"That about lines up with what we've heard," Jeremy said with a groan. "Queen Aerilyn bit off more than she could chew, and enough nobles are united against her that she can't just kill or sanction them all. But neither is she willing to back down, not so soon after gaining her power."

They'd found Jeremy and Tiana at the adventurer's guild closest to the academy, and were now stretching in the training yard reserved for guild use. Though Tiana still wasn't a member, it was easy enough to purchase her a temporary pass to use the yard. It wasn't completely private, but the other adventurers exercising in the yard were more focused on their own workouts than they were on eavesdropping.

Cayden was currently leading the group through a series of stretches in a grassy area off to the side. It was a hodgepodge collection of static stretches and random yoga poses he could remember seeing in his previous life, a routine he'd developed in the previous year to push his old [Enchanced Flexibility] skill to its limits. His daily stretches hadn't been as thorough as usual while on the delve, and he was feeling a little tight after the long walk back from the Honeyhive dungeon. Plus, he was hoping to instill the habit in Tiana.

As the youngest, she was the closest to him in terms of flexibility, and Cayden hoped she wouldn't lose that as she grew. He no longer had [Enhanced Flexibility], but he remembered the difference the skill had made. Despite not being reflected on any status page, flexibility wasn't something he wanted to skimp on.

"What does that mean for us, then?" Cayden asked, his chin in his hands as he rested in the center splits.

"There are some positives," Tiana answered. She was also attempting the center splits, though not quite as successfully as Cayden. Elise and Jeremy were off to the side, facing each other on their butts with legs spread wide and the bottoms of their feet pressed against each other. Their hands were linked, and Jeremy was currently leaning back, pulling Elise forward into a pancake stretch.

"Switch," Cayden called, and Elise leaned back, Jeremy letting out a small whimper as his upper body was pulled forward.

"It doesn't sound like much of the current conflict is too focused on the coup or tied with the former duke. Which is good, since that's our main link to everything that's going on. Hopefully, no one will know or care about us beyond our connections to the academy."

"That would be ideal," Cayden agreed as he shifted into a left split, reaching back and pulling up on his right foot as he directed Elise and Jeremy into their own, easier versions of the same stretch.

"There are some negatives, though, too. In general, this doesn't paint a very positive picture of the current state of the kingdom. A new king or queen's reign can often be characterized by their actions in the first weeks and months of rule. And thus far, Queen Aerilyn’s reign has been...less than impressive."

"How do you mean?" Cayden asked, and then in a quieter voice. "...and should we be saying this out loud?"

"We're fine. This is probably one of the most common conversations in the capital right now, at least among those in the know. Even if the queen was trying to monitor everyone for bad-mouthing, there would be no way for her to enforce it." She paused. "Anyway, a new ruler's reign is always a bit precarious. There's a vacuum of power in the wake of the previous, and all those with ambitions will attempt to fill that void. For someone in the queen's position, there have historically been two strategies: they can either play it slow and steady or hard and fast. Slow and steady is safer, but they'll generally lose out on some individual power compared to the previous ruler, even if they have the support of the nobles and population. Hard and fast is riskier, but there's more to gain right off the bat. High risk and high reward."

"I take it Queen Aerilyn is taking the riskier option?"

"Evidently. She's certainly not playing it safe. But even going with the riskier option, you'd need to be smart about it. And while it's possible Queen Aerilyn has a strategy I'm not seeing...it's not appearing particularly smart."

"Oof," Jeremy responded, though Cayden wasn't sure if it was in response to Tiana's insult or the latest stretch.

Tiana acted as if he was talking to her, regardless. "It's true. For a new queen gaining the throne via violence – even if the violence wasn't instigated by her – she started in an insanely good position. The leader of the faction opposing the throne was killed, and she had the support of the loyalists. It was expected for her to retaliate against those who killed her parents and older brother. She had a license to sanction any threats to her power in the name of avenging her family – and as long as she didn't use that license too freely, nobles who might have otherwise stepped into the power vacuum would be forced to hold back for fear of being her next target." She shook her head. "I don't know who's advising her, but she did the one thing that she shouldn't have. She pushed too far too quickly. Those who would otherwise be cowed into submission are forced into open rebellion if they want to stay alive. Beat a dog a little, and it will obey you. Beat it too much, and it will start to bite." Cayden grimaced at the metaphor. "And even the loyalists will turn against her if she's too blatantly targeting the nobility. There's a fine balance between the nobles and the crown – a balance she's upsetting."

