Henry Group RP Forum

Night of 27th Aryth Sharn The device silently fizzled and sparked for a few seconds before exploding. Head firmly lodged in pillows, Invidia pointed his wand and fired a ray of frozen particulates at his bag to stave off any potential fires. He groaned and flipped onto his side, glaring at the interior of his eyelids. Insufferable. 

Night of 27th Aryth, Morning of the 28th Korranberg Forgotten Times Back in his room, Hendrick had not moved for hours. He had no idea what was going on around him at all. All he could think about were her words. The fact that she could still talk to him. He had just assumed, after all these years. What was it? A decade? He worked the numbers in his head. A decade seemed close enough. Since that day, time seemed rather fluctional, as if it had lost its grip on reality and only existed as a loose concept of what it could have been. He had heard stories of people in times of extraordinary stress, often being mortally wounded, experience visions of their souls detaching from their bodies, overseeing their rescue. Maybe their demise. For Hendrick it was the opposite. His soul turned inward. He seemingly had lost all his senses, his physical form seemed disconnected from his mind. All he tried to do was comprehend. Maybe he was supposed to feel guilt, maybe anger. At the moment he didn’t even feel his body. Suddenly pain had ripped him out of his deep trance. He was bleeding profusely from his left temple, the floor started to feel wet around his face. Thick liquid was starting to interfere with his breathing. A restrained wince escaped his blood-soaked lips, as he turned around and sat up to start patching himself up and close the wounds with a combination of magic and different pieces of fabric. He tried to orient himself a little, he was in his room on the ground, his head must have hit the floor pretty bad. There was no noise coming from any of the neighbouring rooms, so it he must have been at least a few hours into their rest. It was definitely night outside. He must have stood there for hours, until his legs gave in to his weight and he just fell. He felt glad he had taken of his armour pieces, or he might have woken up the whole establishment. “Kashtai, are you there? How much did you hear? Whatever you heard, don’t tell anyone. This is not for their ears to hear or their minds to judge. I will need to take care of this. I don’t really know how yet. Or even why. But I cannot ignore that. Look after them, I will hopefully be not too long. You can probably contact me somehow if you really need me.” He picked out a few pieces of paper and started writing messages for everyone. He waited till a good hour before dawn, quickly wrapped up his belongings, pushed the folded pieces of paper under every room door and left silently but in a hurry. First stop was the temple. His book had directions. Saint Elwilyn’s is a place where the flame showed the world its best side. This gnomish silver flame priestess of the ages had been a magnificent icon of the pure-hearted goodness the flame pushes to be. A fitting patron for the glory that was this place of worship. He had to stay under the radar though. They were done with him after all. He had come up with some form of story, but it was not until the time he arrived in the first glimpse of daylight, that he had even come up with a name. Johannes Hansen, a former priest of the sovereign host, looking for the person that he had met whilst serving the poor. She might have come across here. He wanted to show her his gratitude. Sara was her name. Sara Korsgaard. He hoped his story could hold up. Someone was bound to know something. At least give him a pointer. Anything.

Session recap. Evening of 28th Aryth Private Suite, Blue Lotus After the Trust Unbelievable. Stella dumped her pack on the mahogany table in the private suite at the Blue Locus with a thump. She was still seething over their encounter with the Trust. Ambushing all eight members of their team in various places around Korranberg had been exceptionally brazen. No doubt she was about to find out her team had been mistreated, and then she might have to find the nearest Trust agent and make his head explode. That wasn’t even counting the failed attempt to kidnap her or the cheap intimidation tactics - she was a Medani, for fuck’s sake, not some civilian. It took a great effort to choke down her vengeful fantasies. She really needed a glass of wine. But if she started drinking after the day she’d just had, she might not stop. She might work steadily through the bottle until she drowned everything that worried her so badly right now. The Dreaming Dark. The Trust. Castar Korran. Nala’s dreams. Hendrick’s disappearance. Tomorrow night’s party. And the resulting calm, the freedom from fear, might just be addictive. So better stick to business. “This suite is compromised. Assume everything we say here is heard, everything we leave here is searched, and everything we do here is known.” Stella gave her favourite girl a pointed look just to make sure Nala understood the Trust had spied on them last night. That alone deserved punishment. Nala was shy enough without being creeped on. “We don’t have telepathic communication on hand right now” - Stella seriously hoped Kashtai and Maev had managed to stay out of sight - “so we can’t speak freely. Imagine a Trust agent is right here at the table with us.” She pulled out a chair for their imaginary friend just to make her point. “They are still interrogating us now. Just in a more subtle way.” Her voice came out so cold right there, Stella had to stop herself. This icy focus wasn’t helpful right now, Hendrick would tell her that. Her friends must be shaken up. Scared. She should be gentle with them. Stella took her own seat at the table next to the imaginary Trust agent and made an effort to soften her voice. “You’re all right? Nala? Blue? Zeth?” It didn’t look like anyone had been beaten except Wolf, and if he hadn’t taken that personally, neither would Stella. Wolf was made of iron, he hardly needed her worrying over him. But she still felt an irrational need to make everything better for this team. That was her job right now. Just make everything better. “Tell me what happened. How you ended up getting captured. What questions they asked, what answers you gave. Everything you can give me that you don’t mind the Trust overhearing. I need to understand.”

Evening of 28th Aryth Private Suite, Blue Lotus After the Trust Stella was saying something, but Nala was hyperfocused on something else. A plan. Any plan. She took out a notebook and began writing. She slid a series of messages around the table, motioning for everyone to keep them hidden. #1: We can't be sure who has ears here; if the Trust do, then perhaps people connected to Nevitash do as well. We have to assume all eyes and ears are here. #2: The Trust put me in a situation where I could have attempted to lie and be killed or give them the truth and try to negotiate. I chose the latter option. They knew who we were as soon as we walked into this city, so I didn't feel like getting tortured for being caught in a lie. #3: Now, we have very little time to worry about the Trust because we need to spend this time planning. I have a few ideas in mind. Nala then scooted her chair so that most everyone could see what she was writing: Turn Puff into spider via Find Familiar. Puff can figure out layout of building while we party. Once he finds what might be incriminating evidence, he can communicate to me. I run to the restroom to perceive through his senses to read anything he finds, confirming whether or not it is relevant. Once he finds whatever we need as well as scouting the location and finding potential exits, Stella and I can turn invisible in the bathroom, sneak upstairs, grab the documents and come back quickly. Not even five minutes gone. The others can potentially distract the guards if there is suspicion in the room. Then we can scatter, leaving the party at different times. Obviously, whoever has the important info should leave first with someone close behind in case there's trouble. Thoughts?

