As Renar continues to spit fact that may seem unknown to the Lanceans, Maya turns her full attention to her distracted son instead of the gryphon. Of course, she has her own plan too especially about the poisoning/ruining of the elegant meals that their target intends to prepare, so she does reveal it to her son. In terms of other matters though, Renar appears to be several steps ahead of her, such that she suddenly becomes lost for too long to keep up; At least she finally see a map of his. It'd definitely be handy for her to attempt to figure out so she and her son don't get lost in the future. Though she mostly agrees with his plan, there was one detail that she just doesn't quite get.

"Eh?! Cho- chottomatte! (ちょ... ちょっと待って, Wait a minute!)" She whispers into his hidden ears so softly that no one else is able to hear her speak Japanese this time. Though she totally understands what he son intends to proceed with for the operation, she's especially lost on the walking to that particular city he's pointing at... which she can't read at all. "Why we... walk... for so long?! Is... just... To warn... enemies? Doesu... defeat... purpose... purotectu... look bad though? Aren't... fight... them? I don't... get it... | Why do we want want to walk for so long?! Is it just to warn our enemies? Doesn't that defeat the who purpose of this entire 'protect him top look bad' scenario though? Aren't we actually fighting them too? I don't get it..." 

Whilst she waits for Renar to clarify to her, her hidden tail suddenly sticks high up due to a certain instinct telling her that something was wrong; Her next thing her gaze swivels onto is Liivi. Maya's brows furrow above her closed eyes in a mix of confusion and distrust despite the fact that the tabaxi woman had no intentions of disrupting the peace between them. Kanojo no kokoro ga yomenai. Kanojo wa nani ka tsukekuwaeru koto wa arimasu ka? (彼女の心が読めない。彼女は何か付け加えることはありますか? I can't read her mind at all. Does she have something to add?) She thinks to herself in confusion, but otherwise remains neutral towards her for now as she turns back and continues to discuss with her son.

Renar

"You're misunderstanding something, Okaa-san." I sigh in frustration. "These allies of ours... we... um... they have no intentions of getting into an all out fight." All of a sudden, I panic out of the blue when I hit a roadblock in my head. "I... I only suggested walking there to ensure that the attackers get an understanding of why we'd be defending against them..." Suddenly, I got this hunch that I was being ignored; Okaa-san had suddenly shifted on the leopard woman. Why? Did she have something to say to us? "Um... j... just... uh... Leave her be. Unless if she's... um... yeah... just let her be." I stutter, unsure of what else to say other than that.

My ears suddenly perk up when Mira gives us a clue about Stupid Rixi though. I couldn't resist the nerve to write it down before anyone else could whilst I asked Okaa-san to take ahold of the map for now. Right... so we can force him to break his oath... but how? I think to myself.

Mira

Obviously despite the fact that the gryphon was joking about her being its lunch, Mira didn't take that lightly. Her body suddenly quivers when it said so, and her excitement rapidly turned into horror at that too as her face pales. "HEY! W-w-what are you on about?! I came here to meet you for the first time in person and this is how you greet me?! Rude...!" She pouts. Fortunately her warm smile returns when Alek names it Aquila. Even she couldn't help but beam at his name suggestion. To her it especially sparks alight. However, when the griffon sparks more info about Cezars, her rabbit ears perk up. Oh. So that's his name huh? I didn't get it before until now... She thinks curiously to herself before turning to the rest.

"Hey, this might be some useful info, y'all! Remember that guy we tackled at the cave the other night? From what I heard from it, Adelaide must be responsible for his current persona. She warped him with some insidious patron of theirs and he's forced to follow their grievous demands. It looks like we have to force him out of his oath if we want him to behave normally again..." No response. She turns her head back irritated to find Shugo, Liivi and the supposedly scheming oddballs doing whatever business they have; She trusts that Liivi has heard everything from the rear but... the others? "Wha-?! Are you even listening?!" She fumes for the first time since she was held hostage for no apparent reason.

Shugo, only catching a few words spoken between Renar and Maya, slips the egg back into his satchel and quietly moves over to them. He hadn't really wanted to be involved in Renar's planning, but he felt like he should interject on a few of his points.

