In King Marin's personal quarters, the first room was his office with two tall windows behind a long desk. To the left was a door that entered his personal library with a lavish fireplace and grand organ. To the right was his bedroom.

  Within the bedroom were three more doors. One going to the balcony, which he often found himself overlooking from in ponderance. Another door went into a lengthy walk-in closet, housing all of the King's royal blue robes. The third door entered into the bathroom, which Marin rarely utilized due to a lack of needing any form of hygiene.

  Yet, the bathroom was where he currently was. Inside the tiled room, Marin sat on a stool beside a generously sized bathtub. It was full of clear water and nothing else. The water remained undisturbed, still like glass, as he gazed longingly into it. Every once in a while he dipped his finger into it to cause a ripple.

  A consistently dry and clean tub would spread rumors among the maids that the King never cleansed himself. That was the reason he told himself why he wanted to do this. Deep down though, the true reason was to remember what it was like to take baths, and torture himself with the memories of how enjoyable they were by staring at the water.

  He sighed. Enough time had passed. Using a hooked stick, he pulled the plug out of the tub, and the water began to drain. He stood up, placed the stick back into a toiletries closet, and left the bathroom. Checking the time, Marin saw that it was close enough for him to leave his quarters and wander the halls in an early morning patrol.

  As the hours passed, it was yet again time for breakfast. Marin reliably stationed himself at the end of the middle table as his staff and friends ate around him. For the longest time it bothered most of them that they ate as the King sat still without food, but it had finally become a comfortably accepted fact, and one that Marin hoped would eventually form.

  Afterwards, Marin met with his staff in the castle's main offices, where they addressed business and issues to sort through. He sat in a back room at a table with Harrel and Loid as they looked over delivery papers.

  "We did not receive our shipment of grain last week," Harrel reported.

  Marin studied the paper Harrel presented to him. Harrel's finger was pointed to a red X in one of the chart's lists.

  "Why would that be?" Marin asked.

  Harrel produced more paper work. "Our supplier has reported a plague in the grain. It went rancid and had to be burned."

  He then revealed a statement from the farmers addressed to the Nocturne Kingdom. Harrel saved Marin the time of reading it by summarizing what it said.

  "They want double the rate if we ask for the same amount of grain next week," he added.

  Marin shook his head. "Then we go with a different supplier. We're not a charity, I'm not reimbursing for natural occurrences to crops, however unfortunate they may be."

  Harrel nodded in response. "I figured you'd say that, so I petitioned other farmers to fill our demands. As it turns out, the plague has reached the entire collective of suppliers in the local area. There's not much we can do."

  Marin bowed his head in thought. So, this wasn't an isolated incident. There must be something foul in the air or crawling in the ground to affect such a widespread area. Marin's highest priority was to make sure his citizens were taken care of, so no cost would be too great.

  "I see. Thank you for taking initiative on this, Harrel. Very well. Since there's no immediate alternative, we are forced to accept the doubled rate. Go ahead and make the purchase," Marin told him. He then turned to Loid. "How much grain is in our stockhouse?"

  "We have a month's worth," Loid responded, the answer already prepared.

  "Fine. Hopefully this plague sorts itself out soon. If the issue worsens, we'll have to take new measures," Marin stated.

  "Should we begin rationing?" Loid asked.

  "Not yet. Not if the next shipment comes through. We'll revisit this in a week," Marin explained.

  With that topic concluded, Loid stood up, ready to leave.

  "Mail for the day should have arrived now. I'll be back with anything important," he declared while making for the door.

  As he left, Harrel directed Marin to more business affairs. He showed the King some rough drafts of new applications into the Kingdom.

  "What are these?" Marin asked.

  "Stricter requirements to join the Kingdom of Nocturne. We're full, Marin. The castle can't hold many more people," Harrel explained.

  "We've filled out all the residential halls?" Marin asked with surprise.

  "All the ones you've allocated to us. We still have the north wing, but you've made it clear you don't want anyone taking home in that section."

  "That is correct," Marin responded. "I don't want anyone in that wing in general."

  The north wing of the castle was the back section. It contained Marin's lab where he created his potion, as well as other sensitive rooms from his past. The area had not been cleaned or refurbished. Besides some isolated sections of the basement, the north wing was the only area of the castle that had remained the same since Marin first woke back up.

  It was still littered with decayed and broken furniture, cobwebs, and broken windows, allowing a chill in the north wing not felt anywhere else in the castle.

  "Since that's the case, Loid has helped me review new requirements to apply to the Kingdom. I trust you'll find these applications to your liking." Harrel slid the papers to Marin's side of the table.

