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[ Reno hops on up after Thancred, sweeping bits of hay and dust off the bench before he sits. He earns a splinter through the palm for his trouble. There's a curse, and then a frown as he digs starts to dig it out absently while eyeing the other guy.

He shoves an unsteady crate back into place. ] If you ask me, they're lucky leadership's even still bothering with handouts. Kinda makes you wonder what they need them for.

[ Nothing says they gotta. The slums were long abandoned beneath the plate; sucks for them, but Reno doesn't feel bad about it. (Really.) If he clawed his way up top, so could everyone else. Right?

But anyway, the point is, everything's smeared in politics. He's pretty damn sure Thorne's not gonna do something out of the goodness of their hearts. So if they're putting all this on for Nott, it must be for a reason. ]

[ Thancred glances over at that curse, realizing what's happened, though it seems that Reno has the situation under control. A splinter isn't exactly an emergency, after all, but the fact that he ended up with one seems less about bad luck and more just another hint that he's not used to life outside of a city-state.

As for Reno's comments about Nott, they're not nearly as compassionate as what Thancred has heard from some of the other Summoned, such as Rhy. Still, those are the words of a pragmatist and Thancred can hardly argue with the heart of what Reno's saying.

He urges the horses forward and the wagon starts along the dirt road, with farmland extending out farther than the eye can see on either side of them. Once they've made it a safe distance away, he glances over to his passenger. ]

Perhaps they've sensed that Nott is on the verge of trying to secede, and hoping to curb that behavior. [ He clears his throat, then directs his gaze forward again. ] Or it's for political reasons, given that Nott was targeted by a Free Cities attack that they played no part in instigating.

[ Shit, he misses anything close to a proper city. A real one, because to him, Thorne and the town outside of it isn't anything near what he'd call a city. All the roads are dirt and cobblestone, no trains or cars.

Guess this is what it's like in the days of the Ancients. Or what some people say, anyhow. Not like he'd know.

A spark of curiosity lights his eyes. Reno leans forward. ] Yeah? I heard some talk about that. Some kinda royal assassination?

[ He remembers Nott looking a little scorched in some places, but if it was ever turned into a crater, there's no sign of it left. Not like it's a pile of rubble, right? How bad could the attack have been? (Not as bad as Sector 7, he'd bet.) ]

... Something like that. [ It's not quite a royal assassination, but close enough. Thancred shrugs one shoulder and explains. ] Grigory Jannus was one of the highly ranked mages who served under the Queen, but it was an open secret that there was more to it.

[ He glances to Reno and raises his eyebrow a few times. If his tone hadn't already made it obvious what he meant, this should cement it.

Their wagon continues down the road at an easy pace, allowing them to talk freely. ] During the first diplomatic trip to Nocwich, there was an attack on faction delegates, Summoned included. Grigory was murdered and the Queen blamed it on the Free Cities, attacking them with fire and brimstone before there was even a proper investigation. It was clearly an emotional choice.

[ He pauses, taking a look around. Even now, there are some signs of the damage done, though not as much as one might expect due to the incantations they'd performed to heal the croplands. In that sense, it's a nice thing to see the farms doing so well. ]

Nott was targeted for retaliation despite them having little to do with the Queen's personal choices. Many of the croplands were razed, and for a time, food stores were in short supply. Yet it wasn't those in the castle who suffered as a result of that.

[ Reno makes a face. He don't need any more explanation than that. Office gossip and affairs run rampant. He's not surprised it's the same here. Bet the king has his own sidepiece, too. Or maybe the guy's just a sucker.

He glances off towards the mountains. He arrived a bit after that shit, but he can see the signs in a few places. Scorched houses boarded up that've been abandoned, fences not totally repaired. He's seen the wealth in Thorne's castle, and he'd bet anything if they wanted, they could fix this place up nice fast. They just haven't bothered.

But all that's not the point. How Nott's treated isn't any big revelation. He's more interested in Thancred. 'Cause the way he's talking—well. Ain't hard to put two and two together, is it? ]

That why you don't live around the Castle? You have a problem with them?

[ Thancred hadn't so quickly expected Reno to turn the conversation to be more personally about him, though it probably does stand out that he and Urianger have opted not to live in the Castle. ]

To be honest, I think most Summoned, especially those of us who personally witnessed the Queen's attack on Libertas, are not exactly thrilled with her or the rest of those ranked highly in Thorne.

[ Surely that's no secret or surprise at this point. Yes, they're made to feel comfortable, but Thancred doesn't particularly like feeling like he owes anyone anything. He lets out a sigh and shakes his head. ]

It's hard to shake the sense that one must look over one's shoulder at all times while within the Castle walls, so I was eager for even that small bit of distance.

[ The wagon trundles along, and the farm where they're meant to make the delivery comes into view ahead of them. ]

[ Something about that makes Reno pause. Sure, you don't have to like what they do, but someone's bound to do it, anyway, right? Not that it really makes anyone feel better. He's just saying, leaving the castle doesn't do a whole lot to stop Thorne from blowing something else up.

But he gets the second part more. ]

Tell me about it. [ Shinra's always watching them, too, but he never gave a damn about that by the time he ascended into Turks' ranks. It's not like he ever made his opinions a secret. Tseng's put up with him for years. Being here feels weird, all the way at the bottom rung. ]

They haven't given you any shit for bailing?

[ It's true that leaving doesn't change anything about what the Queen and her court are doing, but Thancred also finds it easier to remain surreptitious when he isn't wandering the castle halls at all times. Given that he's considering treason, it seems prudent to have that little bit of additional space.

At the question he gives a small shrug with one arm and shakes his head. ]

Not particularly, no. Were I to try to move any further out, to somewhere here in Nott for instance, I suspect it would be a larger issue. I was told to temporarily move back into the Castle when the abductions started, however, and I did comply with that.

[ But as soon as everyone was safely returned, he'd moved back out yet again.

With a confident shift of the reins, the wagon makes a turn down the road toward the waiting farm. ]

Why? Are you thinking of following in my footsteps?

[ Huh. The way some of the guys talk back at the castle, it's like Thorne's got 'em all on a leash shorter than Reeve's little robo-cat. He's not doubting that, but it's gotta be more than the free food and shit that's keeping people in those walls, right?

Bribery gets you far, but not that far. ]

Nah. [ He leans back, propping his feet up on the bench across from him. ] I mean, maybe. Hell of I know. I got here five months ago and two of 'em was spent running around looking for a bunch of stolen prisoners.

[ So he's still feeling the situation out. But Thancred's given him something to think about, a little piece he's gonna tuck away and maybe look into later. Right now, he's fine where he is. Figures it's not changing much if he takes off into the neighboring town. It's not like Thorne's reach stops at the gates of the castle. ]

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