"You know, plans don't do anything if you don't share them with the rest of the group." He says jokingly. "I overheard a few things, and it sounds like you are wanting to let the people's army in on our plan? I uh... I thought about that as well, but i'm honestly not thinking it's a good idea. You heard what they did to Pelmeni Lady right?" He seems unaware that he just used the nickname he'd given the woman they'd rescued from Cezars and left in the care of the people's army. "They abandoned her and that's why she'd been hurt so badly." He grips his fists, he hadn't though that poorly of the people's army when they'd first met them, but his opinion of them has been slowly growing worse as time went on. "On top of that, they are trying to sabotage Elmars for the exact same reason that we are. To make sure their own candidate is selected. How do you think they are going to react if we were to waltz over there and tell them that we are planning to sabotage their plan of sabotage in order to sabotage Elmars?" He laughs at his own words, "Oh that sounded ridiculous, but i think you get my point? For all we know, at the very least they could try and keep us captive until the wedding is over."

Hearing Mira's voice, he turns his attention to her. Really? Breaking a paladin's oath can do that? He rubs his chin, "I hear you Mira, but I've got no clue as to how to do that."

Alex's gut clenches when its revealed why he sensed that darkness in Cezars. His suspicions were confirmed however, it seems there truly was something evil at work affecting the oathbreaker's personality. 

He smiles however when the gryphon-- Aquila now -- likes the name and even makes a joke (at Mira's expense). 

His expression fades a bit however when Mira seems to think that breaking Cezar's current oath would somehow renew his old one. "That's... not how this works," he shook his head. "Even if it really was his aunt's fault, he ultimately made the choice to abandon his faith. Sure, his aunt's sin is worse than his, since she led him astray, but he didn't have to abandon his oath. He could have chosen a different fate but instead he let himself be led down the wrong path. ...unless he was bewitched, in which case I still don't understand why his oath would be broken if he didn't intentionally break it. Your beliefs can't change against your will." He paused, "Then again, perhaps he isn't even in control at this point. As I said in the past, I sensed some sort of evil inside him back before we got caught in that storm. It could be that he's possessed... but to me that still doesn't make sense." He sighs, "Its kind of out of our hands at this point, but still good to know. I'll have to let my mentor know next time I see him. Could be that he has a better idea of how to handle this." If it's even their responsibility at this point. Good lord they have so much going on right now it isn't even funny. 

He looks to Aquila again, "Do you have any choice in this whole auction business? What happens if someone you don't like ends up winning the bid?"

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

Alex's gut clenches when its revealed why he sensed that darkness in Cezars. His suspicions were confirmed however, it seems there truly was something evil at work affecting the oathbreaker's personality. 

He smiles however when the gryphon-- Aquila now -- likes the name and even makes a joke (at Mira's expense). 

His expression fades a bit however when Mira seems to think that breaking Cezar's current oath would somehow renew his old one. "That's... not how this works," he shook his head. "Even if it really was his aunt's fault, he ultimately made the choice to abandon his faith. Sure, his aunt's sin is worse than his, since she led him astray, but he didn't have to abandon his oath. He could have chosen a different fate but instead he let himself be led down the wrong path. ...unless he was bewitched, in which case I still don't understand why his oath would be broken if he didn't intentionally break it. Your beliefs can't change against your will." He paused, "Then again, perhaps he isn't even in control at this point. As I said in the past, I sensed some sort of evil inside him back before we got caught in that storm. It could be that he's possessed... but to me that still doesn't make sense." He sighs, "Its kind of out of our hands at this point, but still good to know. I'll have to let my mentor know next time I see him. Could be that he has a better idea of how to handle this." If it's even their responsibility at this point. Good lord they have so much going on right now it isn't even funny. 

He looks to Aquila again, "Do you have any choice in this whole auction business? What happens if someone you don't like ends up winning the bid?"

The griffon shrugs, ("I'll try to escape if I don't like the owner, or someone can just break me out. I know how to defend myself.") She raises her claw.

("But for now, I think you should rest, all of you look very tired, I know, I'm tired too. Sometimes, there are decades where nothing happens, sometimes there are weeks where decades happen. Good luck with your journey ahead.") Aquila says, gazing longingly at the rest of the group.

With Shugo interrupting whatever Renar and Maya were speaking about, Liivi's attention shifts back more to the others. Although she still really doesn't know what the conversation with the gryphon is about.  Other than the bit Mira explained about Cezars' oath. 'Or did we already know he was an oath breaker,' she thinks, as Alex seems to confirm. "The issue was that he was a Shepherdist. But he chose to follow other gods. Could there be something there to use? Those who are not Shepherdists are not always well liked." 

Renar

Initially when Shugo-kun alerted me and Okaa-san, I was a little irritated; You all seemed to be preoccupied with that hideous creature whose species I've forgotten of. Though when Shugo alerts me about the so-called baka I wanted to warn, I blinked as if I've lost my mind. They did what? "What? S-sorry... they... what?" I breathed shakily. Surely they didn't just did so to the gyoza lady... She got ambushed, sure I get. Then she got abandoned. They had a traitor too. That was all I remember. I suddenly felt the urge to shut my eyes and recall what she said... unless if I heard her wrongly at some point...