Evening of 28th Aryth Private Suite, Blue Lotus After the Trust Stella’s eyebrows started to rise as Nala began writing. By the time Nala finished writing and the last message had been read, Stella reached out to cover her warm hand with her own. “Nala. Stop. They have visual surveillance on us. They can read everything you’re writing. Creepy as it is, their presence here is our best protection. They will not allow the Inspired to listen in on this conversation. I guarantee you that.” She smoothed out the last piece of paper and read it again. Spider scout. Cute. “We might need that, but not to figure out the floor plan. The one perk of getting blackmailed by internal security is being able to request operational support.” Stella raised her voice for the benefit of their unseen surveillance. “We’re going to need a location and floor plan for the estate. Security routines. Guest list. Dress code. Agenda for the evening. Anything else you think is relevant. Just deliver the information here. And send up some dinner, I’m starving.” They were likely to tell her to go fuck herself over that last request, but Stella felt the need to yank their chains. “Don’t forget dessert. Make it cheesecake!” Asshats. That should save time. “While they’re doing what internal security does best, let’s go back to what happened today. Start with when you went to the reference desk at the Library of Korranberg. That’s when I lost you.” Something felt wrong here. Seriously wrong.

Night of 28th Aryth Private Suite, Blue Lotus Bubble Bath Stella was taking a bubble bath when she got the sending. The Trust had annoyed her to the point that she refused to change her normal routine just because they were stalking her. Fine. Let them watch her get undressed if they were that determined. She had filled up the copper bath in the suite with fresh water, and now she relaxed in a froth of bubbles, using her cantrip to heat the water again whenever it cooled. Steam curled lazily up into the still air. She leafed through papers and bit the end of her pen as she made notes on the briefing the Trust had sent over. Ping! That was when Hendrick’s message popped into her head. Stella yelped and almost dropped her papers in the bath. "I was followed today. Maybe the Trust. My business is not yet concluded. Is everyone ok? Stay vigilant. Be safe." Well, that was one way to find out that her party member wasn’t dead in a gutter somewhere. Not murdered by church assassins, not taken to pieces by the Trust. Stella blew out a long breath. She knew better than to worry about Hendrick - he was a professional, just like Maev. But still, it didn’t feel good when he vanished in the dead of night with nothing more than a brief note. It felt ominous. Felt like a tight knot of stress in her stomach that was only now relaxing. Sounded like he’d been busy. It made Stella smile to hear he’d seen the Trust following him. Of course he had. Nobody was good enough to follow Hendrick without being spotted. How much information could she cram into twenty-five words? Including the fact that a mystery cardinal of the Silver Flame was on the guest list for this party and Stella needed to know if there was anything sinister about them? Fine. Twenty-five words wasn’t enough for anything but the short version. “Trust questioned us. All under control, but the others talked. Call if you need help.” Stella took some pride in that answer. It was short, but packed with information. Warning him of the danger, but letting him know everything was fine and she was available for tactical support if needed. He could definitely sleep tight after -- Ping! "What did they want? Are you still at the bathhouse? I will come in for tonight, I have something to prepare. Please brief me fully then." -- that. Fuck’s sake. Hendrick was going to walk into a full-scale ambush if he came here. The Trust had dropped fifteen people on Stella and she wasn’t even an offensive spellcaster. It would be an unpleasant evening in a secret Trust prison for Hendrick. Stella put some force into her reply. “Negative. Hotel crawling with Trust. You will be caught and interrogated. Finish your business. I repeat, situation under control.” She braced herself for a third ping, but got nothing but silence. Bubbles popped. The water lapped around her bare toes. Still silence. Stella relaxed back in her bath with a sigh. Either he was all out of sendings for today, or she’d finally got her point across. Now she could get back to memorising guest lists while Hendrick found a safe place to rest very far from the Blue Lotus. Somewhere anonymous. Somewhere secure. She sank a bit further down into the hot water, eyes starting to close. A wave of tiredness threatened to put her to sleep right there in the bath. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. For both of them, probably. Sleep tight, Hendrick.

Aryth The Grey Squalid Room Invidia had had a hectic few weeks. The rest of his companions had departed from Sharn to tie up loose ends in Taer Valestas. He had taken the small respite to finally visit the island, meet its inhabitants, and get the Horizon Company accounts in order. All the people living on the island seemed to be enjoying their idyllic lifestyle. It would be nice, Invidia mused, to be paid to live on a calm island away from the troubles in the war and free to pursue whatever magical experiments he wanted.  But that was not his lot. The wizard's attention was due elsewhere—the Khyber shards digging into his side only reinforced the point. He ran a hand through mussed hair and sighed at the neatly written letters he held in his hand. The inquiries sent towards Arcanix and the Tower both proved to be futile in nature. The scholars there had  relevant information—of that he was quite sure—but their letters didn't even hint at the proper direction to pursue. Travel to either location would be costly and time consuming.  The closest thing he had to a lead came in the form of correspondence from Zilargo. Someone had taken note of his offer a few weeks back in Trolanport to share some information on Khyber (for adequate compensation) and had taken the time to write him a small note. How interesting. Invidia re-read the message by flickering magelight and sighed. Better than nothing,  he thought to himself. He stood up from his rickety chair and grabbed a few necessities before making his way down to the main floor. A few scraggly regular patrons had stopped by for the lunchtime special and waved at him before turning back to their conversation. Invidia smiled in reply and strode out of the tavern, mind churning. In the upper reaches of Sharn, the mid-day sun barely broke through the wet haze of Aryth. Lower Tavick's Landing, however, had not changed a whit. Grimy dust coated everyone and everything. A raucous din surged from all around: squeaks, moans, moos, shrieks, and a number of other barely-discernible sounds rang out, if one bothered to listen. Invidia was not so inclined.  Sharn throbbed with life. A lone wizard easily blended into the crowd.

