Before-notes:
1. Dhikshe and Maityo, in case you forgot, are the Ayuthay palace guards from Chapter 3. Dhikshe also was the one whom Rief overheard gossiping with Tsaksido, a young nobleman. Genvalis was Paithos' frustrated advisor from Chapter 2.
2. I really like reviews. Please don't hesitate to leave one :).
CHAPTER 12: BATH OF BLOOD PART II
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Ayuthay
The sound of approaching footsteps cut through the haze of Rief's confusion and hysteria, and suddenly everything seemed to fit together.
Somehow, he had found himself in some luxurious bath chamber. He was wading in the water of a fairly large bath, fully clothed. The water was very warm, with large, smoke-like clouds of a thick, red liquid swirling around throughout it.
That red liquid was blood.
Most of it was coming from a corpse, right next to Rief, of an old man whose throat had been slashed open.
The old man happened to be the King of Ayuthay.
The rest of the blood came from Rief's own foot, which had been ripped open when a knife plunged into it. Rief himself had dropped that knife out of shock, which meant that he had previously been holding it.
"King Paithos! Are you all right?!" Rief heard a voice cry. The beat of footsteps grew louder and faster. It was like an occult drum, beckoning the coming of the end.
In any rational analysis, the obvious conclusion would be that Rief had murdered the king of one of the most powerful kingdoms in Ei-Jei.
Rief twisted to face the door to the chamber, his wounded foot wrenching with pain as he pivoted. He saw that the king's body wasn't the only corpse here: bodies were scattered all over the bath chamber's tiled floor. Puddles of blood outnumbered puddles of water. The sight was incredibly grotesque, but Rief's consciousness merely took note of it without any recoil. His nerves had become numb from the horrors he had previously seen, and now the instinct of self-preservation had kicked in.
If the palace guards see me here, armed with a dagger in a bloody bath chamber full of corpses, there'd be nothing I could say, Rief realized. He didn't even have a good explanation to himself, except that he couldn't imagine himself murdering the king and had no memory of doing it.
Rief knew that he had to escape, somehow. But he had no idea how. The only exit he could see was the door, through which the guards would be bursting any second now. How in the world did I get in here, Rief wondered. This chamber was obviously part of Paithos' Palace; the guards obviously would never willingly let anyone into the king's bath chamber. His psynergy didn't feel like it had been used, and there was no way he could have fought all those guards all the way up to the king's bath chamber with just a dagger.
I have utterly no idea how I could have possibly gotten in here, Rief conceded painfully, and that means I have no idea how to get out.
I'm finished, Rief despaired. Who would've thought, after fighting against all sorts of monsters to save Angara, I go to sleep in a hotel and wake up about to die, framed in some freak murder scene in a bath chamber, with no idea how I got there?
Rief looked back down at King Paithos' hideous corpse. It was ironic for him too. Having just recovered from a life-threatening illness, he was suddenly slaughtered while bathing, not expecting a thing. Death sees no value in human rationality and gives no warnings, observed Rief grimly.
Suddenly, the thumping of footsteps stopped. Rief knew what that meant: the guards had reached the door. He gulped, awaiting fate.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
Unlike Sahha, Kolima still resembled the town from which Tyrell had departed months ago, before the Eclipse. That wasn't to say that there weren't plenty visible signs of damage, but Kolima wasn't the corpse that its southern neighbor had become. According to the town's inhabitants, the Waelda, local tree deities, had managed to protect the town from most of the carnage the Eclipse brought. Afterwards the rebels, wholeheartedly supported by the population, had gained control without any fight, so there was no damage from the current conflict either… yet.
There was, however, one fairly major difference: the town now had a new layer of walls. These climbed much higher than the original structure, which remained behind the new one. A few sentry towers had also been added. Mindful of local sensibilities, the rebels had built the new fortifications using stone rather than wood, giving the town a forbidding, fortress-like air.
When the sentries recognized Karis and Tyrell, the stone gates were flung open for them. Inside, most of the scenery of the town remained the same, and they were enthusiastically greeted by many of the same villagers they had met in their previous stay. However, the population as a whole was quite different. Many of the able-bodied men were missing- presumably fighting or dead in Sahha- and many of those that were present were armed. They constituted part of the moderately sized force of rebels who were stationed to protect the town.
