Jeanne Alter III

'This'll be fun,' Jeanette watched as the two brats, the Dornish one and the Valyrian one, stared at the harem protagonist. Honestly, after they'd met the Dornish brat, they'd gone back and met with the idiot and the harem protagonist at their own place. After realizing that they had an opportunity to get in with their "Appraiser" (A term that the pharaoh had somehow come up with on the fly), at first, they had thought to put Ritsuka as the appraiser, so he could try and interview the dancer.

Then Jeannette had had to step in. You see, she realized after giving one good look at the idiot that he really just wouldn't work. Being half Japanese, the moron was just not going to be able to fit the image of the sort of man who would be trapezing around Pentos. He looked like a guy from Yi Ti, which might have been out of place to cause questions for the role they needed.

Which was why the guy who could pass for a weird mix of Rhoynish and Valyrian, the harem protagonist, was a much better choice to play the role, and take the lead. Sure, he wasn't a perfect match. But the dark skin and the white hair was just good enough of a mix that anyone questioning it would think that it wasn't too strange. So, they put forward Emiya as their appraiser, said he was from Asshai like they'd fallen into doing every so often, and then put him forward to hopefully get the honeypot.

"Of course," the Dornish brat nodded his head, finally managing to pick his jaw up from hanging out slack. He seemed to step backward as he continued to keep his eyes on the harem protagonist. FInally, he nodded, holding his hand out, "I'll take you to…to my mother."

"Thank you," the harem protagonist coughed, and it was probably good that the two brats were for some reason kind of shocked by their "appraiser's" appearance. If they were being more observant, they would probably be able to tell that the man was blushing. But they weren't so they didn't see that tell, and thus the harem protagonist was going to get them inside this estate.

It took less than a minute for the crowd to be shepherded inside the compound. Jeannette took the time to give a quick look at the walls, just in case they needed to try and make an escape. However, it wasn't too long, as she knew that the mutt was probably already taking all that in even more. He was the one that would probably have to take a fighting lead out of this place, if things went south.

"Magnificent place you got here," she heard the harem protagonist say, and then she felt her eyes twist nearly all the way back into her head. The idiot may have a public speaking problem, but the harem protagonist was just completely incapable of pulling this sort of play acting off. How the harem protagonist had managed to survive as long as he had without their master there was something that frankly dumbfounded her.

"Thank you," the girl said, her eyes warry. Unlike the boy, the fully Valyrian brat was looking over the "Appraiser" with far more…appraisal. Fancy little tart like her probably enjoyed seeing very buff men walking around in fancy clothes, "Though I must ask, what is your reason for asking to meet Mata?"

'Oh,' Jeannette realized, 'So this isn't the Honeypot's other brat,' if she was referring to this missing servant by her given name, more than likely there was another relationship. And then suddenly a small sweat came over her, 'What if this is the actual owner of this Manse…wait, no. If she was, she'd have ended the meeting right away, and demanded we speak to her, or,' she gave one look over the little brat, 'her father most likely, she's barely fourteen now.'

"Well," the harem protagonist continued, giving a gentle cough while looking forward, "She is the head servant here, is she not?" the two brats gave each other a look before both turned back and nodded at him, "Well then, why wouldn't she be the one I am looking to speak to about possibly requesting the purchase of this estate?"

"My mother is just a servant…ser," the Dornish brat was looking at Emiya differently than the girl. He honestly seemed almost floored by his appearance. Yet ever chance he had he gave a look back at the harem protagonist, and he seemed like he was about to burst with a question, "I do not see why you would specifically all react so strongly to her," the boy paused before adding, "After all, your…friends reacted very differently when they heard my mother's name."

Harem Protagonist stared forward for a second, and Jeannette could imagine the swears he was throwing at the rest of them for putting him in this position. Still, he somehow kept his cool, and looked the boy directly in the eye, which was surprisingly not difficult, considering how close the boy was to him in height.

"I…had a working relationship with your mother," the counter guardian finally said, "We knew each other many years ago, and I have been looking for her for a while. I am interested in the property, but I was also looking for several old friends, so catching up with her will be something worthy of my time."

Jeannette sighed to herself. That was probably the best response they could have asked for. Just hope they could keep these questions down until they could get the Harem Protagonist into that meeting.

Finally, after a few moments, they were brought in front of a small little building. The boy walked up to the door of the room, and knocked on that door.

"Coming," they could hear from inside. Jeannette could see both the pharaoh and the monk stiffen at the sound of the woman's voice. That reaction was proven true when the door opened, and the woman herself finally appeared.