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

 "You know that day when we met for the second time, right? About a few hours after we departed, we were ambushed by a bunch of mercenaries. Three people—an elf woman and two triton father and son duo, they set up traps and beat us up pretty bad." She explains as she glances around. That 'elf woman' might be Birute, the lady who flashbanged you at the inn a week ago.

"Then, one of the People's Army... I think his name was Radions, and he decided to betray us and join the mercenary's side. Apparently, that upsets the People's Army so much that they ran away and left us and the three other people behind." Janina sighs.

"The rest of the three people—two Kenkus and a kobold... they managed to knock out the younger triton, but not before one of the Kenku took a heavy blow, then they retreated. I was... left behind, and the rest of the mercenaries captured me. They did some interrogating about where Cezars is, and they interrogated me so hard that my leg broke." Janina laughs crudly.

So... Janina was ambushed and the People's Army threw her under the bus—or under the wagon in a medieval context.

I flashback to the present where I met Shugo-kun's gaze again in disbelief. Those two we fought... were they the ones... did... no way... It was them wasn't it? I clenched my fists and bared my teeth to myself. Tsumari... karera no uragirimono no shūkan ni tsuite watashi wa tadashikatta nodesu. Dōshite motto... hayakukara kore o hirowanakatta ndarou? (つまり、彼らの裏切り者の習慣について私は正しかったのです。どうしてもっと早くからこれを拾わなかったんだろう？ So... I was right about their traitorous habits. How... how did I not pick this up from earlier?) "Crap... You're right. Thanks for picking it up for me." I genuinely replied as my face relaxes and my shoulders deflate as a sign that I didn't know; I didn't grasp the fact that those who were in charge of guarding the gyoza lady could just take advantage and... in the end, I decided not to proceed to warn them. In hindsight, I'm relieved because I'm better off not breaking my sore ankles walking this far just to warn them of out plot. I shook my head to snap out of it and began to peer towards the door anxiously. "Um... if you guys are done... we... I... I-I'm gonna head out..." I stutter, thinking that everyone is finished. My mind is left all over the place as I turn to leave.

On the way out, I turned towards Shugo again as I clear my throat. "So... I'm kind of back to the drawing board for now. What are you all thinking of on your end?" I ask him with a firm tone in my voice. I don't enjoy collaborating with people I don't know, but just this once, I'm gonna open up to them a little. I'm giving Shugo-kun plus the others a chance to give their own run downs before this ordeal can be put into motion. The last thing I need for us is to get sidetracked entirely again after the sabotage and Mira-san's election. 

 Mira

Hearing Liivi and Alek ruse over these new theories, Mira might see this as a good time to digest everything slowly. Plus, they've received some starting ground so this could be something. But that may not be useful especially when there are more important events around the corner...

She decides to answer Alek first as she frowns. "From what I can piece together, it's either he made a choice to break it or he submitted due to something like... I don't know... pressure maybe. Sometimes younger people can be influenced or forced by their elders to undergo a path they wish not to follow just like me when I was younger. But... that's just my theory. I'm sure you have your own on how to confront him right? Right?" She puts a paw to her chin at that, wanting to add more on her tongue, but just decided to hold it in, thinking that Alek may be able to confront him on his own or with the rest if her truly needs their help. 

Once that's done, she turns back to Liivi upon noticing her rather confused expression and explains everything that was translated to her. Hopefully the mighty but gentle woman would be able to understand what info she and Alek picked up when she does so; Sure she kind of appears a little flustered after her first meeting followed by that 'joke' almost terrifying her to death, but she's almost certain on the inside, Liivi is dying to know what's up. If Shugo is interested, Mira also tells him as well, though she doubts Renar and Maya would even want to hear this in the first place. "Possibly. Maybe a ritual or something? I don't deem myself religious, nor do I know much about Paladins or other holy groups, but... I do believe that he can still be saved. Just because these people aren't liked in the population doesn't mean they aren't of any worth in any ways." She adds, her accent becoming more noticeable with every pause she made between her lines.

She gives one last courtesy to the gryphon despite her initial disgust. "It was an honour to meet you for the first time. I promise, if you're stuck in a bind, I'll help to find a way out for you. For Holy boy's sake too if I can. May we meet again in the future." Inside, this was a big promise asides from the election and the operation to sabotage Elmars; She may have bitten of more than she can chew in the inside. Nonetheless, unless if everyone is keen on taking their time, Mira follows the rest out and hops slowly besides Alek, wondering what she can do to better help him tackle a scenario like this on his own.

