Bigotry Is Nothing New

“If anyone survived the College's destruction it would be Grandmaster Stormcrow,” Severos said confidently, sitting back down in his chair. “He is a very powerful wizard, but even he is not the equal to Kelmoran. Master Pending was an expert in divination—a kind of guest lecturer – and was not there when the school was destroyed. I think he lives in Varland somewhere. We can seek him out. We could also try finding Ceriden Malkaan...”

“No, not Ceriden!” Reise said, almost spitting out his ale at the obscene suggestion. “I spent decades tracking that bastard. I have no interest getting on his trail again. He gives me the creeps and he's just crazy. If we found him I doubt he'd even help us.”

“He seemed quite reasonable when I spoke with him on the way to House Blackwood,” Orla said, shuddering a little at the memory.

“Reasonable? Ceriden is a screwed up, self-serving narcissist, with no care for anybody he hurts, no care for anything but his own gratification!” Reise exploded vehemently and Orla could feel the traumatic emotions that lingered and churned within her old friend. She reached out and took his hand and held it comfortingly in hers, psionically seeing fleeting glimpses in her mind of his long and desperate search for her after her abduction by the dangerous necromancer. Reise's eyes rested for a moment on Orla's concerned face, tender with compassion. He took a calming breath, slowly regaining his sanguine composure. “Ceriden can never be relied on or trusted, okay? We need someone who shares our goals, someone who will have our backs.”

“That person is The Wise One,” Severos stated most definitely. “Grandmaster Stormcrow.”

Orla nodded. “Enanth is a good man, and as a mage, he has few peers. In fact, he was known as the finest wizard in all of Dalen. But how to find him?”

“Yeah, again, we can’t,” Reise said. “We should just stick to trying to track down Draken like we were gonna do before you guys felt this disturbance. If Draken isn’t the one who stupidly let Kelmoran out of the book, he can lead us to Shade, who can lead us to who did...”

"Oh yes, let us find a shadow that can be anywhere by now!" Severos suddenly snapped in anger. He breathed for a second, closing his eyes as he felt an abnormal amount of anger in that moment, not just annoyance. He opened his eyes, now calm as he went, "This Shade can be anywhere. But we may want to start with Dalen if we are to hunt him down. All manner of demons and devils roam the plains."

Severos thought for a second. "We could start at Folkston's Keep," he said in his musing.

"I know of that place," Orla nodded. "It was a quiet little hamlet. But you seem to disagree," she finished, noting the mage's look.

"It is a place of war. Many of the demon hunters you will find in Dalen come from there," Severos replied. "And if anyone that might track a demon can be found, it is that place. Though, they are a bit bigoted."

"Who isn't in this day and age," Reise chuckled.

A moment of silence came about. As they fell silent, a man came to the table. He stood with a glare at Severos. "We don't want your kind here, twinkle fingers," he gruffly said. His clothes looked a bit dusted but was still the vibrant colors of a Verden merchant. "So make like the rest of your kind." The man smiled smugly.

Severos looked up at him with a glance to his companions. He could see the sword just beyond his hip as other patrons turned.

"Make like the rest of his kind? So be an overly stupid human and involve himself in other people's business?" Reise said, setting his mug down.

The man bared his teeth in grimace. "Fuck off, traveler. The mage is a danger to us all, I will not sit by and-"

"And what?" spoke Severos in a low voice. "Raze the town to its foundation? Slaughter the people? Turn you into a frog?" He looked him in the eye, a sharp disdain popping into his head. "You are Verden. I would have thought your kind was smart enough to not cause trouble with mages unless your precious Inquisition was around."

The man was visibly agitated at that even as Orla pleaded silently with her eyes to not start a fight. "See how hurtful words are? Leave us be. I will warn you once," Severos said, still low voiced and with an edge behind it.

Several patrons watched, ready to get between the two. Severos waited, a spell coming to his mind in preparation. The trader swiped their food off as the bartender finally snapped, "There will be none of that here! Get before you regret it."

"You heard him," Severos said, fingers under the table making exact motions. The tensions mounted before the trader turned about and looked at the place. He huffed before he moved on through the door, shouting, "Every single one of you is fools! Magic will bring ruin to you all!" He watched as the man made it to the door before it opened to admit two elven Karavoss guards. The man, in a clear huff and agitation made the mistake of saying, "Out of my way, knife ear!

The tavern crowd gave a cheer as the guards took one look at the bartender, raising an eyebrow and receiving a nod back, and backhanding the trader. "A few hours on the pillory will make you think twice about accosting people, especially the guard," one said as they began to grip him tightly.

"Do you know who I-" everyone heard before the door swung shut, muffling the outside. Severos turned to the table again, shaking a bit from the scenario. He breathed a shaky sigh before saying definitively, "We should be going."