Most activity in the town seemed to revolve around the conflict, and a tense air pervaded the town. Rebel fighters regularly entered and exited, probably going to and from Sahha. Those that returned were swarmed by townspeople, who were glad to see them still alive and anxious to know how the latest news from Sahha. Everyone knew that their town would be attacked once Sahha had fallen.
"If Morgal's army ever makes it here, they'll consider everyone here guilty of helping the rebels," Tyrell noted, as he and Karis walked through the village.
"Well, they all are," Karis observed gravely. And she was right- the families of Kolima housed rebels and sent their sons to fight alongside them. The women and the elderly prepared food and tended to the wounded, while the children of the town sat in the branches of the town's trees, acting as scouts. Everyone is involved somehow, so everyone is guilty.
"And that means," Tyrell realized, "that everyone here will be punished if Morgal takes the town."
It could even be annihilated.
"Yeah, it does," Karis affirmed gravely.
Tyrell clenched his fists.
"We shouldn't be concerning ourselves with these things though," Karis said. "We're only trying to rescue Amiti as soon as possible, right?"
"Yeah," Tyrell agreed, rubbing his finger.
The two then headed off to the inn, not wanting a repeat of the last night they spent in the woods.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay
No one could dispute that Ayuthay's capital was well-guarded. The whole city was surrounded by a lake and enclosed within a nearly impenetrable fortress. Only the royal family and the nobles could navigate the secret passageways to get inside. Everyone else needed the approval of its guards.
This was the reason that Kaocho failed to conquer Ayuthay. Kaocho had successfully crushed Ayuthayan resistance throughout the countryside, and yet it pathetically failed every attempt to breach the capital city. To complete the humiliation, a small troupe (which Arcanus strongly suspected to include a familiar group of adepts) exited the castle, defeated Kaocho's generals in combat, and took them prisoner, forcing King Wo to evacuate the rest of his forces from the kingdom to salvage what was left of Kaocho's military reputation.
Within the city, the palace was at least as impenetrable. It had countless guards and security protocols combined with what would seem to an outsider like a labyrinth. At various points, the outsider would be confronted by what appeared to be impassable walls. These actually contained secret passageways, which only insiders knew how to trigger.
But none of these obstacles mattered for Arcanus. He had strolled through its defenses many times. They must think they're so safe, surrounded by that enormous lake, Arcanus thought, amused. Little did they know, water was no obstacle for him.
As Rief stared gravely at the door, the water beside him began violently churning, frothing and steaming, just like it was boiling. Clutching his stained robes, closing his eyes and holding his breath, Rief didn't notice Arcanus materializing from the rising steam.
The guard's footsteps pounded closer and closer. Arcanus had come exactly on time, just as he planned. If he was the slightest bit later, the whole plan could go awry. Most people would not take such risks, but Arcanus always did. If there wasn't any peril for him, he might get bored. In Arcanus' mind, boredom was a far greater threat than the inconceivable notion that he could miscalculate.
Immediately after emerging from the steam, Arcanus flung his hand forward and waved it to the side. Steam billowed out of the tub, quickly spreading throughout the room. It smothered the guard's vision as he opened the door, rendering him unable to see a thing.
Arcanus had complete confidence in his own abilities, certain he would never blunder. However, he had learned through experience that others could throw a monkey into his careful designs as easily as they breathed. For this reason, he tried to control their actions through various means, or at least to be certain of what they'd do and plan accordingly.
However, occasionally Arcanus encountered an actor who was unpredictable or uncontrollable. Such was the case with both Rief and this guard. Arcanus had no choice but to neutralize such actors, lest they jeopardize his calculations. Sorry, my boy, but you'll be going back to sleep.
Arcanus carefully reached over to Rief's shoulder and planted a dart in it. He caught Rief as he fell, and set him down on the side of the tub. Then he turned his attentions to the guard, who was letting out an ear-splitting scream, having stumbled (literally) upon the first of the many dead bodies scattered across the floor.
"Not so calm and composed now, are we?" Arcanus asked.
The guard opened his mouth to demand who had spoken, but he couldn't get the words out. Arcanus was holding his palm out toward the man, beckoning the steam to gather and condense in his throat. The gallons of water materializing in his mouth muted any sound he might've made as Arcanus approached him.
