Figures in the Night

JP with Cindy and White_Caribou

Shalia took a long drink before responding, enjoying the cool water in her mouth.

"They are in my possession currently. I was indeed part of last night's events and managed to secure three packs that I thought would hold the map. Instead, they held personal belongings and Inquisition materials I doubt will assist us much. Books and journals I intend to analyze promptly. Odd substances in vials. All worth a look. One item in particular I still cannot wrap my head around, though. An egg of some kind, larger than any I've seen before..."

The ice witch would take accountability for what happened, even if it yielded unsatisfactory results. Perhaps it would be seen as an act of leadership on behalf of Shalia--or a reckless and destructive impulse.
No sense in lying to Sister Locust either way it went. Maybe she could smell lies in all her immortal glory? That would certainly come in handy.

"I could show you the items, if you'd like?"

The other material gained last night didn't gain Islana's attention as much as the egg. A large egg that Shalia didn't recognize.

A pit formed in her stomach, but the Sister needed to know for sure. Not to mention the hope that one if those items might give her a clue, if Gonyaul and Voah were a part of what happened last night. Not that it was clear what to do if that was the case.

"Yes, I would like to see them. I'll have a servant retrieve the items."

Islana called over a servant and said to Shalia, "Just tell her, what she is getting."

Shalia looked to the servant girl. "Three packs at the foot of my bed. They are fragile, so be careful with them."

The servant bowed and headed off.

The witch turned her attention back, unsure if she should add the next part yet or where their conversation was going to go without it. The prophetess needed to know.
"Among these Helians, there is a man that can take away my magik with a touch. When he was closing in everything felt...off. Wrong. I lost my composure and they all got away." She stopped herself there so not to drag herself deeper into the feelings associated with it at this very moment, but the hurt was becoming more present in her eyes as they fell from the Seer's. She couldn't fight it off much longer, though the effort was valiant.

She tapped her finger idly on the glass before moving to refill it.

What? For a moment, Sister Locust thought she misheard the other woman.

"Take away magik? With a touch?"

Closing her eyes for a moment and taking a breath. This time the call for wisdom didn't work nearly as well. None of the other Sisters from the past had encountered such a thing. Fine time to go silent on me.

"That must have been jarring," an attempt to try to tell Shalia that she didn't blame her for the group getting away.

The revelation seem to push out any thought that Gonyaul might have been part of the group. Considering how many times Gonyaul had hugged her, it just seemed like she would have felt something. Right?

"Was there anyone else with those two?"

Shalia looked down at her glass before slowly moving her hands into her lap, lacing the fingers together. 'Jarring is only the half of it,' she silently replied, unsure if she was ready to elaborate to someone about what it truly felt like. Could Islana even understand something like that?

Sister Locust continued to speak.
So, it really was the time to revisit the scene. At least it was not centered on her or that bloody man, or how the holy woman had rushed to his side so lovingly and tender.

Inhaling sharply, her throat was immediately irritated. She coughed suddenly but cleared it away soon after.

"There was a small group of them that emerged after I was disarmed. I couldn't see much for faces but..." She closed her eyes to better focus, voice rasping again. Her brow furrowed as if there were something strenuous pulling at her. "At least...three new figures joined them? Three or four. I saw another tall woman with a sword, a very large but injured man, and someone much smaller, perhaps unconscious? The frame looked feminine but they all moved so quickly. I am unsure what happened with the older man who had been pursuing me for weeks. The one who attacked me first in the alley and killed my guards at the oasis. He arrived in a flash, but was held off from killing me by a member of the Brotherhood, and then I lost visual of him as everyone began to flee. Oh, there was a small twister, too. Yes, it came from their direction. Felt like something Amastan did in the desert when we were attacked, stinking of magik. But beyond all that I cannot recall other details. Not presently."

She opened her eyes and they met Islana's again, though hesitantly. A long drink was drawn from her glass. The information had to be of some use. She was unsure how much further into the latter part of that night she could recall without choking up, or whether her mind was blacking details out in all the chaos. Perhaps she would start forgetting some things later.

The group description did not excately scream out anyone in particular until Shaila mentioned the man who killed her guards in the oasis.

"The man who attacked you in the desert and has been following you. In the desert, was he with a group of bandits?" Islana seemed to think for moment, then added. "Older man, grey hair, balding, mustache, earrings, a chip out of an ear?"

Though the Sister didn't explain how she knew about the bandits, not yet anyway.

"Y-yes, he looked just like that." The string of questions left the expression on Shalia's face slightly confused. Was it Islana or the Prophetess recalling those details? Did the immortal soul of the Seer see everything across the desert, see the camp attacked?

"He's quick with a blade, too. Agile for his age. But he didn't fight alongside the bandits. Seems he used them as a way to sneak off onto our barge. You know this man?"