LOCATION: Korran Estate, Party DATE: 30th of Aryth CHARACTERS: Nala, Stella Clear your mind, Nala. Close your eyes for three seconds, take a breath, and let everything go. That's what you do before you walk into Frusk's estate. Nala had been trained - albeit not quite like Stella - for these kinds of situations. Nala knew how to schmooze, how to get rich people to like you - to start talking. She knew how to work her way around lies. But the knowledge was one thing...applying it was another. She did as her former boss had told her, all those years ago. Nala liked to count during this technique. Close your eyes. 1, 2, 3. Breath in. 4, 5, 6. Breath out. 7, 8, 9. Let everything go.  Blank. Almost. Nala's face twisted in slight frustration. Clearing her mind wasn't usually this difficult. Breath in. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Breath out. 6, 7, 8- A laughter broke through Nala's concentration. A laugh she remembered. Her eyes shot open and connected to the source. Invidia. Nala stopped walking. A gasp escaped her. Stella's confused and ever-worried eyes were on her, but she was too busy staring at the wizard several steps away. Nala took a small step towards the wizard, but hesitated. He hated me. He hated me then and he'll certainly hate me now. He doesn't know what you did for him. He wouldn't care. He is right to hate you. But maybe I can fix things? All I ever wanted was to be his friend. She takes another step forward. No. You're a curse on everyone you meet. Everyone will leave me. They want to. They need to. Nala shook her head, the thoughts too loud. She clawed at the insides of her palms, and tried desperately to avoid Stella's questioning face.  "I need...I need to go to the restroom." Nala said, pleading with Stella silently to help her escape the situation.

LOCATION: Korran Estate, Party DATE: 30th of Aryth CHARACTERS: Invidia Invidia puffed out the rich cigar smoke and watched as the cool breeze carried it away. He and Provost Morrimar had arrived fashionably early and   in the same carriage, surprisingly quiet for its size and bulk. Another miracle of Zil magecraft, probably . For the past half hour, they had been enjoying the small delicacies that the Korran estate had laid out for their guests. The 811YK Passage vintage was certainly appropriate for the occasion.  Very nice, Invidia thought when he saw the dark bottles. Probably a political statement of some sort. After all, 811YK was the year in which the lightning rail first connected Flamekeep and Fairhaven. It was, and still remained a marvelous piece of magical engineering; a sure victory for House Orien and House Cannith. Of course, the project would have never come close to completion without the assistance of Zil binders. Invidia would've given more thought to it, but really, it wasn't worth his time.  Invidia hadn't yet tried the wine on account of the Provost shoving a cigar and whiskey into his hands, but he was looking forward to it. Speaking of... the fragrance of his drink brought the wizard back into the present. He took a sip. Hints of caramel. Very nice. The food and drink almost made up for what he had to do at this party. Schmooze.  His research had run into a dead end and he needed access to the archives hidden beneath the Library. Traveling across borders was still hazardous, and he didn't want to risk his hide to reach Arcanix and Wynarn, let alone the Tower. Meanwhile, Zilargo was ostensibly neutral, close, and had hordes of knowledge hidden away beneath the Library. A much safer decision, on its face. He just hoped the Trust wouldn't take offense to his presence, like they did last time. Though, to be fair, it really wasn't his fault then. His eyes swept across the grassy entrance. Guests trickled in, mostly gnomes and humans, though there was an occasional dwarf here or there. They gave polite nodes and smiles to him as they made their way into the manor proper. Some stood out in the sides of the courtyard, perhaps waiting for others in their retinue. He didn't recognize most of them, but there was a provoking couple who stood in the middle of the path. Others gave them irritated looks as they moved around the two and into the festivities. How curious. One of them looked suspiciously like that one dragonborn from some time back. He never really understood why she kept disguising herself as a human. Maybe she recognized him? Well, it didn't matter either way. The neuroses of others—and that one certainly had neuroses—wasn't really a priority. Hmm, what was her name again?  Nana? Lala? Something like that, Invidia thought with an idle puff of his cigar. Whatever. Invidia sighed and took another sip of his drink.

LOCATION: Party at Korran Estate, Basement Dungeon DATE: 1st of Vult, Night CHARACTERS: Blue, Hendrick, Nala, Stella, Zeth The battle had been close. Barely any goblins were still alive. Whatever the precise nature of their mission was, they were far away from making this a success. More guards or magic security could show up any minute. "Is everyone ok?" Hendrick had a look around whilst hastily putting out the flames ripping through his suit. "I have some healing left in me, but dont expect much." It looked as if they were trapped here for now. "What do we do next? We probably don't have long before more trouble arrives."

Crossbow. Check. Dagger. Check. Rapid bleeding. Also check. Stella fumbled in her healer’s kit, ripped a dressing open with her teeth and slapped it one-handed over the wound in her side. She bit her tongue trying to keep in the pain. Fuck. She’d gotten stabbed pretty hard by that guard while trying to distract him from killing more goblins, which had been an exercise in futility since the fire elemental had incinerated them just seconds later. In their cells, in chains. Screaming. It felt like all of the heat was draining out of her with the pulses of blood, leaving only coldness. It took a second dressing and then a third to stop the scarlet colour soaking through. She bandaged her burned hand, trying not to wince. Mobility, minimal. Grip, not without screaming. That was going to be a problem because even the lightest crossbow required two good hands to load and fire. She braced the crossbow stock against herself for leverage and with clenched teeth managed to pull the lever and load a bolt. Fuck, that hurt. Fucking fire elementals. Fuck. "Is everyone ok?" Hendrick had a look around whilst hastily putting out the flames ripping through his suit. "I have some healing left in me, but dont expect much." No. None of this was okay. Especially not their desperate and monumentally unsuccessful attempts to save twenty-nine starving, manacled goblins from getting burned alive, leaving nothing but scorch marks on cell floors and soot in the air. Four survivors. Just four out of the entire group. Anyone with genuine empathy would be huddled in a corner right now just from the sheer cruelty, the pointless slaughter - from being so close and yet so pitifully unable to stop it. And they didn’t have time for huddling right now. They just didn’t. “Don’t heal me. I’m still up.” Her voice came out dead cold. This heavily secured basement was in full lockdown, complete with screaming alarms and emergency lighting. The rest of the guards must be preparing to rush them right now. Castar Korran wanted to obliterate them personally. And her team looked almost as bad as she felt - bloodied, exhausted, low on magic, and barely on their feet. Hendrick should save his remaining spells for them. She slipped her lockpicks from a hidden seam in the sleeve of her ruined dress. Time to find out if she could still pick locks while bandaged to the fingertips. “Kashtai, we’re gonna need those doors open. Let’s get our new goblin friends and go.”