"Alright..." Mira breathes if everyone chooses to also head out, though her brows furrow. "Where were we?"

"Don't worry about it, not all of us can remember everything." He laughs, "That's one benefit of teamwork." He tilts his head as Renar asks for his opinion, he hadn't really expected the shifter to do that. Renar has always been the lone wolf type, perhaps this is a sign that he finally trusts him a little? Eh, best not to dwell on it.
"Honestly, I think surprise is our best tactic right now." He replies, "I doubt either side have any idea that we want to run, and honestly I think we should keep our involvement with Mira's candidacy under the wraps for as long as we can. Since Mira doesn't want anything to do with our side of the plan, we might actually be able to do so. At Elmar's wedding, we can just play along with being competitive guests who will be genuinely concerned when Elmar's is attacked. Of course, we can still go along with our secondary plans of sabotage with the food and drinks." He holds up a finger, "As for the people's army, i still think warning them is a bad idea but, after the wedding if they confront us, we can play it off like this. We were invited to the wedding, and we've still been acting as an ally to Elmars. We didn't want to blow our cover by ignoring the situation, and we figured that all they wanted to do was embarrass Elmars so we could still make him look the fool despite appearing to help him. So, in the end they still got what they wanted. And if they ask why we didn't warn them...well simple, we wanted everyone's reactions to look genuine." He shrugs, "Of course, that's assuming we can keep our direct involvement with the election a secret for a while longer. If we can, it will make it easier to continue to sabotage the others, as they won't be wary of us. I doubt we'll be able to keep the neutral facade up for long, if at all but i don't think it will hurt to try."

As much as Shugo isn't expecting to hear Renar open up all of a sudden, if anything, Maya is too. Or maybe it's because she gets this hunch that he's only doing so to be able to get on the same page as the rest of their so called allies before he closes off again. She's not the best at reading her socially awkward son, let alone deduce on how fast his brain thinks. At least their getting onto some leeway though which is good, because Shugo has some incredible ideas that she agrees with as she nods along. "Hai. I riku it; Hai. I like it." She whispers just enough for Shugo to receive her approval. "Thing isu... Mira-san... on board with thisu? Or I mistaken?; Thing is, wasn't Mira-san also on board with this? Or am I mistaken?" Eh whatever. As long as Shugo, her son and the rst are on board, Maya can also proceed with Shugo's secondary plan too in advance since she's no stranger to that sector. She lowers her down and out of Shugo's eye contact however. "My son... would... said a lot... ri-ku you... if... if he here...; My son would've said a lot like you... if... if he was here..." She mutters to herself. Inside though, her heart is incredibly heavy; Seeing Shugo and her son converse with each other about the sabotage caused her to frown, along with Mira and Alek talking to the gryphon and getting something out of it... there's the strange tabaxi woman. Liivi-san was it? She wasn't doing much, but she was able to contribute info now and then. Plus, her prowess in that battle against those two people that her son, Shugo and Mira were running away from... They're just beginning to dawn on her.

She feels even more useless than Alek. It feels embarrassing enough to not be able to do much especially since what she speaks isn't valid in this world, but especially as a helpless queen unable to contribute anything in a foreign world, it's already rubbing so much salt in the wound than it already is.

Right as you step outside of the fortress gate, you hear someone whistling by a large oak tree. You turn around and see a familiar Tabaxi pirate, Leevi, from a few days ago, beckoning you to come closer.

"Scouting the fort, eh? Good idea to prepare before ya sneak into the Madura Fortress." He takes out a bottle of rum and takes a big swig, then he holds it out for anyone to try. "Feel free to take a sip."

"Ye know, tonight ye could take some opportunity to, I dunno... Plant a barrel of gunpowder in Elmars' bedroom or something, the possibilities are limitless. The closer ye get to the wedding, the more guards there are. Look, if ye had one shot, one opportunity to seize everything ye want, would ye capture it or just let it slip?" He points, his tail swishing back and forth.

"By the way, this afternoon I was taking a stroll at the main square, and saw this poster of this handsome landlubber here, ya mind taking a look." Leevi hands you three papers. At first, it's just a blank sheet of paper, but once you turn to the other side.

You see a crude sketch of Shugo, along with a big red text at the bottom:

WANTED
ALIVE - 50 GOLD 

Leevi walks to Shugo and gives him a hearty slap on the shoulder, "Listen, lad, sometimes, we just want to punch people, and sometimes, we let our desires win. You should be proud of getting a bounty like that! My high score was 65,000 gold!"

