Amadeo leads Hope downstairs and chuckles. "You looked like you wanted to take his legs out from under him."

"I wanted to take his scalp." She sighs, holding her head in her palm. "Listening in like that, ugh."

"Bothers you that much, huh?"

"Yeah, kind of. I mean, it was a nice moment. I don't exactly get alot of compliments aside from Anna. It feels weird that Tyrion was just listening like a creep."

"Well, don't worry about it." Amadeo nudges her softly. "What do you want to do today?"

"Beach. Shopping. Anything and everything we can do and more. Just no fighting. This is our day off!"

"Deal. No fighting." He smiles as they head to the front room, where most people are enjoying lunch and looking over contracts. Kiriel whistles and motions the two of them over, one clawed hand setting a small purse on the counter. "Your payment's been converted to crowns for easy carrying. You know the conversion rate, right?"

"Ten pence to a shilling, ten shillings to a sovereign, ten sovereigns to a crown, crown tops all." Amadeo takes the purse, checking it and nodding. "That looks right to me. Though we do have some things we need to ask about."

"Fire away, my friend. I'm all ears." Kiriel gets a mug of water, taking a gulp and facing them directly. Amadeo looks around, and Hope shakes her head. "It's a private matter, regarding the contract."

Kiriel narrows their eyes, but nods. "Very well." They part the bar's swinging door and gestures to a larger door in the back. "Go in there, have a seat."

Hope and Amadeo enter the room, an office decorated with a large desk stacked high with papers of various requests, a potted plant in one corner, various chests in another corner, and a pair of chairs sitting in front of the desk. They each take a seat, and Kiriel follows, closing the door behind them and sitting behind the desk. "Did something go wrong with the job?" Straight to the point.

"You could say that. Amadeo, you want to explain?"

"Yes. Firstly, the bandits who attacked us are mostly dead, only one of them having managed to escape. Secondly, three that we captured were..." He pauses, thinking of how to explain. "Well, to be honest, they were melted from the inside. By these things." Amadeo removes the cloth from his pack and sets it down on the desk. Kiriel raises an eyebrow, but gingerly unfolds the cloth, revealing the tubes within. "Metal with fittings. What are these?"

"Therein lies the question. The three we captured were, as I said, melted from the inside out. These tubes unlatched from each other, spilling what I believe to be gelatinous cubes into their bodies."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Gods, that's insane. Who put the tubes in their bodies?" Kiriel eyes the pair with shock, their green scales almost seeming to momentarily pale as Amadeo and Hope both shake their heads.

"We don't know." Amadeo says, looking down and away as the memory frames itself in his head. "The leader, a man named Cal, spoke with a voice that was not his own. The person speaking did not identify themselves, but seemed to be the one controlling these tubes, even over a great distance. We didn't get anything else before they...well, you know. Couldn't even get the location of the stolen goods."

"I mean, you don't expect people to allow themselves to be filled with oozes that could eat them from the inside out at any moment. You can't really blame yourself for this." Kiriel sets a pot of tea down, pouring out two cups and handing them over. Each of the pair takes a cup.

"They also had control over animals, hence the wolves that showed up to help their raids." Hope sips her tea and sighs. "It wasn't what I was expecting at all."

"From the sounds of it, it must have been a harrowing experience. I'm glad to see you're safe and sound." Kiriel sits back, fingers folding together, chuckling. "Though, I suppose with the job completed, we'd best let Sister Orda that the marriage was a sham."

"About that too." Amadeo sips his tea and sets the cup down, his own fingers folding together. For a brief moment, Hope looks between the two. "Like a pair of scheming villains, they are." She thinks to herself.

"Before they attacked-" Amadeo continues. "-their leader mentioned being told about our coming. We believe someone at the wedding ceremony was an insider."

"That's quite an accusation. Sister Orda has been the kindest soul I've known. And of the two officials who were also there, Lord Wilhelm has been a long time friend, and Lady Lucinda donates her excess coin to the poor...And there's also myself."

There's a tense silence in which Hope suddenly wishes she had her sword on her. Did they make a mistake in bringing this up? Have they exposed themselves too soon to the mastermind of the bandits?

Amadeo smirks and sits back, holding his cup and sipping from it. "Firstly, they didn't know we had Anna and Tyrion in the back of the cart, or that the manifest including metal and meteorite chunks was fake. You were well informed of my plan, those parts included. But these guys were quite surprised to find more than just the two of us. A real conspirator would have given them that tidbit of information so they'd be prepared."

"And secondly, you wouldn't post the request if you wanted the operation they had going to continue unhindered by your guild. Judging by what I know, it's not you."

Kiriel eyes the wizard quietly, then snorts before bursting into a fit of laughter. "You're good, I'll give you that!" They clap their hands with a mirthful chuckle. "He's a keeper, Mrs. Ravenwood. Don't let him go if you can help it."

Hope looks away with a small smile. "Yeah, he's alright, I guess."

Amadeo clears his throat. "We do need to get the marriage documents undone, though. And I think it best to examine who among the three who were there has the most reason to want to be involved in stealing metal and meteorite, and why."

"The first is easy enough to do. Maybe one day you'll invite me to the real thing, eh?" Kiriel grins, and both Amadeo and Hope gulp their tea down before standing.

"A-Anyway, thought you'd like to know the full story and what you may want to do. Gosh, look at the time, shall we go?!" Amadeo stammers out, despite the distinct lack of any way to tell the time in the room.

"Yes, it's been a very lovely chat. We should do this again, ok bye!" Hope rushes for the door and they both burst out into the main room, hightailing it out into the streets of Kaina. Kiriel sits back, a small smirk on their lips.