Not even half an hour after their run-in with Marlowe, they had gathered at one of the peers in Emain Macha and had begun arguing. Alyssia herself was against the so called Marlowe, believing that it had not been an imposter. Hestia, Bandit, and Maximus thought so as well, and she was grateful for their support. Timothy, Noelle, Yale, and Shanna all thought that it was the real Marlowe and that Hestia had been mistaken when she had thought Marlowe could only stay in Avon. This left Milly to be the tiebreaker, and as everyone hassled her onto joining their side, she suggested something in her quiet tone.

"Why don't we just go up to Marlowe and ask him?"

The rest of them were silent for a moment, and Alyssia wondered how she hadn't thought of that. She shook her head and said, "That sounds like a good plan, good job, Milly." This made the more petite girl smile.

Alyssia went through her inventory, which was a small selection of things that she could fit in a small handbag. Everybody had an inventory of some sort, but there always had to be a way to lug it around. She took out the white feather used to teleport her to Avon and touched it, letting the magic inside it wrap around her and whisk her away to what she liked to call Actor's Heaven. In ten seconds, the magic was gone and she was standing near Marlowe.

Marlowe's mask didn't hide the surprise in his eyes when he saw nine people appear before him all at once. Alyssia held back a giggle at the expression. She was about to start speaking, but once again, Bandit beat her to it.

"Marlowe, are you allowed out of Avon?" he asked, cutting right to the chase. Was there no sense of delicacy anymore?

Fortunately, this didn't matter to Marlowe, who simply said, "I have been asked this many times, but the answer is always the same. No, I am not allowed to leave Avon, as it is meant as a prison for those living here." His voice sounded rather bitter to Alyssia, but she didn't take too much note of it. She would be resentful too if she was trapped in the same spot for years and years.

The actual answer to the question was what worried her. If Marlowe wasn't allowed out of Avon, who was the person who approached them not even an hour earlier? He had certainly looked like the actor - same height, same build, same voice. Of course, some things could be changed using magic, and if that was the case they had nothing to lead with.

"Why do you ask?" Marlowe said, flipping through the pages of his newest script. "Or was it just something you were inquiring?"

Alyssia started talking before Bandit could even open his mouth. She explained what had happened outside of Coill and why they had chosen to come to Avon. Marlowe barely even blinked as she spoke, nodding throughout the short recollection to tell her he was listening. When she was finished, he looked as confused as she felt.

"I haven't heard anything about the guardians since they were supposedly defeated by the hero. It is possible that there has been a mistake in the way to combat them. After all, the residents of Avon, including myself, are learning much of this as we go along," said Marlowe thoughtfully. "If you guys were the ones asked, I also ask that you at least look into the situation. It could be that only you can stop this. I would assist, but unfortunately, as I have said, I am bound to this place."

Shanna folded her arms across her chest. "Sure, sure, we can't say no, can we?" She turned to the others. "Come on, we have to get to school."

Alyssia groaned. She had completely forgotten that they had class that evening, even though she shouldn't have, as it was a weekday. She studied sword mastery, magic usage, and archery at the school in Dunbarton, though she always preferred to use her lance. Sighing, she said, "We'd better go, guys."

Alyssia hated magic class. The classroom was stuffy, there were too many alchemy crystals stored in the drawers, and they could never concentrate due to the other classes having fun outside or in other classrooms. Magic was something more quiet, according to Stewart. Personally, Alyssia thought that was a lie, considering she made a lot of loud noises when she was using magic in combat.

"Now, open your textbooks to page a hundred and three," Stewart said, turning to the chalkboard. It was just as well, as Yale was mocking him behind his back.

Alyssia didn't bother reading the textbook along with the class. She already knew about today's subject, having read ahead while she had nothing to do and the others weren't around. Instead, she started out of the window where the fighters were starting their practical lesson. Milly and Noelle were set to spar against each other, which was a horrible match-up in Alyssia's opinion, as Noelle was much better at martial arts than Milly. On the other hand, Milly could learn a lot from Noelle, especially as she had a couple of particular handicaps.

From beside her, Bandit nudged her and said, "Pay attention, Aly." When she glared at him, he continued, "You never know when he might call on you - or worse, when you don't actually understand the material."

Alyssia placed a smug smile on her face. "Remember when you were running around with Timothy, Noelle, and Hestia chasing bandits while commercing because you're just so smart? I was studying this whole textbook, specifically this chapter, since I knew it was coming up soon, did you?"

Bandit blushed and focused on Stewart again. Even though they had known each other since they were little, Alyssia found it a miracle that she was able to tolerate him every day. She blamed Noelle for introducing the two of them, as they were both very competitive with each other and others around them. Sometimes it became so out of hand that their friends had to attempt to restrain them - attempt being the keyword there. Regardless of what she said, if Bandit wasn't in her life she would probably be twice as bored as she normally was. It was nice to have someone motivate her to do her best even if the intention was to absolutely destroy their pride.

In front of her, she saw Yale looking out the window just as she had been. He seemed to be watching the martial arts spar between Milly and Noelle very intently. Timothy, who was next to him, was trying to gain his attention, but it was to no avail. Yale could get like this sometimes, daydreaming as he stared into space. He didn't need to pay attention, as he had grown up already knowing most things about magic. He only went to magic class because he enjoyed the subject.

Timothy stopped trying to gain the attention of his friend, moving his head to see what he was staring at. He smirked, turned around to wink at Alyssia and Bandit, then poked Yale on the shoulder once again. "Yo, yo, yo. You like Noelle, don't you?"

This snapped Yale out of his trance. "What? No, of course not!" he defended, making sure he wasn't too loud so Stewart wouldn't look at him. He had already been in trouble for not focusing on his work many times before.

Alyssia thought about the accusation. If it was true, then Yale was doomed. She knew that Noelle had feelings for Timothy, and if he had reacted in such a carefree way to his own statement, Noelle was bound to be heartbroken. She could almost taste the tears that were bound to come. Instead of focusing on that, she said, "Timothy, either focus on your magic or our little Avon problem."

Taking care of others was exhausted.