1x1 Winds of Insurrection

With the morning came the smell of...roses? Kassandra would wake to find a little envelope on her nightstand, as well as a small pouch. All that was inside was a little letter:

Good morning, dear guest. I hope this letter finds you well. Until the next calling card is delivered, please consider yourself a guest of Emperor Walhart himself, and help yourself to the amenities of the palace. We hope you enjoy all Enbarr has to offer, and look forward to this partnership. Enclosed is your payment for last night's guard duty. Please take it and enjoy your stay.

Within said satchel was a decent amount of coins, definitely enough to enjoy oneself out on the town. Though there was also a little extra note, tinted with perfume-the source of the rose smell.

Pardon the form letter, Kass. Everyone gets one. But I have a little extra info: Ryuji is staying in the room furthest down on the left. Let me know what you find tonight at seven. There's a very nice restaurant we can visit where no one will think to look. -D

@Jeremi​
 
"Thank you, Dorothea," Kassandra said into the air she stretched out the last of the tiredness from her body. She wasn't quite sure when she had slept this well.

Getting dressed and putting her earnings in her purse Kassandra would make her way towards where Ryuji was staying. Once she found it Kassandra give his door a knock to see if he was still inside.

@Yun Lee
 
"Coming!" He sounded rather upbeat from the other side, no doubt he'd gotten paid too. Ryuji swung open the door, already dressed and smiling. "Yo! What"s...oh. Hey, Kassandra...."

@Jeremi​
 
"Hello." Kassandra didn't say much else as she made her way inside Ryuji's room and shut the door behind her. "I believe we need to talk more about your current situation after we were interrupted last night."

@Yun Lee
 
He sighed deeply. "Yeah..." He closed his door then sat on his bed. "Okay, I left off at...the Metaverse, right? Yeah, so, where you and I ended up is a place called Mementos. It's basically where the Shadows of everyone who doesn't have really messed up desires hangs out. So, like that guy we fought last night, he was the Shadow of a rich dude who was doing some real shady shit. You beat those Shadows up, take their treasures," Ryuji raised his hand and pointed to his ring, "and boom! In the real world, they realize they've screwed up and repent for what they've done, when normally they'd have just kept doin' the same stuff."

He started twisting his ring around his finger. "Me and my partner Je-*ahem* Lily, we both woke up in the same place, the forest up north. The money we had we got scammed out of by some jerk, so I found out I could go to Mementos and get it back. And from there we kinda realized...Enbarr is full of shitty adults who think they can walk all over everyone! So we've been working together to take these guys down by changing their hearts. And then we found out..." He stopped himself, looking around. "Um. Can I actually just...take you to our hideout? I can't tell you the big stuff yet..."

@Jeremi​
 
So he did have an accomplice. Kassandra stood arms folded listening to Ryuji's tale. She started to understand...well kind of understand. Maybe Dorothea could make more sense of it later. At the invitation, however. "Please, I am curious to hear more about this...Mementos? Thing."

@Yun Lee
 
Nodding, Ryuji led Kassandra out of the palace towards the north. The city of Enbarr was bustling in the daytime, though gossip about the burglaries ran rampant. You couldn't turn a corner without hearing how much this lord had changed, or how that lady had lost her silverware. They did make one quick stop-Ryuji treated for some sweet buns for breakfast-and then they were finally at the outskirts of town. The road and cobblestone cut off abruptly here, no doubt due to the conditions of The Melding. Ryuji started for a narrow path within the trees and motioned for Kassandra to follow.


The forest was a bit tricky to maneuver through, with winding turns here and there. Thick trees on all sides blocked out the majority of sunlight, and the ground beneath them gave no obvious indication of a path. Yet Ryuji seemed to know exactly where to go, leading the Spartan right to a small clearing in what appeared to be a dead end, where an abandoned trailer sat before them.

View attachment 5068

Walking up to the door, Ryuji knocked on it in a pattern. Knock, knock-knock knock, knock. There was a pause a few moments before someone from the other side responded. Knock, knock. Ryuji took a deep breath and opened the door. "Okay, don't be mad," he led with.

From inside a girl sighed. "What did you do THIS time, Ryuji?"

"Well, uh..." Rubbing the back of his neck, he nodded towards the door, inviting Kassandra in.

@Jeremi​
 
How clandestine this all felt, Kassandra chuckled to herself as she followed Ryuji along the beaten path. This whole situation did feel like a teenager's idea of being a bandit but it was clear that they had gotten results in their thieving as well.

As Ryuji invited her in Kassandra would step through the door. She was curious to find out who the most likely brains of the operation were.

@Yun Lee
 
Despite how rundown it looked on the outside, the interior of the trailer was quite nice, very tidy and neat with modern furniture. Around the inside were the spoils of their robbery spree: candlesticks, silverware, paintings, wall ornaments...things that the well-to-do wouldn't miss all that much. Though the standout in the area was the girl standing before Kassandra, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. She looked to be only a few years older than Ryuji, and could possibly even pass as his sister, what with the blonde hair and pirate motif.

View attachment 5069

"Ryuji," she said, her fury fixated on the boy who was currently trying to stay behind Kassandra as much as possible. "What. Did. You. Do."