'It's the honeypot alright,' Jeannette felt the desire to roll her eyes, 'I'd recognize those tits anywhere,' and indeed, her breasts were as big as ever. That mixed with her soft face and brownish skin and hair pointed this was their missing honeypot. Mata Hari was actually somewhat infamous for having been flat in her original life, but the throne had done what it tended to do, and slapped a massive pair of knockers on her for some reason. Which the woman herself never seemed to mind, and was actively glad for. Just made Jeannette move the honeypot closer to the slutty nun on the scale, but that was a discussion for another time.

Said honeypot was finally looking directly at the harem protagonist. Her eyes were at first full of shock. Then there was a sudden terror, as she seemed to take in his appearance, with some kind of recognition on her face. For a second, Jeannette would have thought the woman was about to scream, but somehow she managed to strangle that cry before it could shoot up her throat. Instead, she took one hard blink, and pushed a calm smile upon her face. She then took a bow before them.

"Tis an honor to meet you," she said, "I understand that you are here to request a possible purchase of this estate."

"Yes," the harem protagonist then snapped his fingers, and suddenly the idiot walked forward, a small chest in his hand. He opened it, and suddenly a small pile of gold appeared. Just as the three inhabitants of the manse saw the treasure, the idiot slammed the thing together. Which was probably for the best, considering only the top third of the chest had gold in it. The rest were some rocks to make the whole thing look more impressive. Wouldn't be good for an actual negotiation of purchase, but it would be good enough to get a foot in the door, "As you can see, I brought a down payment."

"Well," the honeypot coughed, "Then I suppose I can at least talk through some details and, then attempt to connect you with the Magister," the guy who actually owned this place, "So when he arrives, you might be able to complete the purchase."

"Of course," he then snapped his finger at the idiot, who dutifully walked forward and next to him, "I and my man will be glad to speak with you in private, so we can work through the details. That will allow the discussion to be more frank, and hopefully make this less," the harem protagonist stopped, trying to come up with the right word, "intimidating."

"...," the use of that word was "intimidating" enough, from the look of the Honeypot's face, but she nodded, and slowly lead the harem protagonist and the idiot inside. As the door closed, the rest of the group almost all seemed to relax.

'So the plan worked somehow,' Jeannette sighed, 'Honestly, considering everything else he's pulled, this was one of the idiot's less idiotic plans,' she gave an eye to the building, where she could hear the beginnings of a discussion, 'Now, we just need for them to figure out a way to wake her up, but getting her in a private conversation is a pretty good starting poin-'

"If you would pardon me," the little Valyrian wench spoke up. Jeannette and the rest of the spirits of Chaldea turned their gaze towards her, "I must ask…would you be able to tell us about your Master's…relation to Mata?"

"That is non-"

"We are a group of fellow travelers from the past," the monk spoke up, and Jeannette felt the desire to strangle her, super martial artist or not. They were supposed to play this cool, not possibly create contractions with possibly conflicting stories. It wasn't enough to directly contradict what the harem protagonist had said earlier, but push it any further.

"Then why come back now?" the Dornish brat spoke up. He was staring intensely at the door.

"Well," the pharaoh said, "We have been dealing with other business, and it has been a long travel to here from Asshai," the use of the dark city of magic was always useful for cutting off too many questions, "so, we only just recently came here, and found your mother was here. We were hoping to reconnect with her."

"Any specific reason," he continued to push, "She is my mother after all."

'Wait,' Jeannette could hear something in the question, and her eyes were focused on the door again, 'Does he think he has some business wi-'

"What manner of nonsense is this?"

Jeannette immediately hated this person, and as she turned her head, seeing the man only confirmed to her that she would hate him. He was the very definition of a stuffed up Valyrian prick, with the long white hair, the violet eyes, and the nose turned up so high that it made look like the peak of a mountain. He glared down at everyone in the group, clearly knowing he was better than everyone there.

"Ah, brother," the little girl said, confirming to Jeannette that this indeed was not Mata's daughter. The little brat seemed to flinch beneath this prick's gaze. The young man looked down, more defiance in his pose than the girl, but still beaten into submission by class. While the two of their attitudes were acceptable to the prick, her team's clear lack of submission to his "clear superiority" was going to be a problem. Still, the girl spoke up once more, "These are business associates of the appraiser of the manse."

"Appraiser?" the prick blinked, before slowly walking up in front of the girl. He was almost a head and a half taller than her, and he made sure to use that to allow him to dominate her despite his spindly frame, "Why would an appraiser be here now?"

"They only arrived yesterday," the girl continued, mumbling quickly to try and keep the conversation moving, "They wanted to meet Mata before the-"

SLAP

"I'm quite tired of hearing that Dornish wench's name," the piece of shit wiggled his fingers after having back handed the girl. Jeannette saw that the Dornish brat gritted his teeth, while the monk and the mutt both had gone from understanding to ready to fight, "If this appraiser really is interested in this property," the shithead continued, "Then it should be with me," he placed a hand upon his left breast, and nodded to himself, "I am a prince, after all. And Magister Illyrio's most illustrious guest," he then glared at the Dornish kid, "Open the door, and tell your mother that I shall complete the rest of the interview."
"That isn't happening," the mutt stepped between the piece of shit and the door. The smug shit's eyes almost seemed to burst with fire as they stared at the taller warrior between he and his fancy, before they stopped. He didn't make a single move forward, his eyes slowly trying to figure out what to do next.

