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yunessa · 9 months

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Summary:

Helping Woljif always comes with a surprise. Some more or less welcome than others, but there's always a surprise.

Sometimes we have to hold onto hope. Hope tomorrow is better, hope someone is doing well, or hoping for something else. When hope isn’t able to be held, white lies can help. Like: tomorrow there will be less locusts in the sky, maybe there will be less house on fire, or, -this one became my favourite lie in Kenabres-: “I’m not quite that special. I'm just another elf.” Mainly to avoid being forced into joining the crusades as Kenabres has a history of voluntelling people stuck within its borders to go fight the World Wound. Another normal elf was unlikely to be voluntold to go and could feasibly slip away. I’d committed myself to helping these newfound friends and the group around me until the army had come, then I’d slip away and bounce to the next town. Singing, playing my lyre for coin and getting another blessing to keep the curse at bay a little while more. It was a simple life with some complications. Sometimes a lot of them. But I was used to it, no need to change my life it if it worked, so I thought. I like to think sometimes that Woljif is partially to blame for having to reject the lie I was normal entirely. Someone being cursed in Golarion isn’t unusual. Neither is possession, weird not-children, Inquisitors, bastard nobility, angels and demons, tieflings, mongrels or even gnomish hell knights. It is the world we live in- unusual stories and circumstances happen. But a talking sword is far from normal or unusual. A talking sword is something straight from a ballad or a true heroic story you would find on a bookstore’s shelves or hear about at the inn. You can’t lie that a talking sword is normal in everyday life because the only people who possess one can’t be normal. So when I held FInnean in my hands and the shock of his talking wore off, I began to realise that perhaps, I was not normal at all. I had no idea where such a thing would see me- I never would have guessed at it- but finding Finnean made even that white lie impossible to swallow. I told Woljif once I was normal until I found Finnean and jokingly blamed him for it. Wolf responded with: Were you ever really normal though? You were already weird when you found him. The urge to tug at his head by grabbing his horns sometimes comes to me rather strongly. -Yunessa

“We’re almost there. It’s not too far, I think.” Woljif looked to the dreary sky above. “We’re lucky- with all the rain and stuff I don’t think anyone could have left.” He was nervous, as much as he tried to hide it. His tail was tense, body language stuff and his eyes kept nervously searching the dirty run down street. Houses sagged under the weight of years and patch repairs done to keep them uprightThe few sources of light illuminated the grime and dirt that the rain had failed to wash away.

Every window was dark, every door closed tight. Nothing spoke of a warm or friendly welcome to be found in the dark, derelict alley.

“Even with Kenabres under invasion, this street feels the most unsafe place we’ve been by far.” Yunessa had picked Ember up - it was no place for a barefoot child to run,even a not-child- and Soot had settled on Yunessa’s shoulder as Ember peeked from the other. Lann squinted down the street, closing his human eye- he saw better in the dark with his lizard eye, he claimed, so he would come along with. Daeran and Camilla brought up the rear as Seelah kept watch- in case there was trouble.

“We got this place cheap Chief. You can’t be picky about good real estate!” Woljif leaned over cellar doors that had seen better days. His fingers hovered over wooden planks, rapping his knuckles against the third board from the top. Two knocks and then a quick third knock followed by a fourth final knock. Woljif waited, holding up a single finger. “Two knocks. Pause. Another knock and a rap. Then after we rap our knuckles against it we wait another five… four… three… two…annnnddd one!” He tugged at the cellar doors. “C’mon Chief, they know we’re here now.”

The basement was dark, smelling of mildew. The air was unpleasantly moist and cool, not even the lit candles and lamps lied that the basement was ever warm. But it was the hostility and tension that radiated from the gathered tieflings that struck Yunessa. Woljif strode towards the tieflings, offering his snake oil salesman smile to a tall woman. She cleaned her nails with a knife as Woljif approached, her eyes moved from the five tieflings kneeling by the wall with their hands bound.

“Brother Woljif.” Her accent was crisp- Nerosyan?- but her voice was colder than the basement air as her grey eyes stared harshly at him. “You got my message then.” Daeran came next to Yunessa, taking Ember from Yunessa.

“Your sword might be needed and I won’t be useful in a bar brawl.” He murmured. “They’re detrimental to the state of my clothing.”