Damage control. Everyone seemed terribly experienced at it. Hendrick’s skin was burned at different new places, a sensation he was quite used to though. It would heal again. He quickly started looking after Blue, tending to those deep burns. “Don’t heal me. I’m still up.” Her mannerism was cold. Whilst she was a fantastic agent, she still showed warmth. No, she was at work. She had to be to keep it together. Her wounds did not look good, but they should keep closed. Nala and Zeth seemingly had lost their interest in this place for now, each gazing blankly into the distance. We would have to reach them later. As Stella got out her lockpicks he walked over to her. “Let me help you with that.” He produced his own set of picks from the remnants of his attire. He leaned in, gave her a slow pad on the back and whispered: “You did all you could. Thank you for getting us that far.” He moved to the next cell along the way. “We have to keep them calm, otherwise this is not going to work.” He looked at Stella, waiting for her to suggest a course of action.

Evening of 2nd Vult Private Suite, Blue Lotus Pass the Salt An eerie green glow filled the private suite at the Blue Lotus. Stella froze with her wine glass halfway to her lips. Kashtai hovered over the dinner table, the little green orb reflected in the bright glass and silverware beneath. She was moving around their new friend Invidia. Interested. Curious. Reading him, probably chatting to him. A spellcaster could do some serious damage to Kashtai - shatter her orb, disintegrate her, throw her back to Dal Quor. They would only have seconds to react. Not that they had any real chance against Invidia anyway. Although each spoonful of her citrus ginger-carrot soup tasted perfect and her family was at least temporarily happy with her, Stella was not enjoying this dinner. Not at all. Every muscle still ached after the mission. Her bandaged hand hurt too much to even tear a bread roll. She kept finding traces of soot under her fingernails, even after multiple long hot showers and some compulsive prestidigitating. And this Invidia had invaded her team’s private suite with his hulking animated construct thing. Asking all their stories, learning all their secrets. It felt threatening. Felt like she needed to protect them. Even though everyone kept telling her it was safe. Hendrick thought he was trustworthy. Kashtai thought he was nice. They were both experts in reading people in their different ways. Right? They couldn’t both be wrong. Fine. With extreme reluctance, Stella surrendered to their better judgement. “Kashtai is our friend. My friend. I trust her. It seems we’re having this conversation whether I like it or not, so for the record, she is an extraplanar intelligence and one of a tragically small minority of quori who aren’t trying to conquer Khorvaire by stealth. And secrecy is officially dead. Can I have the salt?”

Evening of 2nd Vult Private Suite, Blue Lotus Pass the Salt "Sounds like a plan to me," Invidia said, handing the salt and pepper over to Stella. "Total and complete secrecy is an overrated concept anyway. Better to have at least one hand out in the open, ideally clutching some sort of shiny token for others to gawk at. People like that."  "Anyway," he continued, "it's really quite fascinating how you all found yourselves together on this adventure. I don't suppose you all know where you're headed to in Sharn? I could send a message ahead to get some logistical issues smoothed out—lodgings, and things like that."

That was it? No reaction, no questions? Well, if he was that uninterested in their extraplanar invasion, Stella wasn’t going to bore him with details. “Fascinating indeed. Lodgings would be useful. Somewhere downmarket enough that guests can come in beaten up late at night without attracting too much attention.” Hopefully somewhere the Inspired wouldn’t pop up on their very first night. Again. It hadn’t escaped her attention that Nevitash might be heading back to Breland soon. “We’d appreciate your help. I have to fill out expenses forms in triplicate for operating costs. It’s quite tedious.” Stella dropped that in there just to see if he cared enough to ask why the fuck she had to fill out forms.

"Mmm, perfect," Invidia said as he bit into an especially scrumptious chunk of glazed meat. Internally, he wondered what kind of person made jokes about filling out forms. An accountant, perhaps? After some mastication and further consideration, he sent the morsel on its way to later digestion. "There's this inn called The Grey that fits the description. Located in the Highwall district of Lower Tavick's Landing. There aren't too many amenities, but there's enough to get by. What kind of misadventures are you all looking to get up to in Sharn?"

Evening of 2nd Vult Private Suite, Blue Lotus Invidia, Hendrick, Zeth, Blue and Stella. As Zeth finishes a long sip of his bowl of soup, ending it with a satisfied "aahh~" to truly voice his satisfaction with the meal, that Invidia had prepared for them. Reaching toward his plate before noticing his severe lack of bread on it, joining the conversation with a "Would someone please pass me the bread? Thank you~" and following it up with "I'm sure The Grey will suit our needs nicely, especially if it's by your recommendation sir Invidia. As for what we're up to it would seem that the quori have a lot of activity in sharn." As Zeth says this he looks to Stella, before relaxing and falling back in his chair.  A coy smile rather suddenly washes over Zeth's face and he turns to Stella, "see~? a little truth doesn't hurt anyone." Using very overexagerated body language to clearly indicate that Zeth is merely having a bit of fun. "Because of a little truth, for once, we can have a nice breakfast with a new friend like this." Though Zeth is clearly trying to light heartedly have a bit of fun, he's just a bit dull, a bit slower, his smile is not as bright and less pronounced than usual.

"Quori activities?" Invidia asked. "Like what? And how are you going to stop them?"

"Honestly I have no idea, Stella told of us a map she saw, had a lot of light  near Sharn, said map used to belong to a quori puppet, whom we dealt with." A satisfied smile spreads from Zeth's lips and he continues "As for how to stop them, well, that's always gonna be a bothersome experience due to their magical abilities, their magic is rather devastating on the mind, I know that from experience." Zeth's brow furrows for but a moment as he's reminded of his torture at the tower. "They're tricky to deal with, even trickier to locate." Zeth looks up in realization and looks to Stella then Hendrick respectively. "Do we even know of a way to locate them?"

“Yes. A nice meal with a new friend.” Stella didn’t entirely believe that, but she smiled back at Zeth with a touch of genuine warmth. It was the first real smile from her since she’d arrived to find Invidia making dinner in their kitchen. Bringing this stranger in on their activities still felt reckless, but she couldn’t blame Zeth - he wasn’t cut out for this. None of the others were, with the possible exception of Hendrick. That was why Zeth only had about a tenth of the information he needed right now, and Stella didn’t plan to enlighten him any time soon. The shadows in Zeth’s face told her he still hadn’t recovered from that encounter with the fire elementals in the basement. Stella sipped her wine and stayed friendly for his sake. “I have a few ideas, but I don’t want to spoil the mood. Are you sure you want to discuss this at dinner? It’s hardly light conversation.”

"Eh," Invidia halfheartedly offered as he slathered butter on a perfectly toasted loaf, "It's about par for the course as an adventurer. Whaddya got?"