'Shithead isn't willing to fight anything that might fight back,' Jeannette noted, before stepping forward, 'Need to push this shithead out before he interferes with out plan.'

"This is between the appraiser and the highest member of the staff here," she said aloud, causing the piece of shit to look at her. He stopped, and stared directly at her eyes. Only after a few seconds, did she realize what her error had been.

"An Ash Valyrian," he spoke up, in mock amazement.

'Oh fuck,' she thought to herself, 'Of course this shit heel would know about this,' she shook her head, 'Fuckhead's probably been to Volantis. And that mean-'

"I'd heard about your blight," the piece of shit continued, and Jeannette felt the deep need to punch him, "The Valyrian born without the correct colors, living proof of the death and decay that came from the Doom," he glared at her, "That the Volantine let one of you live to be an old hag-"

'OLD HAG!'

"Is proof enough that we Targayens are the only true inheritors of the Freehold," he then smirked at her, "A proper use would be to take every single one of you, and set them alight. It would be a fitting punishment for daring to insult our people with your stench."

"...really?" Jeannette pushed herself to her full height. She could feel some of her flames dance along her palms, but took in a breath, and calmed them so she didn't let anyone see her nearly perform a sudden burst of magic. Instead, she took in a breath, and then fired back, "One would think that you runts of the west would know better than to bring the Freehold up in any kind of conversation."

"You," the shit stain nearly lunged forward, but caught himself when the mutt pushed forward next to Jeannette. He stopped, his eyes flinging back and forth between them, teeth snarling at them, "You dare look down on the rightful King."

"Rightful king," the mutt snarled. Jeannette almost jumped at the rage in the Hound of Ulster's voice. His teeth were bared, and his eyes were burning crimson, "That fucking chair might as well be a privy for all the good its been," he then pointed his finger directly in the shithead's face, "You better be lucky that King Bob is a better man than your father, or else you would have been dragged back to that festering shitheap of a city, and drawn and quartered in the middle of the fucking square," the mutt then grabbed his outer cloak, and pulled, revealing the picture of the dogs tearing apart a bull, "you know what this means right. So shut your pissy little mouth up, and run away before I tear our your throat with my bare hands."

…

'Okay,' Jeannette took a step back, almost shocked at the rage coming from the mutt. One quick look back at the rest of the party told her that this was a feeling she was sharing with the rest of the servants of Chaldea, 'So the mutt really hates the Targaryens,' she shook her head, 'I know he fought against them, but he never talks about it. What made this whole war and throne thing so fucking personal.'

"I-I," the shit head looked like he was about to piss himself, before stepping backward, and turning, "I don't have to hear this from you," he then began to scurry away, up a set of steps to his room, "I am mightier than you ever will be! I am a dragon!"

"Oh for fuc-," she then marched back to the front, and shouted, "Brat, you better hope you never meet a real dragon. Cause they'd burn you to a crisp!"

At that, the little shit continued to huff away, before diving back into one of his rooms. Jeannette smirked at the sound of the door closing behind him, and turned back to the rest of the group. The mutt was still glaring up at the door, his teeth still visible. She was about to say something, when he stopped, let out one last growl, and turned back himself.

Everyone else was staring at the two of them. In particular, the little Valyrian girl was now doing her best to put the Dornish brat between her and the mutt. Which made a sort of sense, she did seem to be the sister of the shit head, so that meant that any sort of feud the mutt had with her family might extend to her. Still, not worth getting too involved, and considering the scene they just made, at least they wouldn't have to talk too much.

"Sorry," of course, then the mutt had to go and ruin it, "I won't try to kill you or your brother," he waved at the girl, "I just…I just lost some very precious people to me fighting against your family in the war," the hound seemed to drift off, his eyes out over the bay, to the west, "I suppose I just don't like hearing that they were lost for nothing."

"How," the Dornish brat spoke up, "How did someone who fought in the Rebellion end up in league with a man from Asshai?"

"Good question," the mutt said, making sure to bare his teeth, "Too bad I'm not going to answer it."

"...I see."

"Baelon," the Dornish brat jumped, and then he looked back. There was another girl, coming from a different room along one of the walls, "Is mother speaking with the appraiser?"

"Yes," he replied, nodding his head, "I was just waiting out here with our guests, while they are discussing business."

"Hopefully it shant take too long," the girl said. She had strangely matted black hair over generally Valyrian features. Honestly, she looked like a slightly older version of the Valyrian girl with badly dyed hair, "Tis not like she can actually offer to make any sale."

