down with his face almost to the floor* "My liege, I have ever been faithful to nature and her defenders. If I am to sacrifice myself for nature, I will do so willingly. May your courage pull us through these desperate times in which we live in, Into the Eaons and the Eaons."

Later on...

"We shall require a spade yes.If you need solitude whilst you dig I shall ensure that you are not disturbed.that is acceptable, yes. By the way my name is Takley"

Seph looked at the group for a minute. "well my lord, i'm sorry to inform you that, we have to leave these walls, to find food, water, or maybe a new home all together. I believe that we can handle anything on the outside."
The man then, turned toward the holy warrior. "Hey, whats the point digging? You would die of thirst before we got to the water."

Sariana looked around as she and others convened before the king. They certainly did appear to be strong despite the fact that there were no plants left of any kind save the one solitary blade of grass within the king’s garden, no animals anywhere inside or outside of the city walls, and no water whatsoever. And so it has been for weeks.

After hearing the king’s words, she felt helpless. She bowed her head, staring at the floor beneath her feet, not wanting the king to see the hopelessness in her eyes. “Where else could any of us possibly search? With no more than 40 people left alive in the known world, and all of them inside this city, who could we possibly talk to that could offer any answers?” Had she any tears left to shed, Sariana would have shed them then, for she truly felt this was the end.

Her head snapped up as she heard the harsh and angry words spoken by the others present. She listened to their concerns and what they had to say, and looked to see the king’s response. She wasn’t sure if he even cared enough about the disrespect knowing they would all be dead within a couple weeks anyway. Still, she didn’t like the tone, and agreed with the dirty girl who spoke last.

Choosing, for now, to ignore the conversation around her she moved closer to the king and fell to her knees before him her hand reaching out to touch his feet. She looked down for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts before looking up at the king, a slight glisten in her eyes, almost enough for a tear.

“My lord, I beg of you, what more can we do? Who else can we talk to? There is nothing left in this city, and there is nothing outside these walls. We would all be dead before any of us could travel far enough to find anything…if there is even anything to find.” Sariana paused but for a brief moment, taking a deep breath before continuing, “If you know of a way, my lord, I beg of you, show it to us, and I will gladly and faithfully follow. However, I fear that as it stands…”
Sariana lets the sentence die off. She grabs the locked around her neck with her free hand and looks down at it briefly, thinking of her husband and daughter already lost a couple years before. She looks back up at the king, a fragile resolve beginning to form in her features, “Aye, tell me, my king, if you know of any possibility, I will follow your will or die trying to achieve it.”

Friend, it is not to get to water, but to get to food, mayhaps rotten, but food none-the-less.

Xavier jumped a little when someone coughed behind him. The silent bugger caught him off guard, probably because Xavier was thinking too much about what the king could want. He was ushered in, and quickly took a look around.

Hmm... he mused to himself. Not the best of the best I was expecting... Oh well, maybe some of them have their strong suits. In the mean time, I better keep them all in sight. Xavier fondled the dagger at his hip casually, making sure it was at the ready should things go to the Abyss.

He stood patiently as the kind spoke. Lack of water, lack of food, lack of life, Xavier agreed with. But it was bloody hot, so Xavier didn't know where no heat was coming from. But just when Xavier thought the king was missing the point, then came his request; search the town for evidence of food or water, or anything of the sort.

Xavier stood dumbstruck while the other's voiced their discontent, save one or two who seemed like they would lay down their lives for the king, one of them actually calling out the others on their lack of devotion. Finally, when it seemed there was a bit of a lull, Xavier opened his mouth, staring straight at the king, and not bowing.

"Okay. In all due fairness your highness, I'm going to think this through here. What have we, as citizens, got to hide? Nothing. So the fruits of our labour - pardon the expression - would lend what to the cause? I'm going to assume very little. In any case I hope very much so that you have a backup plan in place in case we find the very likely nothing. However, such is life, and so I shall take off... Maybe even to find something."

Xavier backed away from the rest of the individuals gathered there, keeping one eye on the woman who had barked so loudly at the rest of the group, because Xavier knew that there were secrets there... In her master's chambers. If the king referred to them with the statement 'we have no choice' then there had to be something in there... The problem is finding where they were. So once Xavier had backed out of the castle, he got in to a vantage point and hid, waiting until the woman left as well, then following her from nooks and crannies in the buildings to rooftops if need be until he found where she was going. There would be secrets. There would be hope.

Bren stood to the side within the throne room, taking in the scene. Grandeur tarnished with the taint of the waste, the entire visage of the castle and its interior was a twisted shadow of the tales he once clung to for hope. The 'people' that shared the floor with him were nothing but contorted spectres, arguing amongst themselves and paying him no mind, or even a gaze. All save one.

Upon a seat before them all sat the grim image of this supposed king. He seemed to judge them, appraise them. Perhaps that was a glint at darker motives behind the words he had spoken - of great heroics and the dwindling hopes of humanity. His presence left Bren feeling estranged- truly, what manner of man would cling to a title under such conditions.

Thoughts whirred in Bren's tiring mind, a collection of perceptions and insights that fit haphazardly together. Doubts of their realism returned, as if the entire scene was a show, merely figments of his imagination brought to life by delirium. However, he remembered feeling the stones upon his hands... before he had collapsed... Perhaps then he still laid there, this venture to the castle the movement of his spirit to witness the final moments of these apparitions, as he himself died within their former home. But if that were the case, then the supposed Monarch's gaze would not have set upon him as it had.

After each of the others had spoken, their bickering concluded and silence returned, the 'king' seemed ready to speak further. Whatever he was about to say was lost however, as bitter laughter escaped Bren's coarse lips.

He moved then and walked past each of these figures, his sword still in his hand, bobbing up and down with each step. It was time to test their senses, to see if they could perceive him.

"You spirits and your bickering... know you anything of what you argue? Do you lost souls fail to grasp that each of you is driven by the same means?" He let out a hollow laugh before turning mid-step and addressing the robed woman whom the 'king' had referred to by name. "Survival. It is the only motivation that exists here. Even for one who speaks of such loyalty. " He scowled before releasing a dark chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief and turning to another figment. "Know you even the basics of survival? The carrion bird you hope to sustain yourselves with is riddled with disease." Again he let out a bark of laughter, even more bitter than before. "And to wander the waste is not to be done at random. Take it from a man who has known only its embrace."

Not caring about the reactions of these spectral 'heroes' he spun full-circle to lock gazes with the apparent master of this domain. He could feel himself slipping into the rashness of madness. If this was all in his mind, Bren was going to take control again. Coughing to clear his inflamed throat he spoke again.

"And you oh so-called king. Have you no honour? Do you plan to sit here while others toil for your purposes? What manner of treachery do you command to see the lives of others as only pawns to some means?" He scowled outright, ignoring any objections or words hissed by the others. "If you are truly real acknowledge me, oh King of the Damned, tell this wanderer your 'great plan' of salvation. By my master Asera, may you speak with integrity. I'll not see so many to their graves."

Regardless of his perception, Bren was certain he would receive some response. Though he desperately wished the dizziness would fade. If, in a world such as this, only the mad are sane...Bren was among them.

((OoC: yay delirium.... may need some adjustments))