Private Tales Problems to Solve

[Anastasia]

"To the woods. Or an unused field. I don't care." She had to pause and catch the tone she was carrying. She took a deep breath, wondering for a moment why she was so sharp lately.

She softened, looking to Djana as they all were mounted. "Where do you think is best to lay low in the area? Can you take us there?"

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana mused for a moment. "There is a tavern within the town."

It was just about the best place to lay low. If they moved to some random field or stood on a hilltop the locals would undoubtedly see them and begin to ask question. A group of travelers in a tavern however would draw about as much attention as a Mouse in a grainery.

These things simply happened.

"This way." The Cultist said as she slipped upon her mount and began to lead the Templar back up the winding road and towards the village.

 

[Anastasia]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night another knock sounded on Leane's door. Ana let herself in this time, expecting the permission and almost... anxious to get to her friend. They had not had a moment in private to speak about what had occured. The rest of the day had gone smoothly and now the girl and her family were secured inside the house. Ana still wasn't sure this was the safest place for them, but she had decided to place some trust in their hostiest.

So far, they had been after the same thing. It wasn't like Ana not to mistrust good deeds.


Ana sat on the edge of the bed, almost tense, knowing Leane would start with her opinion without prompting. That's why Ana was here, after all.

 

[Djana Mahin]

"The girl was made soulless." Leane said quietly.

She had been considering the thought for some time now, the knowledge of it wrangling with her more than it should have. There was Dark Magic here, darker than one would have thought when they'd first set out.

"I wish Myrelle was here." She added. "Then we would be able to tell how the Soul was removed at least."

There were a few ways, and it would have been a good clue on just what they were up against. "I don't know the signs though."

She doubted Ana did.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana shook her head, having no answers of her own. She was not book smart in the slightest. She was skilled in anti magic and close combat and that was it. She also wished Myrelle was here. And Saul.

She pushed that all from her mind. "I just sent a letter out. I asked for Myrelle's thoughts on this. If we don't have a led by the time she responds, I'm sure she'll have a helpful word then." She was reassuring Leane as much as herself. The day hadn't been particularly hard on their bodies, but she looked exhausted regardless.

She pulled herself deeper into Leane's bed, kicking off the shoes she hadn't had time to remove yet and crossing her legs. Had she done the right thing? The tension hung in the air.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Fingers drummed on knees. "I'd rather wait than kill the girl."

Leane admitted quietly.

"She is a powerful tool for a necromancer, but it doesn't feel right." The Soulless were troublesome things. She did not know all the implications, but a body without a soul was a vessel for anything and anyone that came along. Demons, the undead, even ill intent.

They could all inhabit the soulless. They were powerful vessels, and their creation was a sign of extremely dark magic. She only wondered what had been done with the poor girls soul.

"They must be performing some sort of strong magic." She commented quietly. "Using the Soul as fuel...maybe there's more than just her."

 

[Anastasia]

Ana shuddered at the thought.

"This is a lot more serious than it looked on paper," she finally admitted. "I... don't know where we should start next. Maybe that Gala? How do those work? Would they let us in?" Valerie would be a better person to ask on that. Ana had never even danced before. Saul had. She heard it was all rather unpleasant.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Leane frowned for a moment.

"We would need the Lady's help." The Templar said the words softly, though with no small amount of distaste on her tongue.

The prospect of asking that woman seemed...unpleasant.

"Though It's a good move." As much as she hated to admit it. "At the very least it will let us get a look at who we're dealing with."

As important as any of this. "Perhaps give us opportunity to look around the Keep as well."

 

[Anastasia]

Ana nodded, more at ease now that they had a next step to work towards. "We'll bring it up at breakfast then," she murmured, falling into deep thought as she planned.

A silence brokered from her, yet despite the later hour she did not move to dismiss herself, staying in place as she comfortably fell to her thoughts.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Leane doubted that this would be as easy as they had initially thought. Her idea of this mission had been more simple, a monster in the woods, something skulking around the Keep.

A soulless was not what she has expected.

Still, she was glad that Ana was the one leading them. A soul would conjure powerful magic, and Ana was the best of them when it came to the use of anti-magic. At least with her at the head of this thing they had the best counter available.

Still, she couldn't help but wish there was a dozen of them.

It certainly would have made this easier.

 

[Anastasia]

Yes. It would have been easier indeed.

After a comfortable spell spent in Leane's company, Ana felt her exhaustion set in. She rubbed at her face ... and slowly pulled herself out of the bed. "Thanks," she said, without much explanation. "I'll leave you sleep. Goodnight.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Leane nodded, offering her own goodnight before eventually she bundled herself within the meager blankets and brought herself to sleep.

Djana on the other did not sleep, she rarely did these days. The Great Lord had bestowed upon her a great many gifts, and one of them was a body beyond that of many mortals. Instead of spending her time at rest, Djana dealt with the greater wonders of the world.

The Soulless.

She did not harm the girl of course, but she did speak with her, or rather, she glimpsed into her mind. The weaving was not a tool of complete control, but it allowed her a peek into the thoughts of the woman. In it's own way it allowed her to see just what the girl had become. "Niall, you fool."