  As Marin read through the paperwork, it met him with surprise that so many people wanted to move in. Last he had heard, there were still quite a few vacant rooms for more citizens, but those rooms started getting filled at an exponential rate, to the point where they were down to just a few left.

  The reputation of Marin and the Nocturne Kingdom must have grown to a revered status at this point if such lofty requirements would need to be met.

  Marin clutched the paperwork, more time passing than he was realizing.

  "Is everything alright?" Harrel finally asked him.

  Marin leaned forward, placing the applications to the side, thinking about what to say.

  "...The applications are fine as a short term solution. I need to come up with some ideas for a long term one."

  "Possibly expansions?"

  "Probably."

  Marin recalled that when he first founded his kingdom, exterior housing had begun to be built right before he took the potion. It seems like this was not the first time he was met with the issue of a full house.

  Though those were mainly for the farmers. Before it snowed year round in Murok, he had found success in growing his own crops near the castle. That had become an impossibility now. Housing outside of the castle would now be built only for residential reasons, but in time that would put too much strain on the castle's own facilities.

  At the rate they were growing, the castle might soon gain a whole town in front of it.

  "...It's a lot to think about. I'll mull over it and down the road I might present a plan for us. A lot of what I decide to do will be based on RAM's decision of our official Kingdom status," Marin explained.

  "Word from RAM has still not arrived yet," Harrel stated.

  "I'm sure they have a lot to consider. It is not a decision that would be made lightly."

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  Harrel leaned back and sighed. "...That's what my wife tells me."

  The office door was suddenly thrown open.

  It was Loid, with a look of distress on his face. In his grasp was a single white envelope.

  "Sullivan, it's here."

  "What is?!" Marin demanded, believing RAM had finally made their ruling.

  "Rocko."

  Marin nodded. Not the letter he thought, but still one of equal importance.

  "What's going on?" Harrel asked, confused about the commotion.

  "Would you excuse us, Harrel?" Marin requested.

  "...Of course." Harrel stood up, bowed to the King, then left the room.

  Loid closed the door behind him.

  "I've been fearing this moment for a while now," Loid admitted as he conceded the letter to his King.

  "As have I. Let's get to the bottom of this now, shall we?"

  In a lot of ways, Marin was relieved to finally receive this letter. It would either indict Rocko as a spy or clear his name. A small part of him hoped the latter would be true, even if it kept the case of the earth elemental open. However, if it indeed was what he feared it might be, they would finally be able to put a stop to him officially.

  Loid sat on the edge of his seat as Marin broke the seal to the letter. He unfolded it, and began to read.

  Loid could only sit there in suspense. Due to Marin's mask, he was unable to read any facial expressions from him. None that would aid in helping him come to a conclusion of what the contents of the letter might be.

  Marin kept Loid in suspense longer than he probably should have, but he wanted to reread just to confirm everything was true.

  Finally, Marin raised his head and spoke.

  "This is very bad."

  "IT IS?!"

  "Have a read," Marin allowed.

  He then slid the note to the other side of the table, where Loid eagerly wrapped his fingers around the paper. As he began to read, his eyes furiously darted back and forth, taking in as much as he could as quickly as he could.

  Rocko--

  The documents from Arkana detailing Marin's time there are now required. You must enter his quarters and mail them back at some point soon.

  I also need a new figure on how much gold has been spent from Marin's vault. You're free to give me a rough estimate based on the amount of coins removed from the vault itself, though I would prefer an exact number from Harrel's ledger, if you can manage that.

  As always, information on Marin's current and future plans are top priority. What you have given me so far has been invaluable. I must always know what actions he is considering next in order to be prepared.

  I've given much consideration to your request to be relieved of your position. I understand that espionage was not your assigned task, but it is one that someone must do now that Marin has broke free from his paralysis.

  Give me more time, and eventually, I will release you early from your post and replace you with someone else. Stay stalwart, Rocko. You will be invited back to the base when I can install someone more suitable for this type of work.

  --R

  The letter crumbled in Loid's tightening grasp. He slammed his fist on the table as the worst case scenario had been confirmed. All those years he had spent taking care of those two idiots had been in vain. And it had turned out that Rocko's stupidity had been a rouse the entire time.

  "I know you're upset, Loid."

  The former innkeeper launched himself out of his chair, standing upright while looking down at Marin.

  "You don't even know the half of it! I took those boys in! I cared for them! Made sure they were fed, eventually bought them a small house to live in!"