“Hadn’t thought of that. Thank you.” The possibility didn’t occur to Yunessa as Daeran took Ember back to stand by Camilla. Camilla looked to the tieflings on her left as her nose wrinkled. Then she looked to see Daeran holding Ember, who smiled brightly at Camilla. Camilla looked offended in the way only nobility could manage- as if she was surrounded by a stench she couldn’t get rid of.

“Sorry I couldn’t swing by sooner, Dear Sister Keresmei. It was just one thing after another. First I was in shackles, next… uhh, well I was still in shackles and being watched.” He gestured back to Yunessa. Keresmi’s grey eyes moved to Yunessa, resting over Yunessa’s hands before moving back to Woljif. “The Chief got me out, and I cam here straight away- had to go around a lot of fires though so it took a bit- where I knew you’d be waiting for me!”

“Enough.” The single word was spoken softly but Woljif’s smile froze. “If you keep talking then we’ll be here all night.” The knife in her hand was slender and delicate but she held it with experience as she used it to pint at the five kneeling tieflings. “So. We had a clear plan, didn't we. We were going to wait for nightfall, slip into the shop, grab the goods and leave. Even if nosy neighbors called the guards, there was time to get away. But what happened?” Keresmei’s eyes moved over the other Tieflings.

Yunessa could feel the ghost-feeling that was Lariel’s sword in their hand. Just waiting for Yunessa to want it to come into existence. It gave them assurance.

“That bitch Irabeth showed up almost right away. She knew we’d be there. Someone betrayed us, somebody snitched-” She said the word snitch like a foul curse. “And betrayed us, and I have a good idea of who it was. What do you have to say to that Woljif? Make it quick.”

“Do you think Woljif would have the traitor’s name?” Yunessa asked as Woljif began to open his mouth. “Why come back if not to show he’s innocent?”

“So he speaks.” Keresmei turned to Yunessa. “I thought Woljif just wanted to try hiding behind muscle if things went south.”

“Well if you want someone to be properly eloquent, you always go to find a bard.’ Yunessa said with a light shrug. Keresmei ignored Yuessa as she continued:

“Yes, he knows the name of the traitor. Every gang that Brother Woljif has been a part of has very quickly come to an end. Their hideout location would be found by the guards, or their competitors would find out where they could ambush them, or they would find out somebody cleaned them out while they were on a job. Woljif is always the one who comes out smelling of roses.If you think about it then that means you’ll reach the same conclusion we did.”

“I’d just say he was cursed finding friends among losers and screw-ups. But if he’s with us then the curse is broken.” Lann shrugged. He hadn’t moved much beyond moving to stand in front of Daeran and Camilla, just behind Yunessa.

“That depends.” Camilla began. “He was indeed most fortunate to be in a party with me. On the other hand… I’m in a party with him.”

Yunessa waved them to silence. “Why is that important now when Kenabres is burning? You could be fleeing to a safer city to be in than here Keresmei.”

Keresmi’s lips purse. “I’d be glad to leave, like the rest of my brothers and sisters. Once the army comes any jobs will become scarce and profits will be scraped off dungeon floors. However, in the Family there’s nothing worse than betrayal, and it’s something we do not forgive. We also don’t forgive anyone who would even try to let traitors go. If I don’t find the rat, my superiors… let’s just say I’ll wish I’d burned in Kenabres. I want to keep living, so I’m going to take my chances here. Until I find the traitor, none of us will be leaving and I don’t care how they get found.”

“Well, I can’t find them if I don’t know everything- tell us what happened Woljif.” Yuness raked a hand through their grey hair. Keresmei’s eyes sparkled with some thought but before YUnessa could pick out what it was Woljif began to speak. The tieflings kneeling by the wall hissed out insults softly so Keresmei’s eyes didn’t turn towards them.

“What’s there to- allright, allright Chief. I got it.” He raised his hands as Yunessa gave him a look. “About a week ago, Sister Keresmi got six of us together in this very basement.” He gestured towards the five kneeling halflings by the wall. “Sister Keresmei says we have a score: Ancestries and Wonders, one of the few places in the city nobody’s been ever able to hit, cause it’s also guarded by a golem along with the usual. But now, a powerful scroll that would knock the golem out just happened to go into our possession, that and a tip-off that the owner would be gone a certain night. All six of us know a little bit of magic, and everyone knows any enchanted junk sells for a pretty piece of gold. So we were all in.”

Woljif paused. “Oh, and the most important thing was that none of us was to be hanging out on that street ahead of time! No casing it out, no calling attention to ourselves so the golem or its master would have any idea. That was important!”