The cultist whispered quietly to herself as she sat in the merchant's study.

She knew what the Soulless meant, and she knew what NIall was doing with the girls soul itself. She wondered if three Templar would be enough.

 

[Anastasia]

"I want you to take us to that Gala," Ana informed Djana the next morning over her food. "It would be helpful to be close to the people involved. It might even give us a chance to see around when others are distracted." Her gaze unintentionally flickered to Owin as she said that.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana looked at the Templar, her gaze passing between the three.

"You will need new clothes." That much was plain for anyone with eyes. The Templar looked as though they were a ragged bunch of...soldiers. "Or pretend to be servants."

Those were the only two ways really. "Other than that it should not be a problem."

Niall and his guards would not turn her away, not when they were confident in their victory. They might use the party in order to attempt to kill her, but that was the way of things.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana nodded, taking more slow bites of her food. "We'll do both, if you think that's wise. It's just..." She hesitated. "We lack that clothing ourselves."

 

[Djana Mahin]

"You don't say." Djana mused, not surprised in the least.

These were Templar, probably not used to dressing up for...well any occasion. She doubted that among the three of them they even owned a diamond necklace. A sigh escaped her.

"I am sure we'll find something for the two of you." She gestured towards the two women. "Among my collection."

Djana frowned as she looked at Owinn. "You...I doubt."

Very much.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana smiled, warm and appreciative. "Thank you. Owin will come as a servant. He works best when he can remain behind the scenes, anyway. If you can give us the layout of the building, he can see what he get into behind the scenes. Do you know everyone that will be there?"

 

[Djana Mahin]

"No." That would be ludicrous, and she wanted to laugh at the girl for making such an assumption. The idea that all nobles knew each other.

Silly.

"I know Niall, several of the Barons." Her lips pursed. "Not much more than that."

This country was not her own, and in fact was not her area of expertise. She had been here once before when she'd originally recruited Niall and the others into the Great Lord's service, but beyond that this country had been all but ignored in her efforts to gather his flock. "Gala's such as these see nobles from hundreds of miles away gathering."

 

[Anastasia]

"So," Ana concluded. "They wouldn't suspect a thing when we show. Good." She continued to slowly eat her meal, content to mull until Owin point out something that left her... squirming.

"And you'll need to learn how to do their manners and things."

Ana swallowed hard, resisting the urge to give him a look of betrayal. "We can be that out of place," she said, lowing the meat from her mouth she had been eating with her hands.

 

[Djana Mahin]

"He is correct." Djana added. "You will be recognized as Outland Ladies as I am, that will grant you some leeway, but there should be no mistake..."

She trailed off for a moment. "One wrong move and they'll have you hanged as peasants passing off as Lords."

Things were not the same here as they were in Alliria. Where the Templar came from anyone with enough money was a Noble, but here one needed more than coin in Order to earn respect. It was a practice similar to what was found in Vel Anir, where even the richest Merchant was not of a Noble House.

It was simpler here, but, still relevant.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana glanced to Leane, disconcerted. She knew Valerie had undergone extension training to blend into the upper classes as she sometimes was assigned too, and she also knew it to be extremely difficult and even audacious. It was a whole different world, and they had less than a week.

Not to mention neither women were that good at acting like something they weren't. For a moment it felt like a fools idea. Ana shook her head, not ready to toss down the concept that easily.

"We'll need help then. ... A noble Lady's help, if you have the time."

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana simply inclined her head.

This was of course a way to guide the Templar exactly to where she would need them. The Gala would be a good way to throw things into Niall's face, though she would have to be careful just how she lead things. If they suspected too early or moved too soon it could be disastrous. "Of course."

She said with a smile.

"I will help where I can." It was not a lie. She would help things along nicely, just had to ensure that the Templars looked where she wanted them to look.

And no further.

 

[Anastasia]

Ana nodded, pushing away her plate. Nobel food was nice, but in the end too rich for tastes so early in the morning. All the herbs were making her queasy. She picked up a piece of bread and and folded up in a napkin for later.

"When you're ready, then," she told the woman, pushing back her chair and standing.

 

[Djana Mahin]

The next few hours were filled with a flurry of activity. Djana prepared a servant to be sent to the Keep and tell of their attendance, she then lead the two women into choosing the correct dress and style of hair, and of course coached them in the proper etiquette.

Of course the latter was a rather difficult process. For their 'style' of nobility she chose one that was simplistic enough for even a mule to understand, plucking their would be mannerisms from the Northern Realms. Nobility there was rough to say the least, more Barbarian Lords than anything else.

It was simplest to teach them that way. "Always with the left foot forward first."

Djana stated plainly.

"Otherwise they'll know." The trappings of nobility were important, read like a book by people like Niall.

 

[Anastasia]

"And I thought the intricacies of dark magic were complex," Ana commented, struggling to override the instinct to step with whichever foot was actually forward.

She practiced wordlessly, taking a glance at Leane and finding some solace in her furrowed brows.

"Why does your lot make things so complex?" She asked, a bit blunt in her curiosity. "Why does it matter which foot I use-- there are better things to send someone to the stock over." LIke Soul stealing.