  "You have to remember that your efforts weren't entirely wasted. Phil had nothing to do with any of this. It appears he had just tagged along to the village with Rocko. I believe he is genuine," Marin explained.

  "My anger is nearly unmanageable. That bastard has a lot of explaining to do. And a lot of apologizing! He WILL answer for the years of lies he spun to me!"

  Marin finally stood up as well.

  "Let's go find him," Marin began. "Now that we've outed him, he's likely to admit if he's the earth elemental or not. I need that to be the case or we have other issues to deal with."

  Marin grabbed the crinkled letter and placed it in a pocket on his robes. He pulled the sleeves of his gloves up higher, anticipating a dangerous confrontation.

  Loid and Marin both left the back office room with haste, cutting through the desks of Harrel and Helva in the front spaces. They both moved at such a quick pace, everyone in the office knew there was a serious matter they were attending to, and one that only they were privy about.

  "I know that Phil and Rocko are always together. Where would we find them?" Marin asked.

  "It's their day off today. They're likely at the tavern, or even in their room."

  Being so close to the tavern, it made sense to check there first. They descended a flight of stairs to the main foyer before hanging a right into a vast hallway that contained a lot of commercial rooms.

  Bob Galrus's General Goods store and the Tavern were located here. Several citizens were loitering about, talking among themselves, selling and trading items.

  At the sight of King Marin, many of them tensed up and dropped their conversations. He did not wave nor greet a single person at this time. He entered the tavern, a location that Marin never found himself in. Both him and Loid scanned the large room for the two, but they failed to spot them. Eventually, Marin asked the whole establishment a question.

  "Has anyone seen Phil or Rocko here today?"

  It became quiet. What few patrons who were still going about their business despite seeing the King also stopped for a moment.

  A guy sitting at the bar closest to Marin spoke out. "They were here about ten minutes ago. Both of them took off. Rocko looked very concerned."

  "Do you know where they went?" Marin demanded as his voice thundered.

  "Couldn't tell ya, King. Is there anything I can do to help?" He offered.

  "No. Thank you for the information."

  Both Loid and Marin turned away. The music in the tavern resumed, the patrons and staff back to their business.

  "He said Rocko looked concerned," Marin said to Loid.

  "Their bedroom. I have to hurry," Loid responded, realizing that there was a decent chance Rocko knew he was compromised, and was looking to flee as soon as he could.

  "Let's split up," Marin wisely said. I will search some other areas, we can cover more ground apart."

  "Agreed."

  Loid actually dispersed into shadowy smoke before Marin's eyes in order to move around faster.

  With him gone, Marin began searching other rooms in the vast hall, hoping to spot one of the two by some chance.

  With his head darting around so much, a few of the castle citizens knew something was up. A woman approached him with a drink in her hands.

  "You're looking for Phil and Rocko?" She asked.

  "Yes!" Marin said, shocked that the news had already circulated to everyone in the commerce hall.

  "I heard Rocko mention the Woods. Not sure what that meant, but it might be helpful."

  Of course.

  It was beyond Marin's knowledge how Rocko discovered that he had been caught, but it made sense that he would flee immediately with Phil upon finding out.

  If the two had left ten minutes ago, they would already be well on their way out of the castle and dashing through the woods as he spoke. If he did not hurry, he would likely lose them, and any of the many questions he had would go unanswered.

  Without regard to the citizens around him, Marin used his ice element to pillar over everyone, and create Kinetic Ice to rapidly get himself to the location before the two boys were gone.

  The stunt caused some citizens to scream, many ran away in fear of his actions, but they were just going to have to excuse him, and understand some time later that a great emergency was unfolding without their knowledge.

  Marin made turn after turn down his halls, narrowly avoiding others in his way as he darted by using his icy powers. Eventually he made it to the stables, a likely path Rocko would've taken to get to the Woods.

  He stopped only for a moment to talk to the stable hand.

  The man grunted upon seeing the sudden appearance of his King.

  "'Spose you're after those two fellas who bolted on by moments ago?" He slowly spoke in a raspy voice.

  "Phil and Rocko. They came through?!" Marin demanded.

  "Aye." The stable hand pointed his finger outside. "You can follow their footsteps in the snow. Reckon they haven't gotten far."

  Marin spoke not another word as he created more Kinetic Ice in front of the man and shot off outside.

  The whole event in the stable came and went so quick, other workers who tended the horses finally showed up beside the stable hand to inquire what the heck was going on.

  "What was that all about?!" A younger worker said while holding a rake.

  "Dunno. But I betcha them two boys did something wrong. I'd stay out of it. Get back to work."