It was a bit of a walk from the tavern that was in the lower level district, where most of the common dwellers lived, to he castle. Lightning hadn't really said anything since they started their march, mainly because she had absolutely nothing to say. Jin's question even slipped through her ears and she hadn't even registered in her head. These people agreed to go with her, so she had nothing else to convince them about. She was, however, worried about the King. Her eyebrows were furrowed as the fact that he was dying hit her. If he died before they found his child, then the kingdom would fall into disarray. Lords would bicker on why their family should be the ones who ruled the kingdom, but if it wasn't a Phoenix who sat on that throne, Lightning would never agree to it. She would sooner find the true successor and come back and take the throne by force so she could place them there.<br/><br/>The group arrived at the gates of the castle, which at this point wasn't really a gate, but two huge walls with a gap in the center since the doors had been broken down during the attack. There were at least six guards who stood watch around there, and once they saw Lightning, they stopped her for a moment and directed her to the west wing of the castle after she asked them where her new found mercenaries could stay for the night. She then gestured towards the group, and they would feel stares coming from the guards. Angry, distrustful stares. Everyone was tense and on edge, they didn't want any Wyndian assassins coming back to try to finish the job on the king.<br/><br/>As they walked towards the west wing, they would soon realize how big this castle was considering it took at least ten minutes of walking to get to the west wing. It was separated from the main building but was still a very large structure in itself. There were less guards stationed in the area. Perhaps one or two that sat in the watch towers that were built around the entire castle. Lightning opened the doors and then stepped to the side. "In here there are empty, private rooms. Unwind, relax, do whatever. Just make sure you go to sleep soon." She leaned her back on the wall behind her and folded her arms, watching them to see what they would do. These rooms were actually much nicer than what they would have found at the tavern.<br/><br/>* * * * *<br/><br/>Aaron shivered and sat next to the hooded man who was complaining about his stew being soup. He laughed a bit when the barkeep told him if he wanted stew, he'd need to pay another gold piece. What a sneaky man, taking not only the silvers for the soup but also the gold piece for the stew. Well, at least he'd eat good tonight. As he sat there he noticed the woman from earlier sneak in with a group of men. Nothing really got passed Aaron. He was almost just as good as spotting someone the way Lightning did, sometimes better in certain circumstances. Like earlier, the woman had obviously been bothered about the news about the King, so she hadn't even noticed the girl. He wondered exactly what she was doing lurking around here and decided to make a note to find her...just as soon as he warmed himself up with a bowl of stew himself.<br/><br/>Once the barkeep returned with his meal, and once again with his drink, He slid two gold pieces over to the man and asked for two helpings of stew, which the barkeep gladly accepted. He was doing well even despite the food shortage. He would probably be sad to hear the news of Lightning being successful in her mission of taking their major trade route back. Aaron slowly partook in his meal, the stew feeling like liquid heat that warmed him to the fingertips from the inside out. Before he knew it the bowl was gone, and he was awaiting his second one. He turned to the man and looked him up and down, quite rudely. He looked like someone who could fight, and he'd truly hate to take away Lightning's spoils tonight. If he could get at least two people on his own he knew that would make her quite happy and slightly less worried about her own mission. "You..look like a man who works hard for his gold. How would you like to come with me on a job? Fifty gold pieces are involved, and all you have to do is escort me to Wyndia and back here."