"I think," the Valyrian girl spoke up, trying her best to keep the Dornish brat between herself and the mutt, "That the appraiser and your mother might be doing something private."

"What?" this new girl laughed, "What ever could you think that," she shook her head, "There is much to say about Mata Seas, but to say she is a whore is certainly not one of them."

'Really,' Jeannette felt a bead of sweat develop on the back of her head, 'the honeypot isn't a whore?'

"Well," her brother said, giving a quick look to the servants around him, and then sighing, "I think that this isn't about being a whore," he then stopped, trying to find the right words, "I think that this is a man who had a previous relationship with her, and this might be a rekindling of some kind."

"Oh hush," the new girl laughed, "I've known that woman my whole life, I've never known her to be in a relationship at all."

"Not even with your father," the Valyrian brat spoke up. At that, there was silence. The two girls stared at one another, the younger one realizing she had spoke when she should not have, and the older one taking in the implication of what was being implied. Finally, the girl's eyes hardened, before giving them all a harsh look, a certain rage now there that hadn't been before.

"My father is dead," she finally said, before giving her brother a fiercer look, "Our father is dead."

'Wait,' Jeannette thought, 'They thought the harem protagonist was the dornish brat's dad?' she looked over the young man, 'I mean, why woul-,' and then she could see some of the less Dornish aspects of his face. His stronger cheekbones, his more striking eyes...,

'Okay,' she nodded to herself, 'Those sort of Valyrian features might…'

"OUT!"

The door that the harem protagonist and the idiot had gone into with the honeypot burst open. Falling backwards was the harem protagonist, almost crumbling as he landed on the ground. Standing over him was the honeypot, her hands clenched into tight fists, as she advanced towards the fallen heroic spirit. Following behind them was the idiot, who was trying his best to stammer out something that would calm her, but keeping his distance as she advanced in a rage.

"I won't have you in this place a second longer," their target declared, her eyes locked down on the harem protagonist, who was actually holding his face. She pointed towards the door they had come through less than a quarter of an hour earlier, "You insult me with your veiled threats and implications," At that moment, the moron slapped his forehead in frustration, "You implied I was a traitor and a fool," Jeannette could only give the idiot a look, "And above all, you do so when I know that you are far closer to a traitor than I ever could be!"

"What are you-"

"You knew her," she growled, "Onos. You knew her and she told me about you. You knew her, and could have saved her," she then pointed once more, "Now you all will leave, or I will call for the guard, and they will have all your heads!"

"Fine," the harem protagonist said, rubbing his jaw from the strike, "Fine, I'll get out," he pushed himself to his feet, and began to walk away from her, "But yo-"
"I won't hear anything else from you!" she declared, "Out!"

Jeannette could only walk out bewildered with the rest of the servants of Chaldea. Several were giving the harem protagonist a look of shock, but still, they kept quiet. Better to discuss what had happened when they got back to their manse, and could debrief what happened there.

'Still,' Jeannette gave one last look as their fellow servant, still completely believing she was just an ordinary woman of this plane, slammed the door behind them, 'feels like we just let an opportunity slip through our fingers.'

"What did you do to piss her off like that?"

It had been about an hour to get back to the manse, and during that time the whole group had been eerily silent. Part of the reason for that was revealed when they got a good look at just how badly the honeypot had managed to damage the harem protagonist. She'd actually left a real welt along his jaw, one that seemed to have actually swelled up slightly.

"It is really strange how your bodies react," the idiot, trying to serve his duty as master by applying some anti-inflammatory balm to his servant's face, "I mean, you can actually dissipate like a servant and slam fighters into stone with relative ease. But then there are times where an ordinary woman can lay you flat with an ordinary strike."

"I'm not sure she was a fully human," the harem protagonist said, though he winced after saying it, "I think I managed to get her just enough connected to the throne for her to have enough of her servant strength to get me with a good right hook," he seemed to grumble with the next statement, "Still, E level strength shouldn't hurt this much."

"Says the guy with D level strength," the mutt laughed, and Jeannette had to catch a snort in her hand before it got out. The harem protagonist raised a middle finger to the mutt, who grumbled. Then, the hound of Ulster continued, "So you tried to do what you did with me?"

"Basically," the counter guardian leaned back, "So, I guess our idea of emotional distress related to a servant's real history is able to break through some of the barriers put up by this world. I just didn't get enough of a push."

"Wait?" the pharaoh blinked, before raising a finger in worry, "What did talk to her about?"

"Same thing I did with dogbreath," the harem protagonist said, "I tried to connect her children in this reality to her children in her life in the real world," when no one said anything, he continued, "Mata Hari's children were famously ripped away from her when she was captured for treason and espionage. I tried to imply that these children here were likely to be taken from her by the-"

"Oh you fucking idiot," Jeannette couldn't help but burst out.