He walks back to the oak tree, "I saw a young Dragonborn lass with her pseudodragon familiar putting this poster up on the board, let me guess, ye were in a pub somewhere, you got drunk, you got a bit mad so you decked her in the face, right?"

It's Karina and Canopus, which means Paulis put a bounty on Shugo's head... Which is strange, if Paulis considers you an enemy, then he would put a bounty on all of you, maybe he's targeting Shugo specifically because what he said earlier really hurt his fragile ego.

Anyways, if you have something to say to the People's Army, this is it.

Maya stood there in disbelief. Contrary to her pessimistic outlook a few minutes ago, the kitsune mother in disguise feels partially offended that one: Paulis only branded Shugo as a wanted criminal and not the rest and two: The poster is literally a blast to the past in her face; She's no stranger to something like this and if anything, she's only harboring built up anger instead of fear or dismay. She clenches her clawed fists, wanting to scream her fury but fears that it would worsen things as per usual; She ends up biting her tongue.

"We don't need them." She scoffs. There wasn't much to add, but this may be the best she can relay to both Paulis, his goons and... whatever army her son somehow wounded up with in the past. But then what Leevi hints at something that caused her hidden ears to perk up underneath her hood...

"Cho... I mean... wait..." Maya interrupts Leevi as a light bulb springs into her for the first time ever. "You say... his room... dokko de- UH I MEAN- Where? Where and how... we get in?; You say his room? Where? Where and how do we get in?" There might be something she could do other than do the obvious poisoning of the food; She has something in mind, but that will depend on how they can access his secret stash... and if she can succefully pull it off on her own when the moment strikes. Soko ni nani ga haitte ite mo, yori fuanteina mono ni okikae tari, hokanohito ni sono sekinin o owa se tari suru koto ga dekimasu. (そこに何が入っていても、より不安定なものに置き換えたり、他の人にその責任を負わせたりすることができます。Whatever is in there, I can replace it with something more volatile or let someone else take the blame for it. ) Looking at the posters, another idea spawns in her head and she proceeds to... clutch one in her claws as they perforate the edges. It's a poorly drawn sketch, but that means she may be able to alter them such that they could picture could appear to be someone else instead; She and her allies turn in that 'fake' wanted and then... hmm. Sudeni motto ōku no posutā ga demawatte inai kagiri, korera o watashitachi no kōi ni kaeru koto ga dekiru kamo shiremasen. Joō to shite, watashi wa don'na shunkan mo nogasanai. (すでにもっと多くのポスターが出回っていない限り、これらを私たちの好意に変えることができるかもしれません。女王として、私はどんな瞬間も逃さない。Maybe I can turn these into our favour unless if there are more posters out there already. As a queen, I never allow opportunities like this to slip from my grasp.) She thinks. 

The elf frowns at Maya's question, "Uh, I'm pretty sure she said she didn't want to cheat, but she'll turn the blind eye if we do our own thing. Same with Alex." He scratches the back of his neck. It would have been better if they'd all been in on this together. Then he smiles at her next comment, "Well perhaps someday I'll get to meet him."

Shugo tilts his head at the whistling tabaxi. He'd be perfectly fine with letting that guy put some gunpowder in the bedroom or whatever, as long as no one got hurt anyway. Heck he'd probably help the guy do it so long as he had a good escape route. When a poster is shoved into his hands, he looks slightly confused.

Turning it over, he squints at it, "Eh?" Seriously? These people really are petty. Then the Leevi slaps him on the back, knocking some of the wind out of him. "Wah...? No. I didn't.... Gah seriously?" He facepalms. Maybe he'd be better off going to back to his own country and explaining all these problems to his father.... not that he'd be taken seriously though. Ugh. "This is just ridiculous! That petty bastard. Tch." He almost laughs at how ridiculous this is. He's used to being disliked, and this wouldn't be the first time he'd got on someone's bad side due to something he said, but still...this is just childish. "Well, i'm not sure if this should be a huge cause of worry or not. These things don't even say who wants me."

He's clearly infuriated by this poster, and pretty much forgets that Leevi is sort of part of the people's army. Though the biggest thing he worries about is how this will affect everything moving forward. What will Elmars think if he finds these? Or the people's army? Both parties seemed to think highly of Paulis, so this whole ordeal could easily dash any hopes of playing the neutral party. Heck, will he even be able to attend the wedding? Well, all that's assuming that someone would be able to guess who he's wanted by...