"It was an accident, I swear! I didn't see her when I was going to Mementos, and she got dragged in with me! I tried to keep my identity a secret--"

"And of course she figured you out, because why wouldn't she!" She now turned to Kassandra. "Let me guess, it took you, what, five seconds?"

"You don't have to answer that!"

@Jeremi​
 
"The boy seems incapable to use subterfuge... despite, supposedly, being a thief." The situation was quite hostile so Kassandra tried to calm things down. "Regardless, if you are scared that I will turn you in, don't worry. From what I've seen you have more good with your abilities then bad." She looked over to the loot. "And the things you have pilfered will not be missed. I am curious though why you decided to join in on the chase of yourself," Kassandra replied look behind her to Ryuji. "Are you seeking out a target from inside the court?"

@Yun Lee
 
"You've got that right," she said. "Even if I had that Metaverse phone, I'd still make him go in over me."

"Can't a guy ever catch a break around here..."

The girl seemed to lighten up as Kassandra made her case. "Well, not initially, no. At first we just went after anyone who had truly wronged others...though a majority of them were of the elite, now that I think about it. I didn't steal from the poor though. Never do."

"About a month ago, we started getting letters." Ryuji moved from behind Kassandra, seeing the coast was clear. "Anonymous tips about people who were doing some bad shit. No idea how they figured us out..."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Probably when you were shouting about our plans."

"Hey, I don't shout! I'm just...naturally loud, okay?!"

"ANYWAY, someone heard us and, luckily, was sympathetic to what we're doing. So we've been using those tips to get by. As for why Ryuji joined up with the bounty hunters, well...with Walhart increasing security to people outside of Enbarr, it would be good cover."

@Jeremi​
 
So there was someone else pulling the strings as well? "You've fallen into quite the web haven't you?" It did seem they were still on top of the situation. For now. "I don't know if you spoke about it but the Rider from last night mentioned the 'Emperor'. Have you gotten any information regarding Walhart dealing with illicit gains?"

@Yun Lee
 
"Walhart?" Ryuji shook his head. "You hear anything, Jenet?"

"I haven't, no. Though if he was doing something wrong, don't you think that would've triggered a Palace?"

"Oh! Yeah." He looked to Kassandra. "Palaces are where the really effed-up Shadows are. If your desires are affecting a place as a whole, it makes a Palace in the Metaverse. Rules are the same though-beat 'em up and take the treasure, they'll repent in the real world. But I don't...think anyone has any Palaces here? Why, did someone say somethin' about the big guy?"

@Jeremi​
 
"No, but men in power like him I've found aren't always as clean as they appear." Though on the surface level the man did seem quite open. "But if he wasn't the Emperor that the Rider mentioned, is there perhaps something more going on in Enbarr then just corrupt nobles?"

@Yun Lee
 
"Well, now would be the perfect time to investigate, don't you think?" Jenet smiled. "With the two of you staying in the Imperial palace you should be able to get more intel on him. Well..." She looked to Kassandra. "You should be able to get more intel."

"Jeez! You know, I can do stuff too, okay?"

"And you do, in the Metaverse! But come off it, Ryuji, you know you're not the best at keeping secrets. And I can't make my presence known when I'm the one robbing everybody. A third member taking care of internal affairs in the palace could help us out. What do you say, miss? Wanna team up?"

@Jeremi​
 
Kassandra folded her arms as she pondered her options. "There is something more sinister brewing in court, if it's not Walhart himself then there's someone else. I do not wish to see a place like Enbarr fall into more chaos considering the circumstances." She nodded to herself. "I will help you, try not to get caught okay?"

@Yun Lee
 
"Hell yeah! And don't worry about us-we haven't gotten caught yet!" He paused. "Well...last night doesn't count."

"I'm able to text Ryuji, since the two of us have phones," Jenet said. "This trailer came with electricity! Who knew? But he can be the middle man between you and I, since I have to stay here until this all blows over." She sighed. "I'd love to go out on the town after all this...but considering our anonymous benefactor has the scoop on the elite, that probably makes them one, too...and who knows what they could pull on us if we tried bailing."

"It's not all bad," Ryuji said. "I mean, I'm just glad to put these shitty adults in their place! And if there's a Palace here in Enbarr, I can't wait to get inside and find that treasure!"

@Jeremi​
 
Kassandra put a pin on what 'phones' and 'electricity' was for later. "As I said I will try and cover for you the best to my ability, but perhaps if you played it a bit more smart I won't have to step in to save you."

@Yun Lee
 
Ryuji scoffed. "Are you for real? I was doing just fine until you distracted me! I could've taken that Shadow down myself in half the time!"

"We can fight about who needs what help later," Jenet said. "Right now can we just work together?"

Ryuji grumbled some response, and Jenet sighed. "Anyway, we'll keep you posted if a new tip comes up, unless you hear of one from your own investigations. And as for YOU," her tone made Ryuji jump a bit. "I swear to God if you get caught again..."

"I won't! I promise! This was a one-time thing, I'll be more careful!"​
 
Kassandra smiled. "Don't worry I will inform you if I come by information." It was probably best to keep Dorothea's knowledge of the situation a secret for now at least. "Perhaps it is time for us to return to the castle. Someone might start to wonder about our asbence."

@Yun Lee
 
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