"It worked with dogbreath," he pointed to the mutt, who was glaring at the archer with contempt, "The connection was the only thing I could think of after our discussion that might be traumatic enough to snap her back to her real mind," he stopped, and then rubbed his chin, "It even sort of worked, considering."

"We'll try and keep that sort of idea on the backburner from now on," the moron said as he wiped the remaining balm residue from his hand. He wasn't smiling, but wasn't frowning either. Instead, he leaned against the wall, and rubbed his chin, "Not that I don't think it might not work, but if it fails, well, you know?"

"We get kicked out and are treated with suspicion from then on," the Pharaoh spoke up. She looked to the ceiling, "Though I understand the thought process, Emiya. I only awoke after the trauma of my brother dying and having to be judged by the Gods of the Dead."

"Did you see Eresh-"

"Gods of the Dead of Egypt master," she cut in, and the moron nodded. It had been a long time since they'd called into Chaldea. Despite all the extra work, they communication device still couldn't seem to keep a real battery charge, and they needed to keep it for emergencies. Da Vinci was coming up for a plan to get more servants to help down on the plane, but they'd used up all the coffins on Storm Border, and so they were having to come up with something else.

"And I was woken up by the connections in the fire," Jeannette finally added, "Reminded me of…you know."

"Yeah," her master nodded. He then looked over at the monk," Xuan, we know you reawoke yourself from your own character. We never got a real answer for how Arash managed to regain his memories. I just don't know how we're going to get her back and moving with us without more trauma," he then snapped his head up, "And we aren't going to try and cause any here, understand."

"Master," the mutt spoke up, rubbing the pup's head while he sat on the couch opposite the idiot, "Believe me, I don't want to do anything that might hurt one of our comrade's kids," the irishman managed a sad smile, "If Emiya had done anything to Colan, I would have gutted him like a fish."
"Yup," the harem protagonist sighed.

"Well glad to see you two are a bit less pissy," Jeannette muttered. This got the two to stop, and give one another a glare. The pup groaned, and grabbed at his "Da's" arm, causing the mutt to give up and stare down again.

"So speaking of kids," the idiot said, "Anything you can tell me about those two?"

"Oh, well really only one of them that was actually her kid was the Dornish brat," Jeannette spoke up, "The Valyrian girl was actually just another guest of the estate, and there was another girl that was actually his sister," she stopped, remembering the confrontation, "A bit older, honestly, kind of shocking."

"Why?"

"Because she was almost seventeen," she answered honestly, "And considering we've all been here thirt-"

"Ah gross," the idiot groaned.

"What can I say," she then chuckled, "Though funnily enough, for a while, her son actually thought we were looking for the honeypot because the harem protagonist happened to be his dear old dad."

"What?" the counter guardian coughed. He looked almost completely mortified, though Jeannette was able to guess several someones who would have been even more scandalized back at Storm Glider if they heard about that thought.

"Well, the girl said you obviously weren't," Jeannette continued, "But yeah, he thought you might have been his dad," she then stopped, remembering her estimation of the younger man, "Though really, I could see why. He clearly has some light Valyrian features, though his real sister was basically fully Valyrian besides some hair die, and considering we were selling you as having some Valyrian blood…and considering we were specifically asking about a servant instead of the actual owner, it makes sense why he might think that."

"Still kind of weird," the harem protagonist observed, "I mean, really, what a quick thing to jump too."

"Well, after her outburst, I highly doubt he thinks that anymore," Jeannette shook her head, "Though thinking on it, it probably got us in there easier than it might have been."

At that, there was a general nod of understanding. For the next few minutes, they just sat there, trying to think up their next move. Finally, the idiot slapped his hands together, and smirked at the group. Jeannette took one look at her Master's face, and knew already she was about to hate the idiot's plan.

"So," he began his explanation, "Remember when she was knocked Emiya over like a sack of potatoes."

"Yes?" a scowl forming over the harem protagonist's face, "I don't see why we are talking about that right now, but I do remember getting socked by her fist."

"Well," he continued, "She wasn't talking about her children, was she?"

Jeannette blinked, thinking back to Mata's shouts as she advanced on the counter guardian's prone form. She stopped for a moment, thinking about what she had been talking about, and then snapped her finger toward her master.

"No, she was talking about another woman," she said, before her eyes widened, "And she also called you another name," she turned her head to the harem protagonist, "She called you Onos, not Emiya, even though you introduced yourself as that."

"Yeah," Emiya rubbed his chin. He then stopped, "She did seem to be vaguely familiar with me, if only a bit," his eyes then widened, "And she was accusing me of having done something to that other woman, leaving that other woman to die," the counter guardian looked over at their master, "Maybe another counter guardian…she wasn't speaking about me specifically, but someone with my complexion. But she was saying that that other woman had been the one to see this other counter guardian."