Once close enough, Arcanus deployed another dart on the man. He ran forward to catch the man as he fell, and carried him back to the tub.
Arcanus then turned his attention back to Rief. He healed the boy's foot, pried the knife from his hands, and then squeezed on the body. Rief immediately melted into a fairly sized puddle of water. Arcanus gathered the puddle above his hand and froze it into a chunk of ice, which he dropped into his pouch. Rief would be stored there safely while Arcanus hurriedly set up a convincing murder scene that would surely only incriminate palace insiders.
Arcanus deposited the murder knife into the submerged guard's throat, so it'd look like he had been killed by the knife rather than forced drowning. He plucked off the dart, which obviously didn't come from Ayuthay and was made using psynergy.
Once he was finished creating his façade, Arcanus gathered all the steam in the tub and condensed it into a pool of liquid, into which he then melted. Arcanus made his exit through the tub's drain.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
The fair-haired innkeeper was the same woman who had hosted Tyrell and Karis (and the others) before, when they had freed Kolima of its nightmare "curse".
"My, have the glorious heroes from afar come back to rescue Kolima from monsters again?" she cooed.
"Do we have the Warriors of Dawn on our side?" her daughter asked excitedly.
"No, actually," Tyrell replied awkwardly, reluctant to disappoint her. "We're en route to rescue Amiti, who's being held hostage north of here by the Tuaparang."
"That's the one with the long blue hair, right?" asked the daughter.
Tyrell nodded.
"Well then," the innkeeper began apologetically, "I'm sorry, but we don't have room. The few rooms we have here in this tree are more than full."
"There must be hundreds of soldiers staying here," her daughter added.
"Please don't look like that," said the innkeeper remorsefully. "This really pains me, because our gratitude to you is endless, but we have no choice. I couldn't possibly kick out the men who are protecting our lives."
"Hey, but I bet some of them might volunteer their spots if you guys were to aid their struggle," suggested the daughter. "For every beast you'd slay, you'd save the lives of at least ten of them."
"If you'd do that," the innkeeper offered, "I promise I would find a way to help you, no matter how many of them I have to kick out. I know they'd trade their sleep for your assistance any day!"
Karis bit her lip, not knowing what to say. It seemed like the whole world was conspiring to make her break her promise of neutrality.
"You know," said the innkeeper, "if Sahha falls, it could be the end for us. Those animals will wipe this whole place off the map."
"We're not only fighting for freedom, we're also fighting for survival," explained the daughter.
"Could you… give us some time to think about it?" asked Karis.
"Of course."
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay
Maityo feared the worst as he charged down the hallway to the bath chamber. He was following Thavan, the general of the palace guards, as were Dhikshe and Katia, a cleaning maid. Upon hearing screams coming from the bath chamber, Segallus, the guard patrolling that area, apparently told her to inform others before he went to investigate it himself. She had found Thavan and reported to him. Segallus never returned.
The sight that greeted Maityo as he threw open the door to the bath chamber was everything he feared and worse. The bath tub was overflowing, the tiled floor covered in puddles of water mixed with blood from the twisted bodies that were strewn all around.
Bloody murder.
Katia let out a shriek of horror.
"I'd recommend you not look; it'll only get worse," Thavan advised the middle-aged maid.
Paithos had reigned for a long time. Maityo was young enough that he had never known another ruler. Paithos had been with the people of Ayuthay through so much. His wise hand had guided Ayuthay to survive the drought, the Sanan invasion, and the eclipse. It seemed impossible that he wouldn't be there anymore.
How can Ayuthay survive without him? Maityo couldn't imagine life continuing without King it?
Maityo held his breath as the four of them drew closer to the tub. That was where his king would be, he knew.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
Karis sat on the same mattress that she had slept on their previous visit. The innkeeper had instructed her to stay here while she made up her mind- a thinly disguised attempt to influence her decision, Karis thought.
Tyrell had left to get food for her. She had found it a pleasant surprise that he was letting her decide on important matters like this without interfering, and of course food was more than welcome, after all that walking. Karis found herself staring at the doorway longingly. But before food arrived, she wanted to have made a decision.