“So far it’s all true, Go on.” Keresmei gestured for Woljif to continue.

“We did everything right, with the locks and the golem. I picked the lock, I remember it clear as day: Sister Dalna ws on the lookout… brother Melround had the scroll. Doffie, Tavie, and Varnir brought the sacks. We covered the window and lit the torches. Then we started to work. I was scooping up rings and stuff, tossing them into my sack. I leaned to far and some fell out so I got on my knees to scoop them all up- it was twenty thousand golds worth of rings Chief, you can’t let free money go-. I crawled under the table to grab a really nice ring that rolled under it, and then the next thing I know- Irabeth was there! It wasn’t my finest moment, I was gonna wait it out. But when everyone scampered I tried to hide under the table and wait it out. But then those blockheads were dragging me out by the tail and put me in shackles. They took all my rings and stuff off me! I never found the one that rolled away and in the end I got busted over nothing and hurt my tail.”

“So, they caught you, poor things. Stripped you of your loot, and you didn’t even manage to stash anything.” Keresmi pointedly polished her knife, staring at the steel as she rubbed at an imagined spot. “Where’s the Moon of the Abyss Woljif?”

Yunessa looked to Woljif. “What’s the moon of the abyss?”

Woljif made a gesture with his hands looking excited. “It was an amulet! It used to sit on a little cushion in the window of Ancientries and Wonders. Sterling silver, sparkled like a star, fine piece of work. On one side there was a waning Moon, and in the middle there was a dark crystal like it was eclipsing the moo. Oldman Fyllemen was so proud of that amulet! He used to say: "I'll never sell it, it’s the jewel of my collection.” Woljif sighed. “I used to go there to see what kinds of treasures were from the rest of the world. There’s nothing else to look at in Kenabres, People said the Moon of the Abyss was a powerful thing but who knows? If you stole something like that then the guards would be on you the moment you tried to fence it!” Keresmei pointed her knife at Woljif. “Everyone knew you were always hanging around Ancentries and Wonders, drooling over the Moon of the Abyss. Did you think it could just… disappear in the commotion and keep it for yourself? Did you hope that we’d be all locked up and you’d get off scot -free?” Her voice held anger, contained tightly like a coiled snake ready to lash out. “With a fancy trinket to boot? Don’t take me for a mug Woljif, I can see right through you.”

“It doesn’t make sense for Irabeth to arrest her own informant. She’d get better use out of one if her informant wasn’t booked in jail.” Yunessa commented. “Limited use means more crime would escape punishment- for her anyway.”

“Exactly! You toook the words right out of my mouth boss. It doesn’t make any sense! If I was the rath, which I’m not, I’da kissed her hand and left by now! You know me sister! I’m a cautious fella, not an idiot.” Woljif might sell snake oil as one of his more legal forms of work but watching his voice pitch and seeing his face as he talked, Yunessa could almost believe him. “Why would I go against the Family? So the fish in the Sellen could have a nice Woljif-sized dinner? The moon of the Abyss is a pretty bauble, but it aint worth dying over.”

“Irabeth’s people would protect you, you knew you could pin the Moon going missing on them, and now you’ve come here with backup- you knew what I was going to say to you. Nobody returned the amulet to Fylleman. Are you giving Irabeth a cut?”

In the short time Yunessa had known Irabeth and her wife Anevia, it was enough to gain some idea of Irabathe’s personality and where she would fall. Keresmei turned at the chuckle. Woljif seized the moment and turned his face towards Keresmei.

“You’ve seen her before Sister Keresmei. Do you think she’d take a cut of anything I offered her? She can’t be bough- it’s like three heralds of Iomedae rolled into one!”

“I’ve known Irabeth for a day and I feel like Irabeth Tirabade wouldn’t take a bribe to save her life.” The thought made Yunessa chuckle as the mental image of Irabath’s soured expression. Clearing their throat Yunessa met Woljif’s gaze. “Is there anything else Woljif?”

“That’s the whole sorry story Chief!.” Woljif looked offended as he crossed his arms. “Some family this turned out to be. In a real family, people take each other at their word- no accusations get thrown around like that! I didn’t take the moon of the Abyss! What would I do with it? You can’t sell it to crusaders- they couldn’t afford it or they’d turn you in. You can’t wear it or it’ll get nicked. It’s nice, it looks great. But it ain’t worth the trouble!” He’d been pacing as he talked, gesturing. “If it’s that important to you Sister Keresmei, I’ll find it. And I’ll drag that traitor by the horns to you just so’s you don’t end up in the bottom of the Sellen. But if I do, you're gonna owe me an apology! Right here in front of everyone so they all hears it!””

