Spymasters and Inquisition

Nadia laughed, politely hiding it behing her hand. Serah just regarded him with a cold glare, starting to munch on her meat way more noisily. The other elf just rolled his eyes, going on with his reading, taking a small bite of his salad. It didn't seem like he was overly bothered by Valdyr's statement though.
Horknath drowned himself in his beer to hide the fact he was feeling a bit uneasy among all those people.

"Orcs don't get sick", Horknath whispered back. He looked at Yvan with curiosity. "How are you so comfortable? Everyone looks so... out of my league here", he said in a low voice. He was especially intimidated by Nadia and the dark-skinned sorceress sitting at his right.

Horknath scratched his head. "You think that's it? I just have to believe I am at their level?" He looked at the people sitting at the table, then gulped. "I don't know if I can do it. I am not a prince, I am a barbarian."

Horknath thought it over for a split second. Well... he didn't have anything to lose. He nodded. "If owning the place means managing to pick up people... deal then", he answered, patting Yvan's back. Maybe with a bit too much energy.

Horknath shrugged. "To be honest I have no idea. Maybe I will take the road again, or something", he sighed. "There isn't much place for me to go to. What about you?"

Horknath laughed. "True, true. Do you think Valdyr will follow us?", he asked, wondering. Yeah, no, he had felt nothing when Yvan had punched him. Orcs had hard skin!

"Oh. He... had to meet up with his family", Horknath answered, shifting a bit on his chair. "He won't be able to get back to them. If you want the whole story, you'd better ask him", he concluded, finishing his beer in a single gulp.

Horknath wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yes", he answered, honestly. "I can't really help it. I have to concentrate on something else if I don't want to become red and start to stutter", he added, embarrassed.

Horknath snorted. "Lightweight", he smirked at him. "Nah. Beer isn't that heavy. I would need to drink avlot of some very alcoholic stuff to get drunk", he answered. "The peaks of orc heritage."
Meanwhile, Nadia was already reddish and tipsy after two glasses of wine. Of course Serah couldn't not live up to her reputation and make fun of her boss while trying to get her drunk.

The palace was the biggest, most luxurious building anyone could have ever imagined to see in real life. Lights were everywhere, as were flourishing flourishing trees and plants and streams of water in small marble fountains.
It didn't look welcoming in the dark. More like a terrible, shady and glittery death trap.
The big swarm of nobles chattering at the entrance garden - which, by the way, was as big as half a football field - only served to make it all more intimidating.
"I don't like this place", Horknath grunted through his teeth, adjusting the much-too-tight uniform he had been provided with. Nadia, walking at his side with the rest of their group, whispered a "I'm sorry". She couldn't speak in too much of a loud voice. Not when they were probably already at the centre of all the talks occurring in that moment. "Are you all alright? The trip in the carriages was long, after all."

Serah looked just as uncomfortable, all dressed up and with her short, blonde hair brushed for once. "I'd never thought I'd say this in my life, but I agree with the dwarf", she said, stiffly walking around, glaring at Ash. Horknath just shook his head at him.
Nadia looked more at ease than all of them, to be honest, dodging effortlessly all the people around them. She made a sign for them to gather nearer to her. "Let's just have a quick recap", she said, already sounding tired. "Stick near me until formal introductions will be made, then we split in small groups to gather informations. Afterwards, we meet up again in one of the common rooms to share and decide how to proceed. Remember to be polite, to smile, and to not show your throats. Those aren't nobles. Those are beasts in disguise."

Nadia threw him an icy glare. As if they had the time to get worried about buffet right now! She took a deep breath, joining her hands. "You can use the buffet as a mean to ask questions too, you know. Just... try to behave, will you. I don't really feel like running up and down to excuse your scarce control." She smiled at him. "Please", she added on a second thought.