Renar

I had been picking up a lot of info coming from Shugo in these few minutes such that I felt my brain neurons reactivate like they've been hit with an electric pulse from my magic. At least until Okaa-san distracts him, telling him that this is what I could've been saying if I 'was here'. Itsuka...? Itsuka kare ni aeru hi ga kurudeshou ka? Watashi wa koko de anata to hanashite imasu, baka! (いつか...？いつか彼に会える日が来るでしょうか？私はここであなたと話しています、バカ! Someday...? Someday you'll get to meet him? I'm right here talking to you, jerk!) I sulk inside ironically enough. That didn't last long though, as my ears then perk up from underneath the hood that obscures my entire, silver hairstyle when he did ramble on anyways. "Alright. I may add some backup plans along the way especially since what you just said is only a skeletal frame of our entire plan. But of course... I can definitely work with that. Either way, what you just spouted will have to go in our favour... one way or another." Damn it. Why didn't I consult the elf guy earlier? Maybe I was too harsh on the Lanceans; They might not appear to be anything I hoped I'd knew about them, but I totally didn't think this through of how they'd formulate something like this in a similar vein like me and the shifters do. Right now, I aim to assign each of us into phases and what Shugo roughly articulated did raise my hopes slightly, so that's a start.

On the way out, my irritation increased tenfold when I saw that bandit cat again and was handed what appears to be a crude image of a wanted poster of Shugo that caused my anger to furl; I wanted to bare my teeth in response to that, but could only muster irritation instead as I snatched one off his hand. "This it? Or are there more papers out in the wild already?" I reply unamused as I rip up one of the terrible wanted papers; I'm no stranger to these stupid images, but the fact that I'm not being targeted and only Shugo is so is a literal concern. Either way, I elbowed him jokingly despite my stoic face giving away nothing else. "Tch. Shugo-kun, don't let that get to you. If anything, you got to their nerves first. right now you don't even appear to be worth anything on that poster by all means." I'm okay with putting something explosive too, but unless if I'm sure it'll work out, I don't envision doing something messy like what he thinks we're about to do. "Placing something explosive like gunpowder is one thing, but trying to get out without blowing ourselves or giving up our positions is another." I had to remind him. Though when Okaa-san suddenly asks how to infiltrate that stupid bird brain's lair, I couldn't help but stay silent. She must have finally thought of something she can do on her end, so if she does, I'll respect it as much as she wants to respect me. She's also glaring at that poster too. Is she thinking of taking advantage of this situation? Because I know certain royals in the Sword Coast have done so. But meanwhile, I previously had something to say about the People's idiots, but I decided to keep it simple on my end should he wait for us to say it...

"Give your army friends our regards. We have more important things to prioritize. And I'm not insulting you specifically but... they ain't one of us." I scoff to Leevi.

Mira

On the way out, Mira's keen eye catches someone familiar... "What the- you scoundrel...! You here to give us a farewell or something? What are you doing here-" Then whatever "You gotta be kidding me! A barrel of gunpowder is asking for too much! You may as well commit something petty to further tarnish his image instead or something!" Mira scowls before she's handed a poster which she's unamused of. "And what? Why Shugo specifically huh? You're supposed to scare us with some crudely drawn poster like that? You buffoons! Even the cheapest con artist can draw something better than this." She was unable to overhear what Renar, Maya and Shugo were discussing as she hangs back with Liivi and Alek in tow, but she trusts that they're planning something just as big as she hopes; Speaking of Shugo, she felt that after what Leevi did to snap his senses back, she hops over and rubs his sore back (or his waists, seeing how tall he is in comparison to herself). "My friend. Don't be discouraged by the fact that they've put you on edge. I know you're much tougher than you look. It's just like what Renar said: You've doe nothing but to scare them to their knees." She chuckles, hoping to raise his spirits even more before she bounces back to where Liivi and Alek are and gives them a small rub of affection on their hands since she's so short.

"The wandering soul knows no rest it seems. (Loveless Act I) Put the missing bounties on us if they want, but that isn't gonna sway us in any matter. We'll pretend that we didn't see that in the meanwhile." She stands firms, her tiny arms crossed in defiance. "If you're gonna reach out to the People's Army too, I don't have any intentions of cooperating with them unless they request it; tell them my respect for them is as void as mine for Elmars. But in the meanwhile, we'll be fine on our own."