"Which means that we are dealing with someone else interfering," Ritsuka honestly could look mildly cool when he smirked like that, "You all said when you were in that Ghis place, there was another mage who was empowering that Ruler, right?"

"Right," the monk nodded thoughtfully, "So perhaps, that counter guardian is another one of the mage's servants?"

"Maybe," the counter guardian spoke up, "Or it could have been an instance of some kind of counter guardian of this plane interfering to protect history," he scowled for a moment, "Wouldn't be the first time that we would let someone die because it was the "correct" thing."

"Either or," Ritsuka said, "Something tells me we are going to find out," the idiot took a seat on the cushions, his back held straight, "I can't tell what, but I was feeling something strange around that place," he stopped, "But if that counter guardian is working for that mage, then he probably has his eyes on this place and on Mata," he stopped, "Actually, that might mean he has his eyes on us too," as everyone tensed, the idiot laughed, "But really, I'm much more worried about her. Even if he does have a counter-guardian, he isn't probably ready to fight five servants."
"I don't know," the crybaby groaned, "Five of us were knocked around pretty badly by his last servant."

"But you all didn't have me," the moron smirked, "Though maybe we should stick together from now on, no one going off on their own," everyone nodded, "But if they do have some kind of eye on Mata, then maybe our next best bet would be to investigate those around Mata," he smirked, "Even if we they aren't either the counter guardian or the mage, we can maybe find out some more specifics for another go at Mata to get her mind back."

"The only ones we know related to her are her kids," the mutt piped up, "And with how we got kicked ou-"

"We know that that place wasn't owned by Mata, remember," their Master then waved his hand, "Anyone pick up on who that place was owned by?"

"A Magister Illyrio," the pharaoh considered, "An official with a name…"

"Then tomorrow," Ristuka slapped his hands together, "We go find out where this guy works. He didn't seem to be in town, but he probably owns some place along the docks," he then stretched his arms up above his head, "And once we find them," he then rested his hands behind his head, "We might be able to get some more information on how Mata got stuck here as an indentured servant."

"Why not tonight?" Emiya asked.

"Well one," their master pointed his finger out into the night, "With how late it is, we are probably not going to be reaching an open business if we leave right now," he then slowly rubbed his other hand behind his head, "And two…well I'm really hungry."

…

"Moron."

"Good girl…just stop moving, and we can get the left wing on…very goo-"

"I hate my dreams," Jeannette couldn't help but groan as she rolled over in her bed. She reached her hands to her shoulder blades, and attempted to rub the slight burning sensation along her back away, "I'd give anything for a fucking tattoo remover."

Of course, there was almost no chance that such a thing existed on this plane besides using fire to burn the skin off. And it had been painful enough to do that to her eye tattoo, thank you very much.

"Hell, would Storm Glider even have one of those?" she asked herself, before shaking her head, "Maybe the fucking inventor might be able to make one when I get back," she took a moment to stand up, and let out a slight wince of pain as she did so, "Maybe she has something that would get rid of all these aches and pains too," she considered, resting her hands down along her side, before removing them when she felt the contours of her body, "And maybe something to get rid of this extra…"

…

"I fucking hate this place," she groused, before pushing her way out the door, "Who gives a shit about the taste, I need that dreamless sleep now."

As she was out in the hallway, she just began to march forward, her eyes pointed forward. She could see the light on from the kitchen, and was glad to know she would just have to bug the harem protagonist again for some of the tea. Sure, it was slightly humiliating to use it again, and the taste was like freshly warmed sewage, but it would be worth it once she got in the-

"Jeannette," the moron said, as he was sitting next to the kettle while it began to let out steam, "You having trouble sleeping too?"
'Fuck,' Jeannette was too tired for a personal conversation with her master, but she was probably going to have to deal with it if she wanted to get any fucking sleep. She pushed her way forward, took up the same position she had two nights earlier, and looked at him.

"Yes," she said, "So I suppose the harem protagonist decided to tell you about the dreamless sleep tea then?"

"Oh yeah," the idiot laughed, "Emiya did tell me about it last night," he stopped, "He and I actually talked about it last night. Said you got some the night before," he looked down at the kettle, "I was honestly hoping you would be up last night, but I was also glad to think you'd managed to get some sleep without any more nightmares," he then shook his head, "Considering what you went through, that's probably too much to ask, huh?"

"Probably," she said flatly. The idiot just continued to stare at the ground in discomfort, and so Jeannette had to push the conversation forward, "What about you? What sort of demons are knocking around in that thick skull of yours."

"Probably not any demons," he laughed, "But, well," he gripped the side of the counter, "I…it's a memory I had, from when I was in the medical bay."

"Guess it's kind of traumatic to get stabbed in the heart by a black key, huh?"

