[Private] Arrival to a "Worthy Cause"

I take a second or two to wonder how he knows I lied before responding.
"That's reasonable. However, I don't feel the final detail is of any importance to you." This much is true; I don't think it's his concern.

Philos puts on a half-grin, "Oh, I assure you, they are. I want to know everything about you." His face takes on a more sinister tone, and he gains a dark edge in his voice, "And I will, one way or another."

I appear unconcerned, or would if my expression was visible through my mask, but internally I'm trying to determine the best way to fight on what I assume is the off chance that the need arises. My first thought is that I don't like this chair.
"How would knowledge of the victim benefit you? She's gone now anyway."

(Did you tell me last night to remind you to post here?
I think you did.)

"So I can know if you're worth our time or not." Philos says, his face growing colder still.

He doesn't look very approving of my secrecy.
Why am I keeping this a secret?
Avoidance of this man's judgement is only a small part of it, if a part at all. It's true that I don't want my past to rule me, but it already does, doesn't it? I'm an outlaw, whether I recall how I obtained the title or not. Perhaps to avoid discussion is to submit myself just as much as to take part in discussion is.
Fine.

These thoughts take up five seconds or so of time, each of which are filled with a lack of speech or movement from me.

"I killed my mother because she abused her position until she could do so no more. She could do so no more when I held a ball lightning to her heart until I felt it stop beating."
Now, am I worth your time?

"Was her abuse worthy of a death sentance?" Philos asks, without hesitating. His face is softer now, but still a mask that betrays no emotion.

"I have never been given a straight answer when I questioned the value of a life. I would answer your question if I knew how."

(Notifications mess up or somethin'?)

"There's something you should know about us, Michael." Philos begins, pacing up and down the room. "We do not do what we do for personal gain." He stops pacing, with his back to the masked criminal, "Eric Grimm has no intention of ruling the kingdom once we overthrow the monarchy. Our goal is to right the wrongs of the world, one way or another." He turns back around and frowns slightly at the man before him, "Was what you did the right thing to do? Did your murder benefit the world more than your mother's presence in it?"

Honestly, I don't think it had much an impact on the rest of the world. She was one person. What sorts of things was she doing to others that stopped afterward?
The abuse of me apparently doesn't count, as my inquisitor wants to know how selfless an act this was.
She leeched off of my father's wealth and goodwill. That stopped, but the death of a spouse probably outweighed any monetary gain, in his mind. I suppose her friends and relatives would have found it unfortunate as well.
Morals have always been something of a confusing subject to me, though...
"I did it for myself. There were some negative impacts on people, as any death has, but consideration of them did not cross my mind at the time." Only crosses my mind now because you force it to, really.

"At least you're honest." Philos says with a smile.

He places a hand on his chin and begins to stroke the small fuzzy beard there, face lined in contemplation.

He may well be selfish, and a bandit, but we are in sore need of good swordsmen... Perhaps we can mold him into a model member of our order.

"I can only hope she really did deserve it." Philos says in a neutral tone, "Otherwise offering you a position here among us will be a bad idea."

My mask, at this point, after I've revealed anything it might hide, is pointless. Thus, I lift it to the top of my head, under my hood.
"Why might that be?" I ask. Grimm's group has higher moral standards than I first expected, but he speaks as if there may be a more practical reason.

"Well, the needless killing of innocents is one of the things we are trying to stop." Philos explains, studying Michael's face. "King Raiden has a lot of blood on his hands, and we mean to start as we mean to go on; peacefully. There will no doubt be a large fight between our two armies, but the less innocent blood spilled the better."

"I'm afraid that, whether or not my mother's death was justified, a number of others' certainly weren't. However, there would be no need for me to carry on with that if I were given another way of living."

Thrown off my Michael's callous disregard of innocent lives, Philos lets out a hum.

"Unfortunately, the king's neglect has driven some people to desperation. I believe we can help you atone for your wrongdoings, if that is what you wish."

(I feel like Misfortune is making this very hard for Philos)

I didn't really come here to "atone," but I'm not against it, if it's a necessity. How do I word that without further ruining my impression...?
"I'm not opposed to 'atoning.'" I say, as there doesn't seem to be a better way to do so.

"You'll learn to accept it." Philos says with a sigh, then points towards the door.

"Out there you will see the entrance to the main chamber, big oak doors, go there and meet with Eric. He will find a place for you here."

I nod, stand, and make my way to the main chamber, pulling my mask back down as I leave the room.
"Find a place for me?" It sounds as if I'm accepted as having any sort of place, which that conversation hardly seemed to support. Hopefully meeting Eric goes a bit better than that.

(While we're getting Faywyn going again (or at least making an attempt) doing so for this thread would be appreciated)

(thought you would make a new thread of Misfortune going to the chamber! I'll make one at some point next week)

(I didn't think the change in location was drastic enough to justify a new thread.
Then again, this one has 4 pages.
Woops .-.)

(Are you still planning on writing that thread? I can do so, if needed.)