Fuck’s sake. Stella had a brief and intense telepathic argument with Kashtai, at the end of which Kashtai glowed rather smugly and Stella gave up with a scowl. “I really hope you’re right about this.” What had happened to the Kashtai who used to warn her to tread lightly? Kashtai must really like Invidia for some reason. “Yes, we have a map. It’s marked in a psionic… language, for lack of a better word. It’s indecipherable unless you’re an extraplanar psychopath. Not even Kashtai can make sense of it. But it clearly shows that they’re very interested in Sharn. I’m not sure why, but the plan is to make contact with…” Ah, fuck. Nobody at this table had even heard of the kalashtar before the Korranberg Chronicle had mentioned them as terrorists. Stella had intentionally left them out of every briefing so far. She started over from the beginning. “The kalashtar are… bonded… with the spirits of quori who fled from Dal Quor, the Plane of Dreams. Each kalashtar bloodline is associated with a specific quori. Like Kashtai. She has no kalashtar left.” Stella preferred not to think of that because it made her picture losing her own family. She wouldn’t cope as well as Kashtai did, that was for sure. “In a nutshell, if anyone knows what’s going on in Sharn, it’s the local kalashtar. I’d like to make contact with them. That’s one angle.”

It seems like people started talking, although the lines were drawn firmly in the ground. Invidia had proven to be a fantastic chef. Zeth had made a point out of oversharing over dinner and Stella had hidden away most of the sensitive information. So things were going as expected, with the exception of the marvelous food. "Whilst I agree, the offer of lodgings in Sharn is very friendly. Why are you so invested in helping us?" Not that this isn't nice for a change. "I believe Stella to have all the crucial information we need to find what we are looking for." Hendrick paused briefly, mustering each one of them. "In these travels trouble has managed to find us wherever we went." He looked at Nala's closed door. "Without us looking much."

Stella paused with her glass at her lips. She switched to speaking privately to Hendrick over the telepathic link. “ Maybe now is a good time to catch up. You might be happy to know my family is no longer interested in you. I think I calmed any fears about your work. ” She braced herself for incoming wrath for this next part. “ I had that letter from Gautreme couriered to another city so a Medani agent can cash in the money and deposit it for operating expenses. I asked them to report back if they got any attention from the Silver Flame. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first. You were… away.”

Maybe it was as good a time as any for a brief chat about recent events . Thank you for informing me. Are you with us now of your own volition or do you have a new mission? Bringing the money to a different place was smart. I am no longer welcome in their community. Hendrick sighed internally, remembering the reason for his absence. And the result of this information gathering mission. I don’t think I shall leave on such short notice again anytime soon. Some stones are better left unturned. He took a long sip of his drink, staring into the distance.

"Well, don't thank me just yet. The Grey is a shithole—pardon the parlance—but it should serve as an adequate hidey hole for you lot. Not much lost even if it burns down," Invidia said to Hendrick. He bit into some more food. "Well, except lives, but that can be fixed," he muttered, before continuing with a flourish. "Anyway, I could say that I'm interested in helping because of some philanthropic tendency of mine, or perhaps a perceived similarity between this nascent group and my old group of friends, but that doesn't really ring true to me. It's mostly because I'm bored and what you all are doing is quite interesting." "And really?" he said, replying to Stella. "I've heard the term kalashtar before, but it was quite obscure, even among the biggest religious scholars at the Tower. The tying of host to bloodline is awfully rigid, though I assume there was some underlying arcane principle that ensured its necessity. Do you know what specific ends the Quori are trying to achieve? And why?"

No longer welcome? Ouch. Stella had no love for Thrane in general or the assassination arm of the Silver Flame in particular, but getting burned by the faction you’d dedicated your life to was a nightmare scenario. Stella would have nothing without her family. She would be nothing without her family. It was unthinkable. “ I’m so sorry .” It felt so inadequate. Nothing she could say would make it right. “ I… missed you. While you were gone. I’m sorry your personal business didn’t work out the way you wanted. “ I do have a new mission. I think you’ll like this one better. I talked to my family about the Dreaming Dark. They weren’t entirely convinced there’s an entire organisation of psionic spies operating without their knowledge, so I didn’t risk my credibility by telling them about the extraplanar invasion, but they’re worried enough to want to know more. They asked me to make contact with the kalashtar on behalf of House Medani. So looks like we’re official. ” Stella glanced at him from behind her wine glass. “ They’re very happy with how the Castar Korran job worked out. Thanks for your help. ” Invidia was bored. Not worried about the conquest and enslavement of an entire continent and all its people. Just bored. Stella kept a straight face and a polite smile. “Ask Kashtai. I’m afraid magical theory and extraplanar intelligences are a bit abstract for me. I just do what I’m told.” Cute and dumb, that was her.

Hendrick wondered how a wizard would plan on fixing lost lives. He was pretty sure he knew. “Boredom might be a good way of getting onto a path, but it is rather easy to turn away again, friend. Maybe you should find some other cause to lead your way, if you mean to get into the, for the lack of a better term, patron business. But we appreciate your offer very much. Maybe the research you could do, with a team such as ours getting you information first-hand and of highest quality, maybe this could keep you interested in a more sustainable manner.” Using Kashtai's telepathic link: “Thank you Sofia. I worried about you a lot, whilst I was gone. You have proven my worries wrong though.” The way she might have missed him, he had missed Thrane. Just for much longer now. He had never even spent time outside before. Life was much simpler there. “Regardless of my standing, I am still a man of the Flame. I shall bring the light, for as long as I am permitted. The Dreaming Dark is likely a more pressing issue than Hendrick van Lichtenfels, I agree.” He thought how they nearly burned to death in the basement along with the 29 goblins. “I am not happy with the outcome, but I am glad I was there to help out. We are all alive. That matters.”

"I'm certain the knowledge gathered will be a great boon to the storehouses of information across the continent," Invidia replied to Hendrick. "It should also be of great assistance to my own research efforts."  "Stella, this is an adventuring party. Don't insult me by pretending that you all are obedient drones. I mean, have you met Nala?" Invidia replied while rolling his eyes. "You're catalysts of change! Very exciting, and certainly liable to uncover ancient secrets—and more importantly, arcana—for a worthy wizard's perusal. My financial assistance is just a lubricant for that purpose."

