[Private] Arrival to a "Worthy Cause"

This better be worth my time.
It's the middle of the night, and I'm unable to spend said night at an inn because I've been, er, persuaded, to make my way to a castle instead of a town. If all goes well, though, I might spend the night at said castle or something instead of in a damned cave like last night. The castle is fairly near by now, and so I pull my mask down before finishing the walk to the gate and sentries standing by it. (Assuming there is a gate, with sentries.) The night suits this place well.
Nobody's tried to kill me for my intrusion yet.

The guardsmen bar the way in front of the bandit with their spears.

"You do not bear the broken crown. You may not enter." The guardsman on the left says, then draws a rattly breath. They dress head to toe in a tattered black robe, and what skin they do show is mottled and grey. Bones can be clearly seen in places where skin has seemingly been ripped off. The helmets themselves are a spangenhelm, and the jaws protruding from the bottom are barely more than bones.

("in front of Sora"
"Sora"
wrong reality)

I require a second to take in the rather disturbing sight of the man(?) in front of me, but no more than that. I quickly move on to explaining my presence here.
"I've been sent by Kuri so that I may see Eric." I wonder if they'll really trust me on only my word. Maybe knowing the knight's name is of some sort of significance, though.

The guards look to each other, then back at the figure before them.

"You will require verification." They says cryptically, and lift their spears, allowing room for the bandit to enter the castle. "Enter."

Verification? I'm about to say something about that when the guards raise their spears. I guess they're not the ones who need verification. Unexpected, but convenient enough. I nod and enter. I still feel as if I got in too easily, so I'm keeping a sharp eye out for... anything.

('pologies for my impatience...)

[How strange. It appears Hideyo's response disappeared.]

(Wasn't aware it existed in the first place. .-.)

[That IS weird. Didn't delete it.]

The bandit is greeted once inside by a tall man in a black robe, bearing the broken crown symbol.

"Welcome to Hussfell Green." He says with a smirk. His face is fairly tanned, a strange sight in the frosty mountains, and he has a short curly beard and curly brown hair poking from underneath his hood. "I understand you require... verification."

"And are you to tell me what that entails?" I ask.
I am immediately suspicious.

"Oh, this and that." The cloaked figure smiles. He takes a few steps towards the bandit, and his feet make a strange sound against the floor.

He gestures towards a door, "Please, come."

It occurs to me that I don't know how he'd be aware that I require "verification," nor how he'd know me to be a new arrival requiring information that I am in Hussfell Green.
I disregard these suspicions as another arises. Is this sound of his footsteps altered due to the floor or his feet? The floor seems more likely. I proceed to the door, half expecting a trap door to interrupt me, and half believing myself to be rather paranoid.

The bandit is ushered into a brightly lit room with nothing but a single chair in the middle and is asked to sit.

The man in the black robe leans against the doorway as he waits for his charge to take the seat. "I just need to ask you a few questions."

I feel as if there's been more emphasis on the word "verification" as of late than is worthy of sitting in a chair and answering questions, but that could quite easily be paranoia. The word's only been said aloud twice; my own thoughts of it just make it seem like more.
I set my pack down next to the chair and take my seat.

"Ok then... First of all, my names Philos." He moves to stand in front of Sora, and crouches down to his level.

"What's yours?" He asks, staring intently into the bandit's eyes.

"It depends on where I am." I say. To elaborate, "I make up a name with every town I go to in civilian disguise. I've taken to calling myself 'Misfortune' during theft." For that's how I think of a bandit attack; an undesirable turn of luck.
...How did I just let myself admit to being a thief to a stranger within what is likely a well-guarded castle? No matter if my baseless assumptions lead me to believe Grimm has little care for justice, my last encounter proved quite well otherwise!

(Just googled the definition for "bandit" and it says that a bandit works in a group, so that might not be an accurate title for Misfortune here. Not sure if that's a significant enough technicality to be further acknowledged, though.)

Philos' face remains neutral. "Your real name, please."

This question makes me feel... conflicted. I haven't told anyone my real name since my first crime. It's something I've left behind, or so I like to think. More importantly, if someone associates my name with my crime, then they remember my face, and then my law-abiding-citizen disguise could be jeopardized...
"How important is it?"
I'm asking myself as much as I am the man before me.
A few seconds' time lets me realize that he'll just tell me it's important enough; "Michael."
I believe he only gave me his first name. My own should do.

"Michael." Philos says with a nod, satisfied with the answer. "Good. Now... would you like to tell me how you found yourself here?"

"Was making my way to a town that I'm afraid I can't remember the name of when one of your knights, Kuri, came down the same road. Didn't have time to hide myself properly, and so she expressed her disapproval of my way of living in a rather violent manner. After making her point that she could kill me if she wanted a bit more to do so, she said I put up a decent fight, and that my skill would be put to better use here than in banditry."
Thinking it over, I didn't suffer any injuries.
"'twas more threatening than violent, I suppose."

(Using "banditry" when Misfortune is not in a group is bothering me now, but I can't find a good word for the act. >_<)

"That sounds like Kuri," Philo begins with a warm smile, "Any immoral act without just cause will swiftly be dealt with by her blade... Although for her to commend your swordsmanship is, err... certainly something to put on your list of life achievements."

Philos removes his hood, allowing the black horns hidden beneath to be revealed in all their glory. They're not large, sticking out a couple of centimeters from the top of his head but they can easily be made out. They look something akin to a goat's horns, but on a smaller scale.

"Tell me about your past life. For starters, what lead you to a life of crime?" He asks, not even bothering to explain away the horns.

I don't bother trying to hide my glance at his horns, which don't disturb me much due to the people - using the term loosely - that greeted me at the gates.
"My first crime was the murder of a rather wealthy woman four years ago." I leave out a rather important detail here. "Knowing that I would be hanged at the first opportunity, I fled the city, taking my weaponry and armor with me. I was lucky to find a pair of travelling traders on my way to wherever the road would lead me, who apparently had not hired protection for themselves. I knew that I would have little chance at a real job due to me staying in any one place for too long meaning the risk of myself being recognized, and so I demanded any coin or easy-to-carry valuables they had. Knowing their fate if they did not comply, they surrendered. I had my cowl and mask made in the next town, and have maintained my life of larceny since."

"How, er..." Hideyo pauses, frowning. He cocks his head to the side a fraction and his eyes narrow just a tad. A casual observer probably wouldn't notice, the reaction was instantaneous and ended almost as quickly, but it was most definitely there. And if one were to spend an extended period of time with Philos, they would get to know this gesture well, and they would certainly know that more often than not it was not a good thing.

"Noble, of you." He finishes, sounding unimpressed. "Now, are you sure that's everything?"


[Is he still wearing his mask?]

(Yeah)

"Everything of note." I lie.

Hideyo looks to the side and raises his eyebrows, avoiding eye contact with the person in front of him.

"I don't like it when people lie to me." He says in a cheerful manner.