"Oh, it wasn't that," he laughed, "I mean, it kind of was, but mostly because I was so incapacitated, I was kind of dead to the world," he reached a hand up to the side of his face, "I remember it was dark in there, everyone had gone to sleep, but I couldn't move," he then closed his eyes, "And then…and then…Dr. Roman's standing there."

"Dr…Solomon you mean?" Jeannette remembered the final battle with Goetia, and the Grand Caster disappearing in a final sacrifice, "You…you think he was trying to contact you?"

"Maybe…maybe not," The idiot groaned, "It was like," he waved his hand back and forth, "Like he was both there and not. Like I could see him, and if I could reach out I could touch him, but nothing else could tell he was there," he stopped, "And…he didn't say anything. Just stood there," he shook his head, "Before the door opens, and the light shines from the hallway and suddenly he's gone."

Ristuka held up his hand.

"It feels like, gah," he stopped, and gave her one of his dumbass smiles, "What the hell do I know?"
"Feels like what?" she asked, wanting a bit of a further explanation. If nothing else, to keep her distracted while the teas was steaming behind him.

"Feels like everything is slipping through my fingers," he said. He then stopped, and looked at her again, "I lied, it's not just Dr. Roman I see while laying in bed," he stopped, and looked at the ceiling, "I also see Olga Animusphere, and the rest of the staff that died on that first day. I see everyone I met, who died helping us save the world," he then stopped, "And…I see more. Not just all the people I know, but copies upon copies of them, all staring at me, like I'm failing somehow."

"Some kind of parallel universe bullshit?"

"Most likely," the moron admitted, as the steam was finally really beginning to pour out of the spout of the kettle, "Or maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me. I wouldn't be surprised if it's just my mind getting on me about…I don't know…about just letting everything pass by me and not appreciating it like I should…not stopping to take advantage of what's in front of me" he then shook his head, as he grabbed the kettle and began to pour some of the drink, "Now come on, better to just get some sleep, before we have to get up and working tomorrow."

"I'll drink to that," she said, grabbing the cup from his hand, and downing it quickly. For a second, the two just stood there.

"GOD THAT'S AWFUL!"

They both stopped, and stared at one another. Then, Ritsuka looked at her, and she looked at him. His face was twisted like it had been put in a washing machine, and his mouth looked like it was halfway numb. And considering the way his eyes were focused on her, she would not be surprised if her face looked the same way.

"Snrt."

Ritsuka could barely contain his laugh, catching his face with his hand. She did the same for a second, before they both stopped, and just continued to stare at each other. Finally, Ritsuka held out his hand, and she reached out and took it from him.

"Let me take you back to your room," he slurred a bit, the tea already taking affect. She deciding not to push it, agreed, and followed him back to the main room of the manse. As they did so, Jeannette could not hold in a bit of a giggle, and then Ritsuka just smirked at her.

It took a bit of doing, but Ritsuka managed to somehow get her back to her room. They had avoided running into any furniture, and had also managed to make sure not to run into any of the go into one of the other servant's quarters. Having accomplished this nearly impossible task, Ritsuka opened the door. Jeanette made an attempt at an fancy bow, but as she did so, she nearly fell over.

"Whoopsy daisy," Ritsuka laughed, grabbing her, and helping her by the shoulders to her bed. She gave him a nod, and the flopped back onto her mattress. For the moment, they just stayed there, her laying down, and he standing above her. Finally, somewhere he realized that this wasn't his room, and he turned, letting out one last goodbye.

"Good night Jeannette."

Jeannette just pushed her face down into her pillow, the heat already overwhelming her face.

"I love you Ritsuka."

"If you say any word about last night," she pointed her finger at the back of the idiot's head, "I swear I will burn you to a crisp."

"I don't know what you are talking about," the idiotic moron of the highest caliber was practically skipping down the dock. The sing song voice of his just made her want to grab his throat and dunk him into the sea, "We just hung out and drank a drug to let us sleep better."

"I swear to God," Jeannette just continued to stalk behind him.

She had managed to get stuck with the idiot for the day, as they had broken off into three pairs plus the pup for a search of the docks for whoever this Magister Illyrio was, and where they might be able to locate him. On the one hand, it was good that she was going to get the chance to clear the air about what happened last night, and her drugged goodbye to her master. On the other hand, his almost gleeful smugness about it was about to drive her insane.

"Are you talking about when I helped you get in your room?" he almost sung as he dodged around one of the sailors carrying a barrel of what looked like molasses up the gangplank to his cog, "Surely most precious and powerful servan-"
"Stop using that as a way to tease me," Jeannette whined. How silly she must look, a thirty year old woman acting like a silly school girl next to a boy nearly half her age. No one was really paying attention, and none of the other servants were around to notice, but still, it was humiliating. She pointed at him, "You know damn well what you need to forget was said last night!"