Shugo blinks when Renar elbows him, and looks confused for a moment when Mira starts trying to... comfort him? After a small moment of silence, he laughs, "Thanks you two, but I really don't care what that guy thinks of me. Honestly his doing this is actually quite funny... I'm more worried about how this might affect the trial.... and... well I've never cared to much about what most of my family back home thinks of me, I just hope this doesn't tarnish my reputation farther... possibly in a way that is completely untrue." He shrugs, "But i guess it really doesn't matter, what with the world possibly ending and all." He crumples the paper up and tosses hit behind him.

He doesn't particularly want to say anything one way or the other to Leevi, so he waits for the tabaxi's response to Renar and Mira's comments.... specifically Mira's.

"Oh, okay then," Alex says to Aquila. "Well I wish you the best. I'd put in a bid but... I'm kinda short on coin..." His expression falls for a moment, "But I'm sure there are plenty of good people out there. And I hope whoever wins the bid is good to you and that you like them."

Once their goodbyes are settled, Alex follows the rest of the group outside. He frowns upon seeing the wanted poster, "Why...? What did Shugo say to Paulis that was so much worse than the rest of us? I mean... he clearly wasn't a fan of any of us after our conversation. What sort of tactic is he trying to use?"

He shakes his head, "Try not to worry too much. Whatever happens we'll deal with it. Like you said, there is nothing on the paper that says who exactly is after you. And it seems like everyone knows that Paulis kinda... well, doesn't seem to like very many people considering he has a mine field for a front yard." 

His eyes widen slightly as Mira says her respect for the people's army is void straight to Leevi's face... Weren't they going to keep that a secret for now? Well, she did say 'unless they request it' to whether or not they'll cooperate. So he won't say anything to make that more... obvious or awkward. 

"Honestly I personally have no intention of getting involved with either candidate. I'm not a fan of foul play, so my goal here is just going to be rooting out whatever cheating tactics Elmars is trying to pull." He looks to Leevi, "What brings you here? Scouting?" It would be interesting if they actually did plan to plant some gunpowder in Elmars's room. They could use that knowledge to their advantage and... maybe warn Elmars a little too late?

"Leevi! How strange we run into you once again," Liivi says after the others have greeted the pirate. Or People's Army man. Or whatever he was. "It is quite the coincidence." She is taken aback by the news of there being a bounty and Shugo though. "Shugo! A bounty? How can they do that?" She honestly is not all that aware of such things or how they might work, but it seems confusing to her.  "We should put a bounty on them! On Paulis! He sent his people to attack us!" 

She calms down a bit as others speak. And Shugo himself seems to accept it and is not worried.  Though the mention of the trial does have her worried. "Won't they see the bounty when he comes to court and just have Shugo held?  Will it be safe for him?"  

The discussions of sabotage plans and asking for Mira's stance also has her upset. 'Was it not clear that Mira wanted to stay above such things. To not be a part of 'cheating' to win. And of course, Alex as well.  Such planning probably needed to be done without them around. Somehow.'

After Mira comforts Shugo, she is a little surprised at how she comes over to her and gives her a rub of affection on her hand. 'Is that a common customer for her?' But despite not being totally sure what it means, she does take it just as a sign of reassurance and maybe thanks for being there.  It would be easy to pat the smaller rabbit-woman on the head, but that seems... improper.  So, she leans down and ever-so-lightly touches Mira on the shoulder, trying to return her simple gesture. 

"I was just joking, come on, lads." Leevi shrugs, "You need saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal. There is a saltpetre mine about six days walk away from here, ye can get charcoal just by burning wood... But sulphur will be a tough one, this region doesn't have any active volcanoes, so that's really impractical." But you know where to find sulphur, though, there was that underground area where Ishshi and other fire elementals live, you can just go there and get some.

"Elmars' room is--" Leevi pauses for a moment, then clicks his tongue. "Almost let me tongue slip there, rule 7 of the pirate code: never tell crucial information to someone who isn't your ally, and I don't think ye are formally part of the People's Army yet."

"Now, lads, say it with me." He places his paw over his heart, "I, Name Surname, will dedicate my heart, body, and soul to the cause of the people. My duty is to bring liberty, equality, and justice to the people of Kerwos and beyond, and I will give my life to the better future of our children."

"Those are very nice sounding words there Leevi. But I think you misread the room," Liivi says. "If you expect us to just jump on board with your People's Army just like that then you are truly crazier than you first appeared."  She shakes her head, looking about to see what her other companions think of his sudden intention to enroll them in his cause. The tabaxi is tempted to turn the tables and offer to him to join their cause. She's just not sure that they want to tip their hand as to exactly what they are up to.

Having said her bit, she steps back a bit, letting the others respond as well. 

