Despite his still-blazing anger at Tizzy's injury, Thaddeus can't help but feel elation as he realizes who it is standing in front of him. Although he doesn't let his guard down, he does take a step back so that he can speak. "At last! Xenia Worthy - or whatever name you prefer to be addressed by - I am honored to finally, fully, be in your presence." He slightly ducks his head, but wisely chooses not to bow to a woman holding a blade and wearing such a furious look.

Xenia snorts at the greeting. "Honored, huh? That's a hard one to buy. 'Honored' is a feeling someone usually has in relation to people. Meanwhile you've been acting like I'm nothing but a tool."

"Only because you've refused to listen to our full proposal! Yes, I want you to aid our family line, and the entire Seven Cities kingdom. But it's hardly one-sided! I'm not just offering you treasures or resources - the kingdom itself is yours if you wish to claim it!"

The reincarnator shakes her head as she takes a step back of her own. "I don't know what stories passed down to you about my time as a Hero there, kiddo. But I think you missed something. I could've been a noble there any time I wanted. Do you know how many times I refused marriage into one of the noble houses? They even offered me exceptions so I could stay married to Sarah at the same time! But I didn't take it, not even for my kid, because that shit ain't for me. Hell, I probably could've been a king if I wanted to play the politics game hard enough. But I didn't want that. All I wanted was the quiet life in a backwoods village, with a wife to love, some kids to raise, and the occasional monster den for me to get some exercise in."

Thaddeus grits his teeth, taking a quick moment to survey the situation before he continues. His own party is in bad shape - Nalain has pulled herself into a sitting position but seems too concussed to stand, let alone fight. Reed is pouring potion onto the stump of his right hand using his already-injured left, and while the potion may save his life there's not a chance of him posing any sort of threat. And Tizzy...her unconscious body lies slumped against one of the walls, only the slight rise of her chest giving him the confidence that she's still breathing.

Xenia's guardians have distractions of their own, of course. Thaddeus isn't entirely sure what it might take to slay the giant blue-haired man, but the massive gut wound he's received seems to at least be serious enough that Sincere stepped in to cast some sort of semi-stasis spell. The bleeding around the man's middle has slowed significantly, although going by the look on his face it's done nothing for the pain. All in all, it seems like for now at least this battle is between Xenia and himself. He has at least heard that dungeon avatars are notoriously fragile, meaning a single hit or two could take her out of the fight...but that wouldn't necessarily get him what he wants.

"Then you can have that! A few months in the capital would be enough to set things on the right path, and then you could retire - for a peaceful eternity, if that's what you wish!"

"What fuckin' good would that do?" Xenia seems genuinely confused by the prince's proposal. "The kingdom apparently decided that someone else ought to be running the place for a while, and they know the situation a thousand times better than I do. I'm supposed to show up and say, 'uh, this house has my name on it so that means they're great, put them back on the throne'? If you were so great you wouldn't need me, now would you?"

Thaddeus takes a deep breath, attempting to calm his emotions. "The other houses have claimed that the Worthy blood has run thin over the generations. But with you there in the flesh to show the strength of our line, the doubters - "

Xenia cuts him off there. "This is why I never liked nobility. Our line? The hell do you think you inherited from me? I ain't even got the same genetics in most of my incarnations."

"Your inherent greatness - your bravery, your strength, your - "

At that, Xenia entirely breaks down laughing. "My inherent - kiddo! I have spent my entire existance being barely-not-a-complete-fuckup."

That statement does make Thaddeus blink. "That's - that's ridiculous!"

"Before I got all those fancy curses, I barely scraped through high school with a C-minus average. Took one year of community college, didn't have the grades for a second. Failed outta community college! I spent a couple years bouncing from retail job to temp job, barely making more than minimum wage."

The prince isn't entirely sure he follows all of that, but now doesn't seem like the time to ask for clarifications. "But - once fate chose you, you - "

"I failed my first gig as a Hero. Failed to keep shit under control as a Demon Lord. Failed my first dau...god." Xenia pauses for a moment and swallows before continuing. "I have died in so many stupid ways over the centuries. I've had exactly one decent skill in all my lifetimes, and that's swinging around a sharp piece of metal. And I'm sure you think that's real important, but it don't mean shit when it comes to right to rule. Trust me, I know. I ain't the ruler you're looking for, and I sure as shit ain't gonna endorse you if this is how you think leadership works."

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Thaddeus's stance begins to falter, but he's in too deep to give up now. "Then - why make the offer of hearing us out with these charms and tokens, if you'd already decided this? All this damned bad luck - how many of my companions had to die just to grant us some false hope?"

To his surprise, Xenia briefly giggles at the question. "Pfft! Those ain't luck charms, kiddo! Just in case someone checked them for magic, I put a Curse of Weight on them, sure. Makes you like, one percent heavier. It was just another test. I wanted to see how you'd assign them, how much you'd gamble. And yeah, I'll give you some points for double-stacking up yourself. Everyone who found death here today came by it honestly. The odds were just stacked against you from the start."

