The day after his meeting with the Archmage, Doryn awoke with a thousand troubles on his plate,--<br/><br/>--it made him glad that he hadn't decided to retire to his Estate the night before. It was only a few hours out of the city, admittedly, but when as many things were happening as was currently the case? Well, Doryn had always preferred to be in the thick of things. Most of the morning was spent taking care of the Archmages' little rogue magus issue, and the slavery ring, assigning a team to the detail and making sure that they achieved proper support from himself. He also put up some notices, attempting to gain the interest of any local adventurers that might be in the area, the kind of thing that the Knight-Captain didn't<em>overdo</em>but which he was perfectly willing to indulge whenever appropriate.<br/><br/>...as a former adventurer himself, he knew what he could and couldn't get away with..<br/><br/>He<strong>also</strong>spent a bit of time going over the various information that he had on the Baron,-- and his various associates,- filling in the gaps that had been present in the Archmage's own files with his own facts, some relevant subjecture, and a few educated guess. Most notable, as he'd thought, the Baron hadn't in any fashion reported the theft in the first place,-- quite unlike many of Hani's other victims, who would frequently come to him with complaints and demands to get their stolen items back. Whatever Berenholdt intended to do to get his gem back, he obviously intended to work on his own... probably due to the absurdly illegal nature of the item in question.. which of course gave Doryn a bit of an idea of himself.<br/><br/>After all, he<em>did</em>have all of those Nobles raging for him to find the crook,--<br/><br/>--it was a simple enough matter to arrange the raid. Similarly, while he didn't want<em>everyone</em>to know, by the end of the evening all of the Nobles in the City would know that Doryn had done a raid on one of the cities fences and recovered a number of items. Including, as it would happen, a number of items that had been reported stolen by the "criminal gang" that most believed responsible for the thefts. Information that Dorny would, normally, release to great fanfare but which the Nobles would learn that he was attempting<em>very much</em>to keep<strong>very quiet</strong>.<br/><br/>For reasons unknown.<br/><br/>For reasons that, really, the Baron wouldn't be able to ignore.<br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">~</span></span></div><br/>Even as the first part of Doryn's plan unfolded, the Knight-Captain himself was taking a well-deserved break. He didn't show up at the Dewdrop<em>that</em>often, of course, and in normal circumstances he wouldn't have dropped in only a few days after his last appearance. Except... well, the Northerner had apologies to make.. and<em>finally</em>the arrangements for such were complete.<br/><br/>...plus, well, Doryn had heard a few interesting tidbits from his reports on what had happened last night at the Dewdrop. Oh, to be sure, it was good to hear that Mercy was well-taken care of, and the guard that he'd assigned to escort her home had more or less backed off when she'd made other arrangements. For all that, of course, he would continue on that duty until relieved. No, far more interesting-- in a different fashion,- was the fact that<em><strong>Taliesian</strong></em>had been spotted at his favorite hangout the previous night.<br/><br/>Really,-- at that point,- Doryn HAD pay a visit to the Dewdrop.<br/><br/>The main difference between the Knight-Captain's arrival tonight, and on previous night, was the simple fact that things had been<em>so</em>dramatic the last time he was here. There was a long moment of awkward silence as the Northerner 'showed his face here again so soon,'-- some probably expecting that Doryn was going to make some apology, some expecting that he'd<strong>not</strong>be making any kind of apology, and of course (those who knew him the best,) expecting something... truly epic..<br/><br/>It just made him smile, really.<br/><br/>"Alright, everyone. Settle down," he said, smiling a bit, taking the feel of the place. One of his finest-- and most loyal,- Guards, the elf Lai, at his side as Doryn moved further into the Inne. Nor was he the only member of Doryn's "Honor Guard" that was present. Vaughn had been at the Dewdrop for the past few hours, blending in and keeping an eye on things, and when the shady seeming subordinate saw his employer he simply nodded and glanced over in a meaningful direction toward...<br/><br/>...Taliesian.<br/><br/>The sight of the young Bard brought an immediate smile to Doryn's face, the older man simply moving over toward the bard-- the crowd parting in confused fashion,- as the two men embraced.<br/><br/>"Taliesian, my young friend! I'd heard that you were tucked away here,--"<br/><br/>"--count me not surprised that, when I finally make my way to Crescent City, I find that-- Noble or not,- you still spend most of your time in a Bar. It's good to see you, old man."<br/><br/>There was laughter as the two headed off to find a table, sharing a few drinks and more than a few tales, interrupted only sporadically by ballads... well, Ballads and the handsome young Bard flirting with everything that moved to Doryn's vague amusement. He'd find out what brought his old friend to Crescent City when the timing was right, of course, but for now it was nice to see one of his old friends. Indeed, if things were as dire as Doryn's gut thought they might be, having Taliesian nearby might be... a very good thing.. not that the Northern would ever admit that to the young man.