Mira

Is he ignoring me?! Furious her remarks got ignored, Mira had to grit her teeth at his crude remark and then his attempts to coerce the group into taking an oath. "For once I agree with my fellow cat girl here. Look around the outskirts, pal. You think we're the type to be easily seduced into joining your alliance for the wrong reason?" Mira agrees as she holds out her fist to her, thinking she'll react with her own for a fist bump (she didn't). She retracts her own tiny paw in annoyance however and her face curls up into a distrustful snarl.

"If my mother doesn't want to associate with an army that backstabs innocent lives in the first place, then I've got no reasons why I shouldn't either. You heard about a poor lady out serving delicious pelmeni that was abandoned and left to be crippled by your own men? Even if they were supposed to fend off bandits, they made the wrong choice of leaving her behind instead of at least ensuring she was okay!" She firmly articulates before crossing her arms. "You say a noble must stand his or her ground right? Well I'm doing so right now: Give me one good reason why I would allow myself to form an alliance that is just as bad as our target, let alone repeat back your so called oath with you. Either that or you denounce your case right now and fight for our cause, regardless of whether you view us as allies or not."

She turns back to Alek, Maya, Renar and Shugo with her face unchanged. "I hope you guys know why us ladies are standing for this." She deadpans in a dead serious tone.

Renar

Waiting for that brutish neko to speak his word and the everyone to side for our own cause, I drifted back into my head as I envision myself organizing the group into their strengths, especially when infiltrating that bird brain's lair. Even if we don't have gunpowder, I have plenty of alternatives to consider, along with whatever ideas the rest have yet to spew... At least until I was momentarily snapped out of my head when Liivi-san and Mira-san suddenly snapped for no reason. I suddenly became alert at that. Did someone else say something? "Uh-? Wait... what's- what happened?!" I suddenly asked out of the blue with a dazed look. I raised an eyebrow when that neko suddenly starts reciting a sworn oath... Wait... Nani? (何) That... wasn't what I was expecting. Also why's everyone getting so riled up? Isn't that man supposed to answer our replies saying that... or... did I...

I arched my head down at my clawed hands trying to retrace my steps. Oh shoot. Matte... Nani o minogashita nodesu ka? (待ってください...何を見逃したのですか？Wait... what did I miss?) I glanced at Shugo and Okaa-san, my head sprouting an imaginary question mark on my head. "Um... d-did... did I miss something...?"

"Eh?!" She startles when Renar suddenly jumps out of the blue. Seeing her son suddenly phasing out for no reason whatsoever isn't rare but clearly unexpected especially during a time like this where he's usually so calm and composed. Either way, once Renar does come to his senses and asks her and Shugo what he missed, she told him what has been told, out of both disgust and worry. However, hearing that Leevi is offering one final chance to forge a temporary team-up, Maya's ears twitch. This had been her son's plan all this while before he asked Shugo isn't it? To coerce that army to work with them for their own needs?

Her heart sinks even more when she then hears the other two ladies (Mira and Liivi) besides her repel the idea of allying. Nande? Nande karera wa ima kore ni hantai shite iru nodeshou ka? (ナンデ？なんで彼は今これにハンタイしてるのでしょか? But why? Why are now they so opposed to this?) This isn't good. Her new idea mainly involves her putting her royal knowledge to use and wrap the army around her fingers in order to gain the upper hand, which is ironic considering that she never does this in the Sword Coast. If that weird tabaxi has forbidden her from infiltrating without being spotted, there goes some crucial info that she could make us of unlike her first few hours stepping foot on this planet; Even if it doesn't become of use to her, her son and the rest of the group may be able to utilize something out of it. If they don't score the alliance just like her son initially planned, she might miss out on valuable info her own trickery even if the group doesn't plan to set it on fire through violent means. She can see why her son was initially aspiring to forge (or feign) an alliance in the first place too, but since he's currently too dazed to confirm his stance, she decides to speak up for him, just this once...

"I... I... will b-buring...; I-I will help! With... m-my-" She brings Renar closer to her as her voice tremors in fear... "Me and... t-this boy here... we... we work with you! If you... tell us... how to... help buring... him down!" She announces, albeit this time her voice is so shaky that even the amulet is unable to detect what she's saying underneath her distinct accent. All of a sudden, despite the fact she's bracing backlash from the group, she's finally decided that it was time to step up for her own cause. Yes she's pulling her clueless son into her side for once, but as a queen closely guarding her future heir to her own throne, Maya needs to act like one. But now she needs to relay her part to the rest... if they can even settle to 'join' the group that they're refusing to ally with.