Karis was in a bind. She felt like she was being forced to betray either Sveta or the people of Kolima.
Sveta had been a great friend. Karis didn't want to break her promise to Sveta. And then Fashty's words echoed in Karis' mind: if Sveta couldn't suppress the rebellion, her throne, her kingdom and maybe even her life could be jeopardized.
But then what about the people of this city, who had always been so kind? Karis had seen what Morgal's army could do. It wasn't impossible that the whole town would be slaughtered, and perhaps eaten alive too. The might also burn down the whole Kolima Forest, and Weyard would lose the Waelda forever.
Karis wanted to scream in frustration. No matter what choice she made, she knew she'd be betraying someone. Why did this have to happen? Why did this whole conflict have to happen? There was no outcome that didn't produce losers who would suffer and die.
And as for Amiti, both options would be bad. If they traveled by night, they could get ambushed again before they could reach him. If they fought for the rebels, they'd get trapped in the conflict.
Why do I have to make decisions like this? Karis moaned to herself. She almost wished that someone else would make the decision for her, so then she could at least tell herself it wasn't her choice and therefore wasn't her fault.
At last, the door swung open and Tyrell emerged. He was empty handed.
A lump rose in Karis' throat. Tyrell hadn't gotten food, so what had he been doing? Had he gone and made the decision on his own?
Be careful what you wish for, Karis thought darkly, because it might actually come true…
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay
"Peace be upon you, your Majesty. Ayuthay will never forget how you graced us with your reign," General Thavan swore as he knelt before the tub in which his monarch's corpse lay. Paithos had been stabbed in the throat multiple times. It was grotesque.
Dhikshe and Maityo collapsed to the ground before the tub, wailing in grief.
"Who would do such a thing?" Maityo demanded. He got no answer.
There was another body – Segallus' - lying in the same tub, though the guards barely noticed him. Katia, however, noted the knife in his throat - the murder weapon. Segallus had been the last to die.
"Well, men, we must clean up this mess here," ordered Thavan. "We must prepare to give our king a proper burial."
A deep unease arose in Katia's throat. Something was very, very wrong here. A monarch had been murdered in cold blood along with a score of his attendants, and these men were just cleaning up the "mess".
"There was a cold-blooded murder here, blood everywhere," she ejected, quivering, "and you, you guards, you aren't a bit concerned about it, are you?!"
"What… what do you mean," Maityo asked, his eyes wide.
"Someone murdered our king, someone is a murderer," the woman explained darkly, "and they are in this castle as we speak. And you're helping them get away with it."
"How can you say that?" Dhikshe demanded.
"Unless you guards are completely incompetent, there's no chance that it was an outsider to the palace. Someone betrayed and murdered our king, and they reside right here among us! You're cleaning up the scene of the murder, and erasing all the evidence that could implicate them!" Katia cried, shaking with anger.
"How dare you, you insolent cunt!" Dhikshe howled. "How dare you insult-"
"Dhikshe, that is enough!" barked Thavan. "Both of you two- take our sovereign's body from this wretched place immediately!"
The two guards quickly carried the barely recognizable corpse away.
Katia opened her mouth in protest as they left, but Thavan seized her and cupped his hand over her mouth.
"This is for your own good," he explained. "I know you're hysterical, but you mustn't let yourself say such things."
Once the guards' footsteps faded away, he released her gently.
"Do you just not get it," Katia spat between gasps, narrowing her eyes at the guard general, "or… is there a reason you want to destroy the evidence?"
"You're only a maid, you're quite vulnerable," he mused. Is he threatening me? Katia thought, alarmed.
"I-I-I let the hysteria get to me!" she stammered. "Forgive my tongue, General."
Thavan frowned. "Yes, I actually realized all of these things myself," he said gravely, "but there's another part of the picture too."
"What do you mean?" Katia asked quietly, fairly afraid that with anything she said could endanger herself.
"Look at this situation: while our heir-apparent is mysteriously missing, our king is murdered with no heir chosen. What could that mean for Ayuthay?"
"Someone wants to usurp the throne."
"Yes of course," Thavan said. "You're smart for a maid, too smart for your own good in fact, but here I'll ask you to use your brains. There's no clear heir to the throne and many possible claimants. What does that mean?"
