Although they agreed to waiting on the expedition group to arrive, there was a part of her that wished that she had not agreed to such an arrangement. The fact was, even though she was convinced that it would have proven her correct, that there was no sort of Titan threat outside of Orchidia, it was that they would have to wait until they returned. The leader of Orchidia indicated that he expected that it would be within the next day or so, but there was no guarantee of that. She also was not keen on how convenient it was that an expedition had already been sent out prior to her arrival.

Perhaps he had anticipated what the nature of Astrid’s trip was going to be about, thus in trying to get ahead of things, he organized the expedition to take place. It was smart, but it also lent reason to doubt that the expedition was genuine. Perhaps some would take refuge in the woods for a night or two to give off the impression that they were struck by supposed Titan creatures. It was a cynical perspective, but certainly one that she would not put past any leader that realize it was walking precariously close to bankrupting their city. Hopefully the next few hours would ultimately reveal just how accurate she may have been, not just towards the nature of the expedition as a whole, but also to the honesty of the people of Orchidia overall.

Taking a look at the massive clock that hung upon the wall, it having been several hours into the night now, there were still no news as to the arrival of the expedition. She was informed that they would be notified by heavy bells upon their return; a practice that was not the standard, but given the priority that was now focused on their return, it was deemed only right that as much attention within the city be given to them. Whether the people genuinely cared or not was a point of debate, but certainly for Astrid she wanted to see just what the expedition had to convey as soon as they returned. There would be no time afforded for them to coordinate a false story to deceive her.

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Left with no option, the only thing that she or Sia had to do was simply wait. The idea of indulging in some carnal pleasure was certainly an option, and though they had quite a bit of fun the other night, the last thing that Astrid wanted was to hear those bells go off, having some servant enter into their room unannounced, and see her and Sia in their nude presence. Besides it being none of their business, the nature of her being a Senator and Sia her Aide lent to a potential scandal, or at the minimum, bargaining power for the Orchidia leader that she did not want him having.

Astrid impatiently paced while Sia sat at the large table within the room, going over some of the documents that she had prepared, making sure that there were not some details that she may have missed. The two acted in silence for a time, before finally the silence was broken by Astrid, “Sia?”

Without missing a beat, the Aide popped her head up, looking at Astrid with invigorated enthusiasm, as if just awoken from a lovely nap, “Yes my Lady?”

“Astrid,” Astrid remarked. Though it was intended to be a matter of respect, at times like this when it was just the two of them Astrid had made a point of wanting Sia to address her more casually. In official capacities and settings, certainly the expectation would be ‘My Lady’, but like now, Astrid was more than suitable.

Sia blushed, nodding her head is embarrassment, “Of course, my…” She caught herself, stopping midway through, “Astrid I mean. Yes?”

Astrid walked over to the table, pulling up a chair across from Sia and taking a seat. She looked right into the woman’s eyes, a telling of the seriousness of the conversation that was to come. “You recall that matter I had you look into, that sensitive one?”

Sia’s eyes widened. She knew exactly what Astrid was asking of. At the time, it had been a curious request, but Astrid had emphasized the importance of it, stating that while she wanted Sia to look into it, she had to emphasize discretion above anything else. Nobody, not a soul outside of her or Astrid, could know that Sia was investigating the matter. She knew that Astrid would want a status report at some point, and it made sense that with such a downtime that she inquire. “Of course. What did you want to know? Oh, hold on. Before I begin, do you think it is safe to discuss that matter here?”

“No, not fully. This will be a matter that we discuss in detail back in Oak Town when everything has been handled here. I just need to know if you were able to find anything.”

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Sia nodded, “I was able to.”

Astrid’s eyes widened at the news of this. She had initially thought that maybe it was a foolish venture, but as it turned out, it may not have been. Interest betraying a more logical approach, she leaned forward, very clearly wanting to know more. “You were? How?”

“It wasn’t easy. Most of what I was able to find without involving guild matters were from vendors. Secondhand, much of it, but still some were able to lend some insight, at the minimum confirm her existence.”

Astrid leaned back in her chair. What Sia presented her, although far from perfect, was still good. She had at least had some reason to believe that this little venture of hers may have had the potential to yield results. Whether or not it would, that remained to be seen. There were still plenty of unknowns, but this was a start.

“There was more,” Sia started, to which Astrid looked at her with surprise, moving closer once again. “Supposedly there were plenty of records made from a rogue group of Witch Hunters that were wiped out not too long ago.”

“Witch Hunters?”

“Aye. Wiped out by the sound of it, no clue as to what caused it, but it seemed that there were no shortage of records kept. And from what a source was able to provide me, as a friendly gesture, made reference.”

Astrid nodded, delighted at this news. Stories told from street merchants often left plenty to be desired. What she was hearing though, it was a completely different animal. The Witch Hunters were notorious for their record keeping, often a requirement for them given how loosely they operated within the laws of Fiore. A sect of them going rogue was nothing new. But their records being of value to Astrid, that was another thing entirely. It would be difficult to get those records, but she knew that there were means of doing so.

But that would come at a later time.

As her mind began to wander, thinking of the next step to take there, there suddenly came a loud bang as the sounds of bells began to fill the building, their quarters being no exception.

After all the waiting, the expedition had finally returned.

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To their benefit, the gates from which the expedition was to be received were close by, so it was only a short walk required for Astrid and Sia to join the large crowd that had already gathered. Easily a total of more than fifty, even one hundred being a reasonable figure for the amount of people who were there. Many adorned in military garb, some in their evening wear, all of them certainly in the same boat as Astrid; curious as to what happened out there and the results of the expedition.

As the figures came more into the view of the torchlights illuminating the main gates, there suddenly came a cacophony of gasps and shrieks, the response being one that caused Astrid to push through the crowd to see firsthand.

Her eyes gazed upon not an expedition returning, but instead survivors limping back. Multiple horses without riders, some adorned in blood, some wounded themselves and likely to have to be put down. Only a few humans, many of them wounded, some having their arms in slings, some on crutches, bandages wrapped around many of them. It was a brutal scene, like that of war veterans returning. Their faces dejected, bleak, like they had seen something truly, truly horrifying. The smell of death permeated around all of them, Astrid’s nose picking up the scent as well as something else. Drool. Bad breath. Carrion. Everything that as she looked and smelled, had her thinking that perhaps she was wrong.

Perhaps there was a threat outside beyond the borders of Orchidia.

But that did not change the reality of things. Whatever may have existed beyond there, the walls that they hoped to use to protect the people from them could not remain the focus as they had hoped it would be. This returning force, whatever little life was left of them, would certainly have the people and leaders in Orchidia to dig their feet in deeper, but Astrid was not about to have that be the end of it.

She had an ace up her sleeve that she had hoped to not use, but it was looking like she had no choice.

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