Ah. That explained a lot. Invidia didn’t give a single fuck about anyone in Khorvaire, only about magical research. Stella gave Kashtai a somewhat hard stare for suggesting that Invidia was nice, but she had no problem taking a rich patron’s cash if that was what it took to fund their work. “I’m sure Kashtai would be positively thrilled to share all kinds of extraplanar knowledge with you. Maybe you can finally figure out how to effectively counter psionics. Nobody else seems to have a clue.” Hendrick was conspicuously not telling her about this personal business that had led him to vanish in the dead of night. Maybe it really was just personal. Not every secret was meant to be known, even by a Medani. “ Yes. That was rough. Failing to save those poor people. Zeth took it hard, I think. But we did what we could, and I hope the Trust are making Korran suffer right now. ” Fucking Korran. She would have slit his throat with her dagger if Zeth hadn’t physically intervened. “ Would you like to know how that bomb got aboard our ship? I figured it out. You’ll hate it.” Stella finished the last of her glass of wine. She was going to need about half a bottle to get through this dinner.

"Yes, that is an area of interest! So-called "psionics" and knowledge of how they function. I have some ideas, but they're not very fleshed out because of limited testing," Invidia replied. "What are the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Quori and their hosts?"

“Just one friendly word of advice, Invidia. I have seen people turned by these psionics. They lose themselves. They are ultimately controlled by whatever spirit has haunted them. And I do not believe generic magical precautions to be sufficient. Maybe you should put some research into that, before we dig too deep.” Hendrick saw the young wizard, the boredom in his face. Let’s hope he does not overreach. They did not need another Jenkins. Stella seemed very chatty. Maybe she really did dislike the dinner as much. Or maybe she needed to get some stuff off her mind. “Korran was a boy, who never got educated. He might have learned how to be a wizard. But no one taught him how to be a person. I fear whatever happens to him, might end the life he knew one way or another, without any chance of making him truly understand his mistakes. Like this he might get a chance to redeem himself though. And regardless, his life was not ours to take.” He remembered Stella’s uncharacteristic urge to kill the man and Nala’s arcane assault that followed. The bomb on the ship was rather problematic. “How do you think it happened? And do you have any material proof?”

“You’re more forgiving than I am. Korran murdered those prisoners without even thinking about it. They were just inventory to him. I don’t believe he’ll ever understand. Part of him is just missing. ” Stella watched their guest, still playing with the stem of her glass. Invidia seemed like exactly the type to build an efficient method of destroying incriminating evidence into his profit chain. She couldn’t picture him caring about a few crispy goblins either. They shouldn’t be cutting this deal. Her family would fund them. Her family would protect them. Her family would… Stella sighed. Hendrick thought House Medani was made up entirely of psychopaths, so why wouldn’t he pounce on the first reasonable alternative? Anything was better than a Medani, right? “ I really hope you’re right about Invidia. Because if you and Kashtai hadn’t vouched for him, I’d think all he’s interested in is power. And some quori asshat is going to make him an offer he won’t refuse. ” Kashtai would have noticed that. Right? She would have read it in his mind. Wouldn’t she? Fuck. Stella pulled the cheesecake toward herself, cut a generous slice, and attacked it with enthusiasm. She might have mentioned her love of cheesecake a few dozen times when Invidia was making dinner. “Mmm. That’s good. Yeah, they’re all psionic as fuck. So are their hosts, the Inspired. Lots of psychic damage and interesting ways to torture people. They have this soulknife thing as well. They conjure these psionic blades and teleport right next to you and stab you.” Stella demonstrated with her fork. “Plus when you dream you go to the Plane of Dreams. They hang out there doing their evil scheming in their downtime. If they can fuck with you enough nights in a row, you’re gonna wake up hosting a quori. So that’s awkward.”

"Maybe you are right, maybe you there is no hope for Korran. But do you think you should be the judge of that? Or me? Or any of us? Having known him for an evening?" She was probably right though. She learned fast. "I fully understand your reservations towards Invidia. And this is why you are here. You are the one to look out for threats, were there might be none. I think he could be able to help us though. While his mind seems to not be able to comprehend, what the enslavement of millions of people by the Quori would mean, maybe this sets him free to allow for more pragmatic thinking. He seems lacking in conscience, but that could be an advantage in some sense. You don't have to like people you work with. Just respect them. As for his power struggle, I do not really see that in him. Sure, we all strive towards something. His poison seems to be curiosity though. Maybe even lack of belonging." Hendrick looked over to Zeth: "Have you painted anything good lately? Blue was showing me one of his. He had put a lot of effort into it."

LOCATION: ??? DATE: ??? CHARACTERS: Nala , Puff , & Party Nala awoke to a familiar scent - one she hadn't had the pleasure of inhaling in a very, very long time. The kind of wonderful scent that only comes with knowing a very incredible cook. A smile formed. It was the first smile in a long time that didn't have an undercurrent of pain under it. She finally opened her eyes to darkness. She stumbled around, looking for a door and eventually finding one. Opening it, she walked down the staircase she was so used to. She walked into the kitchen, where her mother was roasting some vegetables from the garden. Nala inhaled deeply, and she let out a content breath. "Nala, darling! Go wake your sisters for me, sweetheart. It's almost time for dinner." Her mother said. Why are we sleeping before dinner? Oh, it doesn't matter. Nala walked to her sisters' rooms and woke them both up gently. "Carina, Nasira! Time to eat!" Her mother called from the kitchen. Nala smiled, hearing her sisters' names. It felt like something foreign and strange, even though she had played games with them just yesterday in the garden. Nala walked down the staircase after her sisters, but something was wrong. The stairs fell out from under her, and she was walking on darkness. Around her, the house had faded to darkness. Nala yelled out for her mother, but she was alone. Finally, Carina and Nasira came back, but they were angry. "Where were you, Nala? Where were you on the ship when we were suffering? Why have you forgotten us, Nala? Is it because you killed us? Is it because you were the one who stole our lives away?" Nala tried to cry, tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried to tell them that she didn't kill them. She couldn't speak. "Let me take your pain away, child." A new voice broke through. "Let me take these painful memories from you, so that you can be stronger." Flashes of dozens of goblin slave bodies being incinerated. An image of Hendrick, blood busting from a thin line where her blast had assaulted him. Blood and pain. Shrieks of agony flooded Nala's ears, and she clawed at her head but there was no feeling. "TAKE IT AWAY!" Nala yelled, finally able to use her voice. Immediately, the flashes stopped. The shrieks stopped. All went quiet. Nala opened her eyes, seeing her mother's garden. Stella was there. Hendrick. Blue. Zeth. Even Ex was there. Nala smiled and they smiled back. All was well. All was well. All was well. *** Nala's eyes fluttered open. Her room at the Blue Lotus came into focus. She stretched briefly and rubbed her eyes. She sat up, but her head was throbbing and the edges of her vision blurred, so she laid back down for a moment. Finally, she got up and got dressed. Voices muttered pleasantly in the common room. Puff nuzzled her, sending her general feelings of worry. "I'm okay, Puff . Just a bit of a headache. Here." She gave him a couple of sugar cubes, and he rewarded her by doing a backflip in the air. "Come on, let's go get some food." He hopped onto her shoulders and nestled in lazily. Nala walked out of the room and into the area where Stella , Blue , Zeth , Hendrick , and... ... Invidia ? She stopped, confusion on her face. "Um. What did I miss?" Nala said.