"They will all fight for it," Katia realized with a gasp, "and plunge this kingdom into turmoil."
"Exactly. And it gets worse," Thavan said gravely, "because many of our neighbors are unstable and hungry after this Eclipse. If they sense weakness or disunity, they could attack."
Katia hadn't realized just how grave this crisis had become.
"You are not to say a single word to anyone about what you saw here, understood?"
Katia nodded. She knew she had to trust that Thavan was just doing his best to protect Ayuthay from disaster.
"All people should be told is that a freak accident occurred here," Thavan thought aloud, "and if anyone questions this story, they will have to be silenced for disrespecting the dead and the court."
"But then, who will rule this land?" Katia asked timidly.
"It will be placed under military rule for the time being," Thavan answered.
And with that, all of Katia's suspicions returned. She hoped none of showed on her face, but feared that it did. Thavan narrowed his eyes as he studied her.
"You know," he mused, "it's really such a waste. A woman as sharp as you shouldn't be a maid."
Katia stared at him, confused and afraid to speak.
"I've always had my qualms about the rigidity of society here," Thavan explained with slight smile, "and I think you could be good for me."
Thavan reached out and stroked her cheek with his finger. Katia shivered in fear.
"Don't be afraid," he coaxed, "as long as you are good to me, I can be very good for you. You'll be wasted no more."
Katia knew better than to protest or resist him. Besides, she didn't really want to. Her monarch had just died, but this was becoming quite a good day for her.
"You won't say a thing, will you?" he asked.
"I would never," Katia breathed.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
"Hey," Tyrell said, "don't look so down- we're getting free food. It's not fancy, it's the stuff the resistance fighters get, but food is food and we need it."
"... and how did you arrange for us to get this food?" Karis asked, fearing she already knew the answer.
"We've also got ourselves hotel rooms now too," Tyrell said, grinning.
He had done something for the rebels.
"What have you done for the rebels behind my back?" Karis asked coldly. Karis was furious at Tyrell, but she was even angrier with herself for letting herself get duped by Tyrell, of all people.
"I gave them information, that Fashty wants to attack them through their sewers," Tyrell answered. "I got us a room and also a meal, without getting involved in the actual fighting or delaying the mission. C'mon, you gotta admit, that's pretty good, isn't it?"
It actually is a fairly good balancing act, and quite resourceful, Karis admitted silently. Karis was even a little relieved that Tyrell had taken the decision-making, and therefore the guilt, off of her shoulders. But that didn't mean she wasn't furious.
"You don't get it, do you?" she spat. "This is really serious!"
"No," Tyrell replied, surprisingly calmly, "it's you who doesn't get it. I'm rescuing Amiti on my own accord, and I'm doing it my way. At first, you tried to stop me-"
Karis tried to protest this narrative, but Tyrell kept going.
"-when I took off anyways, you forced me to let you come along and forced me to pay double at the steakhouse by pretending to be my bride. Maybe you thought you could boss me around like you always have, but you were wrong. I'm rescuing Amiti; you're just coming along."
Somehow, Tyrell had managed keep cool throughout this whole affair. He still had his typical fiery determination, but now, for probably the first time ever, he had controlled his impulses and adroitly manipulated the situation. This was probably a great improvement for him– after all, that was much closer to Karis' own preferred method, which worked much better – but she found it infuriating.
Tyrell was obviously quite pleased with himself. For Tyrell, Karis observed, this is golden. He managed to help the people of Kolima while avoiding armed confrontation, he gets food and shelter without any delay in rescuing Amiti, and he has the satisfaction of successfully duping me.
Perhaps it was a sort of sweet revenge for Tyrell, Karis thought, to finally be able to present her with a fait accompli. Perhaps he considered it an accomplishment. But this was a serious matter, involving vows to friends, lives of countless people and the fate of a major war.
"How childish, how petty of you," she spat.
"What, it bothers you that I can make decisions without your permission?" Tyrell asked smugly.
"You're soooo proud of yourself, aren't you! You finally duped me real bad, just when I thought I could trust you! You must think you're such a genius now- well, good for you! Congratulations, but what about Sveta? Did you even think about her, one bit?" Karis demanded.
Tyrell opened his mouth but closed it. Karis doubted that he'd even considered Sveta's position.