His attempts to keep a positive spin on the conversation continue to fall away, and Thaddeus grits his teeth in frustration. "Another test! What's the point if you've already decided the outcome?"

The dungeon master shakes her head. "It wasn't about if I'd decide to go with you or not. I mean, I'd allow a one-in-a-million chance maybe something would come up that would make that sound like a good idea. But this was just about seeing whether or not you'd be walking out of here at all. If you are family of mine, then I'll grant you at least that much of a chance."

"...I see. And might I ask my score?"

The two have now been pacing around each other for nearly a minute, swords still held at the ready for an imminent battle, but Xenia keeps her tone conversational. "You've earned some points, I'll give you that. You were the first to double up on charms. You've shown at least some concern for your troops. On the other hand, you've still classified them as expendable compared to the mission - you could have saved Gerliari if you really wanted to, but you put the mission first."

Thaddeus's eyes narrow. "Each of my companions has known the risks of our battle."

"Sure, sure. But we're grading on the Xenia Curve here, and that's not how I assign my points. I think we've got a pretty good final exam moment right here, though - your whole surviving party is beat to shit right now. Even if Bill's out of it, you've still got me and Sincere left to go through if you want to make it a fight, and I'm feelin' pretty good about taking you on just by myself. You surrender right now, your party lives. You push it, good odds all of you die. So which way, Worthy man?"

It seems clear enough by now that the peaceful path to victory's been closed to the prince. No petition or debate will earn him Xenia's consent to take her core. But...he doesn't necessarily need it. If he can take the core by force then he can easily transport her home, and even if she decides to be...difficult, surely it would just be a matter of time before she could be convinced to aid her descendants. The royal magicians would surely have little trouble in establishing her as a dungeon in her new home. And to win this battle...one or two hits on Xenia to dissipate her avatar, and his speed-boosting boots to counteract Sincere's known time-warping magics - it's entirely possible. A plan forms in his mind that could very well end this fight in five swings of his blade.

And then his magic-generated shield arm begins to flicker.

He stares at it for a moment, allowing Xenia to be the one to make the first comment. "Having trouble holding it together, kiddo?"

Thaddeus doesn't answer, instead looking in Tizzy's direction. The scout is still unconscious, with no visible change in her condition - but if her last spell is fading then that can surely only be a bad sign. Even if he wins the fight Tizzy may very well be dying right now, and the prince can't say for certain that the party still has enough healing power left to save her. They certainly have a complete lack of healing magics at this stage, and many of their best potions have already been spent or destroyed. Not to mention that the odds of his martial success are a fair bit lower with only a single arm, although the prince still wouldn't count himself entirely out.

A sound from Tizzy snaps his attention back to her, but he's only more alarmed when he realizes that it was a cough, and one that brings a worrying amount of blood to her lips. Without even taking the time to calculate his response, Thaddeus's mouth begins to speak. "And...if we surrender, you heal my companions? Not just spare them, but ensure they survive?"

Xenia pauses to eye Tizzy herself. "Del's already back in her Priestess body, so I think we can guarantee that much. Re-attaching the kid's hand over there...that's a maybe. Looks like a clean cut, at least."

Reed doesn't sound particularly enthused by this, for some reason. "My lord! My - my father died for this cause! The core is in this room - I'd trade a hand for our victory if it comes to it!"

Unsure how to feel about that, Thaddeus turns his eyes towards Nalain. The woman is at least back on her feet now, and even looks ready to fight if she has to...but Thaddeus can tell that she's tired. She doesn't need to say a word or even remove her helmet for the prince to see the unsteady look in her eyes. She'll fight if she has to, but after a long day of dungeon delving, the half-orc's body is telling her that it's time to collapse and heal. Truth be told, the prince feels much the same way, now that his missing limb is entirely bereft of magics to aid it.

The prince's hand trembles...and then he drops his sword before falling to his knees. "Damnation! Damnation...to fail after such a cost...perhaps our line has thinned after all, and I'm truly just a mockery of what we once were."

"Still don't think it works like that, but - " The reincarnator is interrupted by a loud sound from Bill's direction.

"Booooo! Boooo!" The large man's wound already seems to be healing closed - divine providence, or magic from Sincere, Xenia can't tell - but his expression is one of disappointment. "C'mon, man!"

Xenia rolls her eyes. "What the hell's your problem, big guy? Not my fault you had your big showdown and got cut up."

"I thought we were gonna see an awesome Worthy-on-Worthy swordfight, man! Your skills, his...magic shit, or whatever. Okay, not as impressive now that the dude's lost an arm. But still!"

"You want a sword fight, I'll kick your ass myself later. Not really the time for spectator sports right now though, yeah?"

Thaddeus also makes an attempt to draw attention back to more pressing concerns. "Please, honored ancestor, heal my companions. As for myself...what do you intend to do with me now?"

Xenia eyes him for a moment before rubbing her chin in thought. "Well now...that's the question, ain't it?"

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