Keresmei looked at Yunessa.

Yunessa shrugged at Keresmei before they spoke. “You said it yourself. You’re stuck here till this is settled and I took responsibility for him. It won’t hurt if you take a bit more time to wait, it'll let you get ready to head out of Kenabres.”

“...fiine.” Woljif is one of my people which is why I’m going to allow you the time it takes for us to pack up the hideout Woljif. But if you run, the Family will get you wherever you go. The rest of your life you’ll spend tossing and turning at night, fearing every cup in your meals. You’ll look at the eys of every Tiefling you ever see wondering if the Family’s come for you.. You’ll have to keep running and won’t know any peace…” Keresmei let the words trail off to give Woljif a moment to imagine it. “And when you stop to catch your breath- that’s when we’ll get you. Got that?”

“You got a way with words Sister Keresmei. It almost made me wet myself but in a good way-"

“That’s what he said.” Yunessa muttered, unable to resist.

“Let’s go Chief!. We’ll go talk to Irabeth. She knows you- likes you better too. So it’ll be better if you ask or she’ll just be mad at me. Onward! Well, when you’re ready Chief.”

“Be quick about it. Time’s running out and I don’t want to get chewed up by demons.”

“- It’ll be one less group of criminals and thieves for you to handle while this is all going on Irabeth.” Irabeth didn’t look that convinced, brows arched in surprise.

“You have enough spare time to help out thieves while Kenabres is under attack?” Irabeth sighed.

“Enough time to wander the city helping a fair amount of folks,cleaning out demons and whatever else in our path, saving nobles, found you a priest to help with healing, helping out a cart of supplies on the way to you….”

“I get it.” Irabeth sighed again. “This is just…unexpected. But you have helped out more than I ever asked for. Nevi speaks highly of you- I’ll tell you what I know. I hope you know what you’re doing to help you out." Taking a breath Irabeth thought for a moment before continuing. "To answer your question I didn’t see my informant’s face. He slipped out of a dark alley, handed me a note, and disappeared had a long cloak masking his face, darkly coloured green, I think. He had long horns that couldn't fit, even with the hood.”

Irabeth’s eyes moved to Anevia, sleeping on a bedroll not too far off by the fireplace. “The Ancentries and Wonders shop has a golem. That was the shop they tried to rob. The owner gave us the golem's codeword just in case we needed it. The golem was destroyed mostly, but the head remains intact, so you can talk to the thing and see what it saw. The code phrase is ‘Hand oof Irori. The shop’s owner might have escaped but the golem wouldn’t have been able to leave so you might get lucky with that.”

Yunessa looked over to their group. “Just in time. It looks like Ember was able to get a pair of shoes that fit. Thank you Irabeth, I’ll head out now.”

“Go. May Iomedae keep you safe.”

Before it had been trashed by the tieflings, the Eagle watch and now the greedy hands of cultists, Ancentries and Wonders must have been a gorgeous shop. Stuffed carpet beneath Yunessa’s boots couldn’t hide the broken glass, the scattered off and ends or the broken bottles of liquor. The cultists had taken their time to drink and ruin the shop. Only the magical light fixtures were untouched, embedded into the stone wall and ceiling.

Underneath the smell of liquor and soot, Yunessa could smell expensive incense. Deep and spicy. This shop sold high priced items, a quick glance to a fallen card listing a single shirt was enough to make Yunessa keenly aware of the few coins they did have..

“Let’s spread out and give this a look. If there’s anything that can be taken back to Defender’s Heart then let’s do that. Ember, be careful and avoid the glass.”

“I will be. I always wanted to go inside here- the shop owner would chase me away with a broom though.” Ember touched a polished wooden shelf in awe. She left soot behind on the polished wood, avoiding the pile of smashed alchemy vials in their coloured vials.

“Above ground shops like this are nice. I haven’t seen glass in those colours yet.” Lann commented as he moved to the opposite end of the shop.

The rest of the group split up with care. The shop wasn’t large but big enough Yunessa lost track of some of them. Yunessa started near a smashed harp, the polished rosewood cruelly smashed to splinters, and the filigree damaged from an attempt to cut it out. “That’s a shame. It must have been lovely.” By the rosewood harp was a piano, equally as damaged with its ivory keys smashed and the strings pulled out.

