4

Everyone had at some point in the night meandered back to their own rooms.
Valtheran, you woke in your bed with a loose tunic and shorts on, your clothes folded off to the side. You have the sensation that your friend from last night is never far away.
Kendal, you woke well-rested, happy from a night of eating and partying, however what you found out last night leaves you unsettled.
Rhianwen, you had fun despite your discovery, and you returned to your room. Arianrhod did not return to her room.

All of you tend to your typical morning habits and come out to see Oroborus standing in your den area. He looks very downcast and worn out. He motions all of you to sit down.

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All of you can type what you were doing before you came out, ending your post with something along the lines of "I take a seat wherever." You also have some liberties. Is there a couch? Are there three comfy chairs? Do you sit next to a potted plant? Up to you. Make up something.

Rhianwen steps out, dressed once again in her typical dusty brown clothes and dark leather armor, her hair tightly bound up and tied with a beige bandana. She finds a simple nearby cushion on the floor, and sits on it on her knees, holding her katana in her hands, waiting for the announcement.

Valtheran emerged from his room, having just finished his morning prayers and thinking over what had happened the night before. He's trying to make sense of it when he sees Oroborus with a grim expression on his face. Valtheran perches on a nearby windowsill.

Kendal comes out with a troubled look on his face. Seeing Oroborus he goes and leans on a wall with a look of expectation.

He sighs heavily. "Last night Rhianwen noticed a black dragonborn leaving the party with a blood-coated Katar. She followed him and was able to confirm his identity. However, he has left. We investigated last night and finally located his victim. It burdens me to say this," he buries his head in one of his hands, "but the King of Amn is dead."

Valtheran whistles in surprise. "Whoever that was doesn't think small, does he?" He looks around, noticing something. "Hang on... where's Arianrhod?"

Rhianwen grimaces. "Knew it," she says angirly. "I knew someone got killed when I saw that freak in the corridor."

"Dammit. Like I was saying last night, things are never normal ever since i met Arianrhod. And where is she, anyway?"

Oroborus looked up. "Arianrhod was...disturbed by previous events." He scratched the back of his neck and looked up to the cieling. "Arianrhod has always been an unusual sort of person. She wants to be the strength of those around her, without placing burdens on them. Had she had her way, she would have locked herself in the training room and trained to the point of exhaustion. But thankfully she was pursuaded to spend time with Lord Dennomyr. She finally fell asleep in his bed and he slept on the couch. She...has not found out what has happened. Lord Dennomyr is keeping her company while the Council reads the King's will and figures out what to do next."

"Does the King have an heir? I'd rather not be caught up in a civil war if we can avoid it."

Kendal nods in agreement with Valtheran. "That really is the last thing we need. We're not soldiers, just travelers, adventurers."

"There was no heir, but there is a rumor that he announced a successor in his will. So now the Council is reading it to find out."

"What happens if there wasn't a successor named? Because the usual procedures would normally have the Council members recruiting armies and that gets REALLY messy."

Rhianwen sighs. "It'll all be solved behind the scenes. It's how politics work. Whoever has the most connections will take this throne quickly and powerfully, I suspect, with little opposition."

"Maybe... or they start forming sides. Said messiness still happens."

Rhianwen shrugs. "Most things are messy. It's really just the amount of messy we're debating on; one death from assassination, or thousands in a war? It makes no difference."

Kendal sits there listening to the discussion, thinking through other things.

"I happen to disagree, but to each their own. Kendal, what are you thinking about?"

Kendal looks up. "I'm thinking that maybe it's time we started tracking that bastard. Let the politicians deal with the will and such, this black Dragonborn needs to be found and, if necessary, killed, before he commits any more acts of violence."

"Rhianwen is right. This is not your concern. Yes trouble will ensue, but there's a good chance you guys will go elsewhere. Meanwhile, I think Arianrhod would like to see you guys. She needs her friends right now, and the new friend of Lord Dennomyr can only do so much. I stopped by and she looked so gloomy...."

"If we were out in the wild, I'd be with you. Hell, I'd kill him myself. In the city though... things get more problematic. Too many people so we can't use his tracks to follow him. My tracking skills are useless here." He stands. "I'm going to go see Arianrhod. Who's coming with me?"

Rhianwen nods. "I saw her last night in Lord Kane's office. I'd like to check on her; she's terrified of that thing I saw last night, even more than I'm scared of it."

"I'll go. If she needs to see us, then I guess we should go."

"Can someone fill me in on what happened last night? I kinda missed it." He starts walking away. "Um... which way?"

Rhianwen looks at Valtheran. "When I was at the party last night, I saw a black dragonborn with spellscars on his hands emerge from a tapestry. He had a bloodied katar. I followed him long enough to get a gauge of his appearance, then I beat it and informed Lord Kane of the intruder. It looks like I caught him after he must have murdered the King."