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They stretched in silence for a few moments.

"...we shouldn't have to worry about any of this though, right?" Cayden finally said. "Like you said: no one will have any time for us if they're too busy fighting each other."

"True. Logically, that makes sense...but nothing of what's happened has been particularly logical. I wouldn't have been able to predict the queen's previous choices – what if her erraticism points itself towards us, next? I don’t think there’s any danger at the academy, at least. As long as it stays neutral, there would be no gain from targeting it. And the cost of doing so would be phenomenal."

Cayden winced. "Yeah, but it doesn't seem like the academy will be changing their policies for you, at least not any time soon...though Instructor Blyre did present another option."

Over the next few minutes, as they transitioned to dynamic stretches, shifting through various yoga poses as other adventurers glanced their way curiously, Cayden explained the proposed expedition to the tournament.

"And you're thinking it would be worth it?" Tiana asked, a small smile on her face.

"That's what I wanted to ask all of you," Cayden said, nodding toward Jeremy and Elise as well. "Neither of you should be in any danger from the queen, at least not beyond what any other citizen of the capital is facing. But even so, I feel like this is a great opportunity. The tournament evidently has older tiers of competition, too, which should be enlightening to watch. And I would imagine there will be quite a few opportunities to encounter interesting races, classes, and skills that we'd never see here." Jeremy and Elise both had appraising looks on their faces, which made Cayden grin. If he and Tiana were going to do this, he'd much prefer if his friends joined as well. But then he turned to Tiana. "Most importantly, though: would it be safe? Will the queen try and prevent the expedition, do you think?"

"...I wouldn't think so. As an expedition from the academy, it will be viewed as neutral to politics. And the fact it'll be filled with the younger generation actively leaving the kingdom will only reinforce that view...but there's always a risk. Primarily while still in the kingdom – the politics of Valtane shouldn’t stretch beyond the borders."

"It sounds like it could be a good deal, then," Cayden tentatively said, though inwardly he was holding back much more enthusiasm. As he'd thought about it more and more, the expedition seemed like the perfect solution to all of their potential problems. But he didn't want to appear too eager and turn Tiana off of it.

But it didn't seem like that would be an issue. "Yeah, it does! Is there anything we need to do to sign up? And you said the cost is already paid for, too?" his sister said as her smile grew.

"Yeah, apparently. And I can double-check, but I think I just need to tell Instructor Blyre within the next two days, and that's it. I'd have to check and make sure for you though, Elise, since I'm not sure how many 'attendants' I'm allowed to bring."

"That's fine – I'll need to talk to Basura about it first, anyway. It certainly sounds intriguing, and I think he'll be supportive, but there might be some issues with some of my other projects." She dropped out of the yoga pose. "I should probably go talk to him now. Two days isn't long to prepare."

Cayden shrugged, mirroring the action. He figured that was a good enough stretching session for now – it wasn't as comprehensive as what he normally tried to do, but for a first session he was impressed with how well his friends had kept up. And if they all planned on joining the expedition, there would be plenty more chances to rope them into it.

"I’m also interested," Jeremy said with a speculative frown on his face. "If it's open to anyone under age twenty, my teammate might also want to come..." He glanced guiltily at the two bags of luggage Cayden and Elise had brought from the academy.

"Don't worry about us, we can find something to occupy us for the next few hours. Meet here at...tenth bell?"

"Yeah, thanks!" Jeremy called before turning and following after Elise at a fast walk, leaving Cayden alone with his sister. Her smile had never stopped growing since he'd first mentioned the expedition, and the last glance he had of his sister before Jeremy’s perspective turned away had her grinning like a loon.

"...what's got you so happy?"

There was a pause as Tiana giggled evilly.

"Oh, I was just wondering. This whole expedition thing seems awfully expensive."

"I'm sure it is..." Cayden hesitantly replied.

"Whoever's bankrolling it must have pretty deep pockets."

"True...I mean, they are nobles, I'm sure."

"Yeah, but I doubt this is something a minor noble could afford, at least not easily. It's gotta be someone a bit higher up in the ranks."

Cayden's stomach began to sink.

"And they must be pretty desperate to escape the kingdom's politics if they're willing to drop that much money on the expedition. I'd expect they're at least somewhat mixed up with the drama for them to want to escape so badly. And they probably don't have any home outside of the capital to run to for safety, if they're fleeing the kingdom entirely." She paused, as if contemplating the possibilities. "I wonder who we might know who fits that description?"