“What a poor end to those instruments.” If Yunessa ever had a home perhaps a large instrument would be affordable. Running their fingers over the polished wood and damaged string was enough to draw a shudder. A home large enough for a room with an instrument like those, Yunessa let themself greedily imagine the enjoyment of playing for hours with a roof over their head.

“-𝙡𝙤?”

“Huh?” Yunessa turned their head, spotting only Seelah by the door as the paladin moved around the shop.

“𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞,” The voice was muffled and Yunessa’s mind snapped from its daydream. “𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞!”

“Hello?” In the row Yunessa was in there were only smashed and overturned shelves. Adrenaline hit in a rush at the desperation they heard in the man's voice. Muffled, it seemed to come further down the row where the heaviest shelves fell.

”𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬! 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!”

It came from beneath the largest shelf with thick wooden boards that had collapsed on top of a display. “Hold on, I’m here.” Yunessa could barely lift it but managed to lift it just a crack, shoving a damaged book beneath it and reaching their hand beneath it, reaching for a hand, an arm- something. In the dim light of Ancentries and Wonders, Yunessa only spotted a sword amongst the rubble. "It's- where are you?"

“𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐦𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧!” The voice came from the sword. It sounded real, alive. Maybe it was a spelled sword? Some sort of early warning alarm. Yunessa could feel their stress start to build.

“A talking sword?” Yunessa asked dumbly. “Please don’t tell me you talk.”

“𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐦𝐞! 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲!” The sword somehow managed to ‘speak’. “𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞!” The fear in the voice was enough. Yunessa grabbed the sword without a second thought, pulling it out from beneath the shield. Free from the shelf, Yunessa had to prevent themself from tossing the sword as the ceramic symbol on the scabbard blinked, the single violet eye adjusting to the light and focusing on Yunessa.

“Oh. Oh no,no,no.” Lariel’s sword was one thing. The azatas were another, but this- no this was something from a ballad. Yunessa knew the signs of a promising ballad when they spotted them. Yunessa didn't want a talking sword.

“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬. 𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.”Yunessa felt the unwelcome ghost sensation of the sword’s gaze as it continued to speak. The voice was distinctly male and honeyed, coming clearly from the sword. “𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭!”

“A pathfinder.” Yunessa knew about the Pathfinder society. A globespanning organization based out of Absalom. The members were primarily adventurers that travelled through Golarion and beyond. Yunessa often bought the Pathfinder Chronicles to read the latest adventures and knowledge the society released. “You’re a pathfinder?”

“𝐈 𝐚𝐦! 𝐏𝐡𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈’𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟! 𝐌𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐝!” The eye squinted and adjusted but missing the rest of the face made for a weird sight. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞’𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐧. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩, 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥!”

The angel sword. The azatas. Now there’s a talking sword. The Gods are laughing at you Yunessa. They’re laughing at you because they know your plans and gifted you every ballad and heroic tale inspired gift to start the story. All you’re missing is a queen or a cursed princess you get to save from a evil dragon.

The sword vibrated in Yunessa’s hands, a ripple of magic passing through the blade, startling Yunessa. “𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?”

“Whoresson!” Yunessa cursed. “Don’t do that!” The magic in the sword seemed to shift as if the sword was considering Yunessa’s words before it stopped. The eye on the scabbard widened in concern. But Yunessa felt the magic under their hands ease.

“𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤.”The sword- Finnean kept watching Yunessa. “𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐧.”

The eye of the sword- Finnean- Yunessa reminded themself- watched patiently. Yunessa’s response, was by now, becoming automatic: "I’m Yunessa. Bard by trade who’s just passing by Kenabres. We came by to uh, help one of my group and I found you here- Just a question Finnean. Do you want to shift back to your normal form Finnean?” Shapeshifting into a sword was weird, but far better than a real talking sword.

“𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥?” Finnean inquired. “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧?”

“Well, pathfinders are normally sentient humanoid-shaped creatures. I can get you clothes-”

“𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫.” Finnean interrupted. “𝐀𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮- 𝐨𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲- 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤! 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! 𝐖𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐜, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤.”

The Gods are laughing at you. Absolutely laughing their asses off. You don't even get a normal magic sword that talks. You get a magic talking sword that was somehow a person.

“But you’re a weapon?”

“𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞?”The eye watched in what seemed to be concern. “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧- 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧! 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟! 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈;𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬. 𝐓��𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬!”

“I’ve never heard of a phantom blade.” Yunessa admitted.

“𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭! 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲, 𝐞𝐡? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫! 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬.”The eye closed, seeming as pleased as Finnean’s voice sounded.

“Kenabres is under attack right now by demons and cultists Finnean. Is your uh, spirit here?” There was a small, shrinking, but not yet inexistent possibility Finean was a mage that had a spell problem.

“𝑾𝒆- 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈… 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑰 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒘𝒊𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈. 𝑺𝒐 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕! 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕!”

Yunessa reached for the hilt of the sword and tentatively pulled the hilt, met with gleaming steel whispering sharp promises of silver. It looked normal to the eye. Finnean seemed to take this as an agreement to take him with Yunessa.

“𝐇𝐞𝐲, 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”FInnean didn’t seem unphased when Yunessa inspected the sword. It looked, for all intents and purposes, a normal steel sword. Yunessa swore they could smell weapon oil on the blade.

“Uh, sure FInnean. We can travel together.” Yunessa sheathed the sword as Finnean’s voice chuckled. It sounded like he was right in front of Yunessa.

“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭! 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.” Yunessa covered the eye with a hand but FInean didn’t seem to notice nor did his voice muffle.

“You found a talking sword.” Lann’s voice was low but Yunessa could hear the awe in his voice. “Holy shit Yunessa.”

Laying scattered over the tiled floor, the remnants of the golem matched the rest of the ransacked shop’s state. The gem-like eyes still shined, even in the dim lighting of the shop. Finnean had somehow adjusted for Yunessa’s belt when Yuness had tied it up, the eye watching the rest of the group. FInnean seemed to be absolutely delighted by more faces and Yunessa had fielded the questions, letting Finnean keep talking and he was now relishing being part of ‘a real group again’.

“The password for the golem..” Yunessa wiped the soot from the golem’s eyes. “Hand of Irori.”

“Codeword…. Correct.” The golem intoned, speaking in a dull, deep voice lacking emotion. “Awaiting Orders.”

“Wonderful.” Yunessa began. “Let’s make this quick.”

What felt like an eternity after, Yunessa was helping Seelah and Lann shove aside the golem’s bulky body to open the entry to the basement. When they went down the stairs it was Yunessa, Daeran, Woljif, and Lann, the lightest among them armour-wise.

The elderly gnome they found in the corner was so round he was very nearly spherical. It struck Yunessa that he would roll down any incline with perfect ease. He started to shake as soon as he saw them, shrieking in a voice that was unusually high pitched. “Marauders! Bandits! Scavengers, here to eat me alive!”

Daeran watched the gnome scream and shake, taking the time to tuck his own golden hair behind his ears, smoothing down the stray strands of hair. “And a very good day to you my dear shopkeep.”

“Yeah, it makes sense we’re here to do all of those things and much, much more!” Lann rolled his one human eye. “Before you call for the authorities, mind having a quick chat?”

“We aren’t going to do any of those things Shopkeep. We won’t rob you, steal from you or uh, eat you.” Yunessa offered the shop keep a smile. The portly gnome paused, squinting at Yunessa.

“Hmm.” His chubby face pinched. “You do look better dressed than the local ragamuffins. You came here to tell me that this nightmare was over or- no! You’re here to steal my riches! Get back!” The shopkeeper’s eyes spotted Woljif’s head of hair behind Yunessa. “You sneak thief! You’ve been sniffing around for years. Finally got the courage to rob me, did you? Get out of here! You and your thieflings have taken everything already I’m sure!”

“Actually shopkeep, Woljif is here to help the eagle watch figure out the crime. He was working with the thieflings at Irabeth Tirabade’s request and she’s asked us to handle this uh…. Issue while Kenabres is under attack.” It was a lie but the portly gnome paused, eyed Yunessa and them settled back into his seat.

“She did? Well- good to hear my taxes are paying off! I’m Fylleman Frulliatros. I’m the Owner of this shop but well…. We’ll see if there is any shop left. I’m sure there’s something left up there- I hope anyway.”

“It just needs some spit and polish Grandpa! The cultists got you but the bones of the shop look fine- a broom and a dish rage and it’ll look the same as before!”

“Have you been here since you were robbed?” Yunessa asked curiously. The basement was crammed full of foodstuffs and other supplies.

