Before any further discussion could be made, one of the doors in the waiting room opened. It was a third bardette, as sultry as the others. She went over to her comrades when another door opened and an attractive young blonde woman with glasses and a short dress appeared. After looking down her nose at a scroll, she said, "Party of four? Three humans and a..." The secretary trailed off as her eyes drifted to the now sole occupants in the room.<br/><br/>"Ah." She said, smiling politely and backing out of the door with her hand outstretched, "If you please."<br/><br/>The door led into a hallway, decorated with paintings of adventures and the floor covered in a fine rug. Beyond the passage, a large room (much larger than the one Ellen had first been admitted to!) with a scenic view of the bustling city from beyond half transparent curtains that greeted an open-air balcony.<br/><br/>There were four chairs arranged around a circular table. The secretary returned after they made themselves comfortable and set down what appeared to be a small music box. She winded it up and it began to play a quiet little tune. After a few notes, the image of a man in a chair began to appear... facing away from them. He had one leg crossed and was sipping from a wine glass. Abruptly, he set it down and looked around confusedly, before eying the adventurers behind him.<br/><br/>The young woman hurriedly rushed over and turned the music box around, similairly turning the illusion around to bring them face to face. ...For the most part. Ivette knew him already, her ever mysterious benefactor. He was shrouded in dim light, again his hawkish features and the large feather in his hair barely visible.<br/><br/>"Good morning." He said with a smile before he took another sip from his glass,<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 7pt;">"Although I suppose it's more like afternoon over there..."</span><br/><br/>He shook his head and set his glass down on what was presumably a table... It soon disapeared from sight. "Alright." He said, inhaling deeply and sitting up much more attentively, "You may simply call me 'The Minister'"<br/><br/>"Ahem." He coughed, bringing his hand up to his mouth, "I have brought you all here because you seem to be... competent. And some of you unusually so at that."<br/><br/>"So I extend to you an offer of sponsorship. And also a quest."<br/><br/>The glass of wine reappeared as he grabbed it and took a swig, "The city of Dewehrgard's hosting this year's Mass Games. Open to any and all adventurers or teams who have been vouched by the Ministry of Records. Consider yourselves accepted. I think this would be a perfect opportunity to... errr, expose you to the public at large."<br/><br/>"Now, the games have been organized into three distinct parts. A hunt, a dungeon, and an arena. None of the other participants know the details, though... It's a competition, so you have a little edge there, eh?"<br/><br/>He smiled, closing his eyes and shaking his head. The Minister leaned back into his chair and continued, "Now... in reality, I will be your sponsor. On paper, you'll enter the Mass Games under the grace of an elf noble named Nelliph Santherie. She's<em>very</em>lovely, it'll be great."