"You heard what Fashty said!" Karis exclaimed, "you know what could happen to her if she can't put down- "
"Karis, shut the hell up!" Tyrell interrupted, making a cutting motion with his hand across his throat.
"People can hear us, you know- do you want them to know that you're friends with the Queen?" he whispered.
He's right, Karis realized painfully. Now, somehow, she was the one who had to be shut up before saying something idiotic. Shut up by Tyrell.
The world must be going crazy.
"I'm off to eat," Tyrell said. "Coming?"
Karis knew there was no point in protesting. They needed food, after all.
Tyrell's right, in a way, Karis thought painfully. I am mad because I'm losing control, I guess I am being somewhat of a control freak.
But, Karis protested silently, look what's happening! Now two of the three promises to Sveta had been broken. The only remaining promise was to not leave Morgal's borders in pursuit of Alex.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Ayuthay, morning of the next day
"And that's everything you know?" Genvalis asked.
"Uh-huh, everything," replied Dhikshe.
"This is getting… very interesting," Genvalis mused.
"It was definitely Prince Chafko or his fruity bastard of a cousin," Tsaksido proclaimed.
"How can you defend that claim, son?" Genvalis asked.
"It's simple- clearly, only someone without morality would do something like this. Amiti openly proclaims his hostility to our noble values, and Chafko spits on morality by consorting with all sorts, regardless of class! Amiti is a bastard son born to some foreign trash, and who knows how many bastard peasants Chafko has fathered by now, huh? Only those two are amoral enough to commit a crime like this."
Genvalis nodded. "Well said. These bleeding heart sissies don't care a bit about the prestige of Ayuthay, all they care about are some peasant tramps. And if either of them were to rule, our morals and traditions would crumble, and, without those, our society would descend into chaos and barbarism."
"If Chafko rules we'll have twenty queens, and if Princess Amiti rules we'll have a queen and no king!" exclaimed Tsaksido.
Dhikshe giggled uncontrollably. It was not a pleasant sound.
"It'll be disastrous if Ayuthay spirals downwards like this," Genvalis said seriously, eyeing Dhikshe disapprovingly. Dhikshe struggled to stop giggling.
"I think Ayuthay is in need of leadership!" Tsaksido exclaimed. "We proper men won't sit back and watch this happen, right father?"
"That's my son," Genvalis said proudly. "We must act fast- you mustn't fail me."
"I won't fail you, father," Tsaksido vowed. For all his life, it had always been excruciatingly hard to please his father. This would be the hardest test yet, but he was as ready as he'd ever be.
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Kolima
Tyrell awoke in the hotel room to see an unfortunately familiar djinn bouncing on his chest.
"I… thought I'd never have to see you again, Pewter," Tyrell groaned. "Why… are you on top of me?"
"Geez, you really sleep like a log. You must have no idea how loooong I've been trying to wake you!" Pewter complained.
"Why… are you here? I thought you'd gotten all your 'field experience', so... why am I stuck with you again?"
"You know," Pewter cooed, "it's surprising you've survived so long. Why, if I was a monster, you'd be toast, sleeping like that! Some warrior you are!"
"It's too bad you're not a monster, because if you were I could kill you," Tyrell said through his teeth, almost sincerely.
"Oh, why would you want to such a thing? All I've ever done is bring joy and humor to your dreary life, and instead of appreciation I get death threats! You should be more gracious to others, or soon you'll have no friends," Pewter chastised.
"Just tell me the blasted excuse you have for being here" Tyrell growled.
"Laurel wants to see us," Karis sighed from across the room. "It's actually almost midday- we should get going."
-~:|~~|:-:|~~|:~-
Next Chapter: The Swan Prince
Author's Notes:
*Names:
I. Segallus is from Albanian shkalle, meaning "stairway".
II. Katia is from Turkish kat, meaning "floor" or "storey".
III. Thavan is from Turkish/Albanian tavan, meaning "ceiling"
*Sorry that Karis and Tyrell didn't make it to Amiti yet in this chapter. I tried so hard to fit it in- that's why this chapter took so long. They will make it to Amiti or at least Latakia in the next chapter
*… but hopefully this chapter was fairly exciting/interesting in its own right? Please review- tell me what you thought :).