“Where else would I be?” Fylleman asked, indignant. “I was told to stay in the basement and make it look like I’d left the establishment. The watch was keen to get those thieflings, they seem to be multiplying all over the bloody continent. So of course I did everything they said and…. I’ve been stuck ever since. I knew it wouldn’t be for good because once I heard everything above I was going to wait for my cousins to come and get the golem off the basement door. I heard somebody bellowing like mad upstairs after the demons invaded! Yelling and taking advantage of my absence no doubt, thieving and stealing!” Fylleman stamped his feet on the floor.

“Which of the tieflings do you remember seeing recently? I need to know so I can help Irabeth confirm we have the guilty party- your words will be critical to ensuring the guilty party is punished.” Yunessa felt Woljif hovering behind them as they talked.

“If he doesn’t talk Chief, then just say the word. I know ways to- oof! Hey!” Oljif rubbed his ribbed where he’d been elbowed.

“Woljif is always in my shop. He’s treated it like a museum for years. He always wanted to look at my most prized necklace the Moon of the Abyss. I’d chase him out but then he’d slink back in again! If he was with that gang that swiped my shop I’d bet anything he swiped the Moon!”

“Why am I always the prime suspect? Whoever stole it betrayed everyone, that’s the guy that has the moon! I’d rather see it returned to, you get me. I don’t like the idea of other people’s grubby mitts on it…” Woljif grumbled but he remind behind Yunessa.

“Was there any other tiefling that stood out?” Yunessa asked, picking away at the information they had learned in their mind. It was like untangling threads but a welcome enough distraction.

“I suppose….” Fyllemen thought for a few minutes. “A red haired tiefling game in. Spent a long time looking around. He stared at the moon for a white and I thought maybe it was Woljif in a wig, but then he came up to me to ask questions about an aasimar-made chainmail shirt. I could tell by his clothes that he certainly couldn’t afford it. That’s when I suspected something was off because he was wrapped in a green cloak like he was freezing. But nothing was missing after,so I felt at ease.

“That’s it. I know who it is now, Chief.” Woljif’s voice spoke, breathing against the back of Yunessa’s neck. “We should go back to sister Keresmei and lay it all down for her! The traitor can’t get out of this one now!”

Yunessa nodded. “With that Shopkeep we’ll all take our leave. Do you need an escort to Defender’s Heart?”

“Me? Oh no, I have a second golem! It’s…too heavy to put up the ladder but i'll defend me just fine until the city settles again. If that wasn’t enough to help Irabeth then I don’t know what else to tell you! Now, if you’ll be on your way, I’ll enjoy the peace in my wreck of a shop.”

The five tieflings were still kneeling by the wall, looking weary but somehow they were far more angry. The dank basement smelled cleaner and Yunessa guessed the cellar doors had been open to let their good get transported. Remarkably fast as well, only two torches lit the basement now.

Keresmei hooves clicked against the stone floor as she watched them approach. Her fingers drummed against her blade, looking nervous and weary. “Well? Are you going to tell me who the traitor is? I assume that’s why you came back- otherwise you’re just turning yourself in, right Woljif? I need the name and the Moon of the Abyss that they stole- I don’t need the lost profits.”

“We’re ready- right Chief?” Woljif looked at Yunessa who gestured to the five tieflings kneeling.

Woljif walked over, looking them over a final time even as they glared daggers back.

“You’re the traitor Woljif!”

“How much did they pay you?”

Woljif ignored them, pulling back.”Alright, I confirmed it. Sister Keresmei.” he spun on his heel to point at a tiefling with red hair and green cloak. “Melroun’s the traitor! He stole the Moon and he snitched the Eagle Watch on us!”

The resulting chaos saw several things happen very quickly: Melroun shed his ropes and tried to bolt. Keresmei snapped her fingers, and her blade missed Melroun by inches. The tieflings standing guard rushed Melroun along with a tiefling that hadbeen kneeling.

“You’ll pay for this! Voetiel and Hepzamirah will get you in the end! Damn you!” Melroun screamed as they dragged him off into a side room.

“You four- watch everyone else. Nobody leaves.” Keresmei snarled and they rushed to do her bidding. “I’m going to… chat with Melroun before I send him somewhere.” When the door closed behind her all of the noise in the room went silent.

When Keresmei did come out, it was a good half hour later and she was cleaning her knife. She looked tired still, but a load seemed to have eased off her shoulders. Her earlier tension was gone and in its place was a deceptively lazy sway to her step. “He confessed. Someone connected to the Baphomet cult ordered him to steal the Moon of the Abyss, and the best idea he could come up with it was to drag the Family into it. He got the scroll to take the golem out, betrayed us to the Eagle Watch so he could swipe the amulet in the chaos. He thought we’d get nicked and he’d just go off to meet his customer.”

