[IRP] Secrets of the Empire

[Swift_Assassin]

"As an aspiring 'politician' at the time, I'm just surprised the thought never crossed my mind. Could have looked to Ostia for help, but considering the circumstances, I probably would have been betrayed or an unwilling pawn for this tyranny," Shad replied as he began looking through some books.

"I think you might be over working yourself. Do you listen to the nonsense coming out of your mouth sometimes?" Wolfram questioned. He looked at some books and somehow found the one he was looking for. Records from Marquess Eliwood. He looked over his shoulder real quick and opened it up. Somewhere in this book was a missing clue that was not present in Niime's research. He skimmed until accounts of the Black Fang appeared. And he skimmed some more until he saw articles on Nergal and Archsage Athos.

Shad was confused at first by his uncle's comments until he remembered he was in Pharae Castle. Ostia could have spies, even here. Last thing he needed to do was get Paige in trouble for bringing Etrurian rebels into the keep. "S-sorry Master W-wolfram. I'll s-shut up now," Shad replied, putting on the act again. The pair were so engrossed in their work that they failed to notice the others finally join them.

"Valor...the Dread Isle. And...Arcadia? In the Nabata desert?" Wolfram commented under his breath as he read the book. He continued browsing and saw a word that stood out to him. It popped up a few times but he couldn't find a record explaining it, perhaps an oversight on his part. "Quintessence? Is that what I'm looking for?" He again said under his breath. Shad approached him and asked what he was reading but was tuned out completely. Then he saw Kalin equally absorbed in a book.

"What do you have there?," Shad asked Kalin as he peaked at the title of one of the books. "Oh, I remember these books. I think some of my ancestors are in one of those." He looked at one of the ones Kalin was directly in and reconginized the volume number. He turned it and looked at the index and found it. "Here it is. Francesca the Generous and Hildebrand Hyperion," he said as he pointed at the page. "My cousin Lennox is the current wielder of their sword, Dyrnwyn."

Wolfram was knocked out of concentration when he heard the word 'smoking' mentioned. "Smoking?!" he yelled turning towards Paige. "Get that madman out of here." He followed her down the stairs and saw the fire. He immediately reached into his pockets and stowed the contents by the stairs. He removed his cloak and covered the flame with it, batting it down to try to extinguish the flames.