"Oh fine," he chuckled, stopping his prancing, and taking a more solid stance, "I know you were just kind of out of your self control," he then gave her a massive smile, "Still, it was really nice to hear."

Jeannette felt heat rise up her cheeks again, and she groaned, rubbing her temples with her fingers. She stopped, stood tall, and then let out a great sigh. She then pointed around the docks, and towards the many warehouses and shops that dotted the shoreline.

"We need to start asking around here. Chances are we'll find that Illyrio's place eventually," as she said this, her master nodded.

For the next few hours, they would spend their time searching through the town for whatever they could find. Ironically enough, Illyrio actually was a more common name than they'd hoped, and there were a couple of Illyrios who were Magisters. That had resulted in at least two different trips to the wrong Illyrio, a man who owned several fishing boats, and who had come in mid-day. Of course, upon realizing he didn't own the manse they had visited, they'd apologized. That hadn't been too much trouble, as this other Illyrio had been kind enough to reveal they had been looking for an Illyrio Mopatis, a cheesemonger, who had a dock to himself alongside a relatively large warehouse. After finding this out, they managed to reconnect with the rest of the team, and moved over toward the dock the other Illyrio had pointed out.

"So think he'll be in?" the mutt asked.

"Well, he wasn't at his manse yesterday," the idiot spoke up, "But, maybe he came in over night," he then pointed at the the very large and pink building that stood high in the sky, "Still, we'll have to maybe ask some questions about whoever is there, to see when he might be arriving if he isn't."

"Hey," the harem protagonist spoke up, "Anyone else notice something strange going on?"

"Like what?" Jeannette looked over at the counter guardian.

"Like it's mid-day, and no one is coming in or out of that building despite all the other buildings being filled with activity?"

The group stopped, and stared at the warehouse. There wasn't anyone actually coming in or out of the warehouse. In fact, if you looked at the dock in front of the building, there were no sailors or traders there either. Hell, it looked like the one boat that was tied up was actually still in the process of being unloaded. Compared to the rest of the harbor, where practically every other dock had dozens of different men crawling all over it.

"This is strange," the monk said, her eyes scanning the surrounding area, "This does not seem to be the place of commerce that was described."
"No reason for the guy to lie to us," the idiot spoke up. Jeannette scowled for a moment, not necessarily disagreeing, but not wanting to seem naive about this either. Slowly, Rituska walked to the door, and knocked on it, "Excuse me, is this the business of Illyrio Mopatis?"

Silence was his only reply.

"Hey," the mutt moved up, and pushed their master behind him, "Let me handle this," he made to raise his hand to knock, then reared his right leg back, and kicked through the wood. The pieces of the door slammed forward, and he just smiled back, "See, got us in."
The rest of the group just stared at him for the moment. Then, before they could say anything, they saw the mutt shoot straight up, his spine as stiff as a board. Quickly, he reached his hand out, and suddenly Gae Bold was ready, and he was leaning along the side of the doorway.

"Great job," the pharaoh groaned, "now we have to explain why we knocked in thei-"

"That's not the problem," the Hound of Ulster said as calmly as he could, "There isn't anyone likely coming back out," he pointed forward, "You can smell the blood in here."

"Blood?"

Slowly they stalked their way into the building. After one quick turn, they found themselves in the warehouse. And well.

"Yup," the mutt said, "Told you there was a lot of blood."

It wasn't just blood, though yes, there was plenty of that. There was also flesh, as torn apart limbs dotted the many barrels and crates that lined the warehouse side. There was guts, with organs seeming to hand out in massive piles. And there was so many other really disgusting other things, that really, it just sucked even having to be in this place.

"So I think we know why no one was out working today," Emiya wasn't too put off, but clearly he was not happy having to move around the carnage, "Everyone split up, let's see where this stuff came from, and maybe if we can find anything that might hint what happened."

They slowly moved, most trying to keep from touching anything that might hint what happened. It was slow going though, with all the guts smeared over the crates, they really didn't want to have to open anything. Jeannette did her best to stick to Ritsuka, if only to protect her master in case whatever did this was still somewhere nearby. It was unlikely, the bodies seemed to have been like this for a few hours, but still.

"Hey!" it was the pup. Everyone, making sure not to step in the corpse of one of these slaughtered dock workers or sailors, ran towards the Hound's son. After making it to him, they saw he was standing in front of a mid sized box that was already pried open. Inside the box was a silk pouch, and in that pouch sat a sword shaped hole.

"Huh," the mutt wondered, using his demonic spear to hold himself up, "Think they were looking for a sword?"

"Looks like it," the idiot seemed to stare at the open crate. He then turned the crate around, and saw that on the top of the crate was three sheets of cloth. The two outer ones were just pure gold, with no markings. The middle one though…that was a strange one.

The middle sigil was of a black dragon on a red field.