Woljif brightened. “You have the moon of the Abyss? Let me look at it one more time- please. I’ve always dreamed of polishing the gem, if only once.”

“He claimed it was gone by the time he got to the window display. He’s lying, of course. He didn’t get caught when the Eagle Watch came in so he clearly handed the Moon off to the buyer. Bloody Cultists!” She tossed a wadded up rag stained rust red to the floor. “Whatever. I’m just glad we got done with this. I’m not paying for someone’s mistake.”

“Did you clear everything out Keresmei?” Yunessa asked and Keresmei nodded.

“The sooner we leave now, the better. This city is dying and I don’t want to die with it. We’ve always been outsiders here- we’re not staying to fight for it now.” Keresmei shrugged nonchalantly.

“And the traitor?”

“Oh him.” She hummed in response to Yunessa’s question. Woljif shuffled as if he knew. “He’ll be sent to his distant relatives on the farm. To think about what he did. Any other questions?”

“I’ve never been to a farm.” Ember remarked. “I imagine it’s really pretty. Fields, and apple trees, and chickens….”

Keresmei eyes Ember. “Sure, lots of chickens.”

“With that done we’re all finished here?” Yunessa asked. There was a half-formed fear that Yunessa would find a talking shield or their dead mentor would fall down the stairs. FInnean was quiet at Yunessa’s belt, having seemed to have slipped into silence. But the eye was still moving.

“We are. I don’t plan on hanging around either.” Keresmei turned and gestured. The other halflings in the room quickly left.

“Wait- Aww. Sister Keresmei- everyone’s left now.” Woljif watched as the other tieflings left without so much as a backward glance. Woljif turned to Keresmei, his face flushed. “You forgot something SIster!”

“I assumed you were going to stay with your newfound friends Woljif. Nobody will mind, don’t worry. Just be happy you’re alive.”

“ No, that’s not it Sister- you forgot my apology! I was framed and you wanted to tke me into the room. Nobody else is here now but still, I deserve one and I wanna hear it. Well?” Woljif’s tail whipped back and forth quickly.

“Oh.” Keresmei shrugged indifferently. “That. So…. sorry. For being wrong about you this time. Don’t think that because you weren’t a jerk this time it cancelled out all of your record. Just consider yourself lucky you were only working contract jobs for the Family. See you never.”

“That’s the most pathetic apology I ever heard.” Yunessa commented and Keresmei’s eyes hardened as they flicked back to Yunessa.

But just as quickly she sighed. “All right. FIne. I’m sorry Woljif- let’s part on good terms.” With that she turned to walk up the stairs, cloven feet making a distinct noise on the moulding wood.

Woljif watched her go with a frown, his tail slowly relaxing. “.... better than nothing, I guess.” He said finally after she’d been gone for a minute. “Listen Chief, when we get back, let’s talk. But for now let’s get out of here. We- no. ”Horror flashed over Woljif’s face as he rushed to put his hand to the door Melroun had been taken into, preventingEMber from opening it.

“Why?” Ember inquired. “I wanted to see the farm. Is there a portal there?”

“You uh-” His amber eyes moved to Yunessa and it hit Yunessa what sort of mess was dead behind the door. Melroun had never left the room after all.

“Only people with a special invite get to go to the farm Ember.” Yunessa said quickly. “The portal’s already gone so it’s just a broom closet now.”

“Yeah! Yeah, just a broom closet. Now it's full of mould and roaches.” Woljif visibly relaxed as Ember made a disgusted expression, turning away.

“Ew! Roaches are gross.” Soot cawed from EMber’s shoulder as if in agreement and Yunessa gestured for Ember to go.

“Alright Woljif, let’s go before this rotting basement falls on our heads.” Yunessa followed Ember out, right behind her on the stairs. Woljif followed behind Yunessa, so close Yunessa could hear his clothes rustle as the thiefling quietly urged Yunessa along.

A low creaking of rusty steel sounded and Yunessa caught the sight of a single eye staring lifelessly after them as the door cracked open. Melroun’s blue eyes stared after them, his bloodied mouth hanging open.

#pathfinder: wrath of the righteous #pathfinder #lann #the commander #mature #nonbinary main character #ember #camilla #seelah #woljif jefto #woljif #daeran #finnean #finean dismar

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