Hendrick’s eyes focussed onto Nala, as she entered the room. One hand under the table was ready to start turning her into a smouldering pile of ash within a split second. “Please, Lady Nala. Join us. Your friend Invidia has cooked a marvellous meal. How are you feeling? You have been asleep since the party. Something must have taken quite the toll on you.” He got up and helped her to another seat. Whilst she sat down he remarked: “Invidia was telling me about the time when you and your former companions started killing each other.” He sat back down again and started soaking up some of the sauce with the bread. It was delicious.

Nala was relieved that Hendrick broke the silence. She gave him a small smile, though it faded as he mentioned Invidia's stories.  "Yes, well, some of them were quite violent. I'm glad to be away from them." Nala said, though she thought of Ex and a pang of hurt raced through her heart. She sat down and looked at her plate of food. It looked absolutely spectacular. But of course it would. She gave Invidia a long look of resignation. "I could be better," she continued, turning back to face Hendrick . "My head hurts. I seem to have some gaps in my memory. Did I pass out?" She stole a few glances at Invidia . He looked incredibly powerful; much more powerful than he was when they parted ways. She wondered if maybe he'd found a patron of his own. "The food is even better than I remember, Invidia . Thank you."  Puff reached his snout forward to steal a bite while Nala wasn't paying much attention. He sighed contentedly and gave a content nod to Invidia .

This cheesecake really was spectacular. Soft and creamy with just the right touch of sweetness. Stella began calculating whether she could sneak another piece without the others making too much fun of her. “ Perhaps you’re right. ” If Hendrick could find enough forgiveness for Korran, maybe he could continue to be patient with her for a bit longer. She was going to need it. “ The explosives were brought onto the ship right in front of you by a member of the security forces .” Stella gave him a wry glance. “ Not necessarily by choice. Fucking psionics could have twisted his mind like a croissant. The victim calls in a fictitious tip about the ship, goes aboard with his security buddies, clears out the entire crew, giving himself free run of the ship, then plants the explosives and immediately pretends to discover them. Then leaves, chasing out the rest of his buddies as he goes. Boom! Right in front of you. ” She reached for the double cream and poured it on her remaining cheesecake with a generous hand. “ The Trust reached the same conclusion. I’m waiting for a final update from them before we leave Korranberg. Hopefully we can persuade the kalashtar we aren’t agents of the Dreaming Dark before anything else explodes. Losing the ship was— ” Stella stopped. Dead. Nala had come to join them. Her eyes followed Nala, and not only because of her personal interest in arrestingly beautiful dragonborn girls with bronze scales and wide green eyes. Nala had no weapons and no arcane focus right now - Stella had made certain of that - but the silence still felt tense. Dangerous. Stella’s bandaged fingertips drummed slowly against her knee beneath the table as Hendrick pulled out a seat for Nala. He was being so ominously polite, he must be on the edge of incinerating someone. “Wine, darling?” Stella poured for her with her best smile. This was about to get confrontational.

Nala seemed back to her normal confused self. Others might think that to be a good thing. Hendrick knew it just meant she had not the slightest control over her book or what it would make her do. He looked around the room. Zeth looked agitated. Something Hendrick had never seen before. Nala looked oblivious. Stella on edge. Blue was probably arguing with his Granddad. And Invidia was just enjoying the show. Hendrick calmed his fire and his voice. “One could say you passed out. In fact, you passed out so much, that you decided to go and kill Korran. No matter the cost.” Hendrick glared over to Stella. “Maybe your book could have something to do with it?”

Nala did the Dragonborn equivalent of furrowing her brows. "I...I don't remember..." She said quietly. "But that doesn't sound like me. What happened?" She looked at Hendrick with genuine worry in her eyes. She looked around the rest of the company, finally realizing that perhaps the tension in the room wasn't solely her anxiety at Invidia's presence. She locked eyes with Stella, silently pleading with her to explain why everyone seemed to be upset.

Their eyes met and held. Stella’s empty glass twinkled, begging to be refilled with red wine. She’d only had one so far tonight. One glass was hardly enough for this. A whole bottle, maybe. She drew a fingertip slowly around the rim of the glass, still staring into those green eyes, thinking about the first time she’d kissed Nala right here on their first night in Korranberg. She had pressed Nala’s palm over the fresh dragonmark on her bare skin because for the first time she had felt brave enough to share it. Bury it. That was what the Medani had taught her. Just bury all the feelings deep down and never dig them up. This was her own fault for getting romantically involved with a warlock. What a stupid, stupid decision. She should be ashamed of herself. Nala seemed so sincere. Her body language betrayed no tension, no hostility. No defensiveness, even. The slight crinkle in her brow revealed nothing but confusion. That was just as well because if she made one sudden move right now, Hendrick was going to set her on fire. Stella had known it the second he dropped his hand beneath the table - she’d seen that little gesture before. And the defensive shift in his posture sent her adrenaline rocketing. He was poised to move to shield the rest of them. Stella spoke slowly. Precisely. Never taking her eyes off Nala. “You attacked Korran when he was bleeding out on the floor. You blasted Zeth across the room. You dropped Hendrick unconscious. He could have died. I took your pretty jewellery that you use to cast spells, so you tried to unleash your breath weapon on us. That was when I stabbed you and put you on the floor.” Her voice shifted, her expression as blank and cold as winter. “You almost obliterated our entire party. Without warning. I’d like to know why.”

Is this some sort of depraved mating ritual?  Invidia wondered. What a strange group. And why is the half-elf running her fingertip around a wineglass? "You almost obliterated our entire party," Stella said coldly. "Without warning. I'd like to know why." Invidia almost spat out the food in his mouth. With great restraint, he settled for choking on it instead. Good to see that things haven't changed a whit. How entertaining. It's like nobody reads the old stories these days. Doesn't matter if Good or Evil: old, sapient magical items are always bad news, especially if connected to lurking entities beyond the scope of this reality.  He had a sip of wine to wash it all down and settled in to watch the tense proceedings.  Wait, what's the priest doing? Invidia eyed the Flame-worshipper disbelievingly. Why is his hand under the table?  Great, he was surrounded by sexual deviants again.

