Lillian double checks that her bruises have mostly healed before heading home, thanking the drivers with a silver.
Well that wasn’t the most pleasant experience. Hopefully she doesn’t see the weird stranger again.
Entering into the capital building, there is a table. Numerous pirates are at it bickering about something. Of to the side there is a corridor that presumably leads to the treasury, since there are guards on both sides of a closed door there.
She gets closer to the group of pirates trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible so she can hear what they’re saying.
The pirates are too entranced with their bickering to really notice her as she approaches. You can’t quite make out what they are exactly stating since they are trying to talk over each other, but they are talking about something relating to raiding, Adiart, and an inward river.
Upon reaching her lodging, she seems to have gained a new vigor, eagerly heading toward her brewing station. She takes out the rare herbs and berries, carefully examining them and hopefully determining their use. (yeet time to create something cool)
No time to procrastinate, cleaning up can wait. She can let the brew stew overnight if needed as well.
Andar arrives back to the Stag Crown uneventfully. There is noticeably more guards around the corners of the streets, and the streets aren’t as busy as they would be.
Marian decides to talk to herself as she leans against on one of the walls.
“A river, huh? What’s so important about a boring river?”
Andar is not blind to the change in atmosphere. He enters the tavern of Stag Crown, walking to the counter. He is looking for Raul, the owner of Stag Crown. If there is anyone who knows what happens in Adiart, he will. And luckily, he isn’t out for the day.
“Hey, Raul. You know anything about these soldiers around?”
(It’s the late afternoon)
Raul glances around at the customers nervously. He starts to sweat after eyeing one individual off in the corner.
“Sorry, don’t quite know. It’s a bit strange but I don’t really see any problems.” His tone of voice trying to seem genuine, but it is clear as daylights that he’s under pressure.
“If you need anything, I’ll be in the back.”
One of the men breaks away from the main group, sitting on a chair on the side of the room where Marian is. He is visibly lost in thought.
She raises an eyebrow towards the man in the chair.
“Hey, is this dreaming hour or something? Why aren’t you with the rest of your group of chatters?”
Andar raises an eyebrow. Something is going on for sure. Did something happen while he’s away?
“Eh, whatever. I’ll ask the urchins if it comes to that.”
Andar shrugs his shoulder, as if it doesn’t bother him anymore. And the truth is, he could just ask some errand boys of what’s going on. However, knowing Raul is pressed by someone to hide something… he doesn’t like it.
“And the wine! You said you’ll let me pick the bottle next time around, yeah? You should probably keep an eye on me so I don’t take the honey wine, though.”
The cellar. If it’s down there, they can talk with ease. Andar goes behind the counter and kicks away the bar over the trapdoor heading to the cellar. Then he goes down, signing for Raul to follow.
Palie almost never left the Cult headquarters, a room inside a cave in midst of the forest. But Henry was taking time to return, as someone had to investigate it as the gods are hiding his signal.
As time fades slowly… Day to night, night to day. A short distance from where he’d previously assumed a knight camp to be he stopped in his tracks. On the floor near his bear trying to find some way to make it feel better, the tar having affected the poor grizzly “Alchemists don’t care… A knight tried to attack me… Why is everything going badly?”
Walking, she found a track of someone once touched by Mithras. It wasn’t visible or anything… It was just felt. Following it, she found a blonde man. Behind the trees, she avaliated the scene.
“Do you believe in coincidences or in destiny, …hunter?” A soft voice so cutting as a blade.
She stopped and put a hand in front of her eye, as if this way she saw something else — scary, to say the least.
Backing away slightly from the lady he looked visibly afraid “I…I don’t know who you are but if you try anything I will call my bear. I believe that coincidences can lead to destiny eventually. Especially after seeing that intelligent god preacher and saddening herbalist…”. Sighing, he looked down, it was clear a lot had happened since he had entered the forest… Far too much to simply ignore or undermine
“I already have knowledge of this animal’s state. I fear neither assaults nor death. If they find it worth for me to die, it is for reasons beyond my own”
Thinking about the remaining of the period, the blood rune of the palm of her hand in contact with her eye finally gave her an insight — the seeker had interacted with his man. Yet, his aura was way stronger for it only be this single incident.
“Tell me more about those two”
Staying calm but not looking directly at her, he started to talk “There was a circle of cultists preaching about Mithras… One man is particular spoke up and I found myself beyond intrigued, stepping inside the circle and having a debate with him… Turns out the cult have a lot of freedom compared to Blue Dragon such as myself, however perhaps it’s too much… Red features, markings, whispers of the gods. With freedom on top of that, it could just be anarchy! I then told him about what I’d heard and done… All my deepest and darkest secrets”
Then pointing back from where he had came from “Later, I spent time by the river there with a lady, speaking about how she lost her job and family due to falsehoods… It made me cry and pity her, I want to learn more but I know a soldier got angry and spoke about her calling her fake, so I know she must be of the Unseen since her features were perfectly normal”