Nala's breath caught, and she looked from Stella to Zeth, to Hendrick...searching each face for a different answer. But no, they were grim. Nala shook her head, more at herself than anything else. "That's not...no, I would never..." She looked at Stella, searching for any hint that they were playing a cruel prank. But there was nothing. Her eyes welled up. Bits and pieces of memories started to come back...attacking Korran, and then her friends. Her family. Literally the only people in the world that she has left. As the memories came back, the tears in her eyes fell freely. "No! No, that can't be!" Her hands flew to her eyes as she willed the sobs to stay in her throat. Somewhere in her mind, some particularly nasty thought clawed free: I told you they were better off without you. She shook her head again, still hiding her face in her hands.  "I need to go. I need some time to myself." 

Invidia munched silently as his eyes darted between Stella, Hendrick, and Nala.  A sobering thought occurred to him. Wait, isn't this the exact same issue she was struggling with a year ago? The producers are just milking this for money at this point. Though I'm not sure what a producer is in this context. Hmm. 

Hendrick realised, it was just as he had thought. Nala had no control over the book. She might be able to harness some of its power. But it had the final say. His glare softened a bit. It was not the crying, many had cried before him. Begged even. It was the genuine despair upon remembering. She definitely is in for a bad deal. “I understand your desire to be alone and forget. But we cannot ignore what is happening here any longer, Nala.” They needed to talk, they needed to tell each other what they knew about her source of power. Playtime was over. Hendrick relaxed the readied spell and used both hands to undo a piece of jewelry he hasn’t parted with in decades. He slowly took off his necklace holding his divine focus of power. It was not much, the silver amulet showed the finely worked symbol of his church. No jewels, no ornamentations of any kind. Just a flame on a silver arrowhead shaped plaque. “Would you mind holding on to these for me, until I am back?” He handed it over to Stella, along with the dagger he had on his belt. He reached out a hand towards Nala. “How do you feel about going for a walk? No need to face challenges on our own.” His eyes looked friendly.

Nala didn’t remember. Stella began rubbing her temples where a headache was gathering. She had been hoping Nala had only lost her cool so spectacularly because she had been enslaved as a child. Stella couldn’t imagine what kind of damage that must do to a person, what kind of rage must build up. Maybe she would have gone berserk and tried to murder Korran herself if it had been her. One moment of insanity from an otherwise reliable friend could have been forgiven with time. Not fucking remembering? That was a huge problem. A supernatural problem. An eldritch book of ridiculous evil problem. Stella bit her tongue before she could tell Nala that she wasn’t going anywhere alone any more. Not until that book was in ashes. For all they knew it would make her murder the first person she came across and that wouldn’t be much good for the housekeeping staff at the hotel. Instead she slowly reached out to take the silver amulet and the dagger from Hendrick. A rare smile touched the corners of her eyes. That little gesture let her know everything would be all right, because Hendrick had showed her nothing but kindness and patience the evening they had both laid their weapons and armour down. She made her voice gentle for Nala’s sake. “I told you a few days ago to talk to Hendrick about the book. Remember? Maybe now is a good time. Go for a walk and he’ll sort it all out.”

Nala looked up at Hendrick with tears still running down her face, but at his kindness, she visibly relaxed a bit. She nodded at his question, and then stood up slowly, taking his arm and letting him lead her out of the room. She looked back at Stella before exiting, but a painful tug of the heartstrings made her look away before catching her eye. She waited until they were out of earshot of the others to say anything. "I'm so sorry, Hendrick. I don't know what's happening to me." She admitted quietly, not even able to meet Hendrick's eyes. Hendrick, whom she had admired most from the beginning. The one who reminded her of her father. To have hurt him was beyond comprehension for Nala, and her hands trembled slightly as she gripped his arm. "I've lost so many people. The people in there, and you, are all I have left. You have to believe me when I say that I would never willingly hurt any of you." Nala drew in a ragged breath, as if the sobs were threatening to come back. "Before you say anything, you should know that I took the book to the library. My intention was to possibly receive some insight on what to do with it." It was clear that Nala was choosing her words carefully. "That's why the party was taken in by the Trust. They labeled me a threat. Perhaps rightfully so. But Hendrick, I want to do the right thing. I want to be worthy of this group. I can't live like this, constantly forgetting important memories and waking up to discover that the only people in the world I love are healing from wounds I inflicted on them." She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself, as if trying to protect herself from her own emotions. 

Stella’s soft smile lasted until her two friends made their exit. The possibility of violence had passed and she had faith that they would come to an agreement on the book - destroying it, most likely. Maybe burning it. Hendrick did take an unholy joy in burning things. That left her with their mystery benefactor. Zeth and Blue were keeping quiet and Kashtai seemed content to observe. Stella refilled her glass, not taking her eyes off Invidia, and drank. Slowly. This did not feel like a quiet evening with friends. Not at all. “You talked to the Inspired ambassador at the masquerade. Nevitash.” Stella said his name with undisguised contempt. “I’d like to know what you talked about.”

Evening of 2nd Vult Riverbanks Korranberg Hendrick and Nala Hendrick didn’t say much. He listened and led her out the Blue Lotus towards the riverbank. Troubled child, he thought. As well as beacon of pure evil. A mixed bag one could say. Her carefully chosen words made it so they reached the streets well before she had finished. Once she had stopped they continued walking in silence for a few hundred yards, slighty of the main road, before Hendrick turned towards her and gave her a long hug. They stood in silence, with her sobbing blocking out all other evening city noises. Hendrick got on his toes to whisper in her ears. “We are all friends to you here. Do not shoulder this alone. We are trying to help.” He led her towards an empty bench. The noise of the river was quite pronounced as they were staring down at the water thirty feet below them. “I do not understand the source of your magic.” Hendrick had broken the silence. “I have met people before in my line of work who prayed to dark gods or even robbed them of some of their power. Some had come to some sort of arrangement with these forces. But I have not seen those powers possess them. How can I look out for people, if I always have to watch my back and make sure you are still yourself?”

"Hmm," Invidia replied, wracking his brain. "He gave me a brief rundown of the Riedran Empire, its history, and some of its future plans. Obviously, he wasn't quite truthful with their ambitions, but it was mostly chit-chat." The wizard thought a bit more. "Oh right," he added. "Aundair has some plans to launch some kind of expeditionary force in the next few months. Best to stay away from the borders in the meantime."