Death's End IC II

[3SecondCultist]

Elara: Annas stands by the window and watches you silently. There is no expression on her face - if anything, her features are a kind of void now. Eyes of pure black follow your every movement, but the rest of her is incredibly still. Her blade is still gripped in her hand, the blade coated with your own blood. At this angle, you can also see the hilt of a second blade over her shoulder. The gnome listens to your prayer over Merrelis' body, nodding her head sagely as if to commend you for your respect for the dead. But she says nothing. Instead, she begins to back away towards the window, and in a moment she is gone. A few wisps of shadow follow her out into the night, but soon they disappear as well.

While Merrelis is cool to your touch, somehow the parchment in your hand is even colder. It emanates a kind of active chill where Annas touched it. When you unfold it, the first things you see is the insignia of a six-fingered hand grasping a skull. Each digit ends in a nasty looking claw, the talons digging into bone. Beneath the grim header, you see flowing script written in the common tongue.

To the Honored Applicant:

You have been approved! If you are reading this, then you are now the newest candidate for membership into the Six from Shadow. Let me be the first to offer my welcome and congratulations. As a member of the Six, you will be feared and respected across the continent. You will never want for wealth or renown again. Make no mistake: this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. You see, normally our recruitment process is quite streamlined. The way it works is that when we lose one of our own, we go looking for an additional member. But in Onyx, there are simply too many choices! Therefore, my companions and I are each submitting a candidate. In order to settle which of our proposed choices is the best fit for us, we will be devising a series of tests in order to match up your talents with those of the current members. I must say that I am incredibly eager to see what it is you can do - I trust my allies to deliver these letters to the right people.

For the time being, stay put. I would advise you not to leave the city, at least until you have heard our terms. Rest assured, if you try to flee we will know, and suitable consequences will follow. We begin tomorrow at noon, in Heroes' Plaza.

- Oberon


Lirian: Throughout your tale, Sylvia is silent. The more you say, the quieter she becomes, until there is little left of her at all, and the words coming out of your mouth are the only thing that is real. But eventually the words stop coming, and she has time to get a word in edgewise. "That was more of a tale than I was expecting, to be honest. It's just that you were a bit tight-lipped before, and I thought you might want to shy away from any substantiate answers. I'm glad that you did not. If you don't think your story is at all interesting, then you clearly haven't spent enough time in places like Onyx. Other than the local festivities, nothing exciting ever happens around here." You do not get the sense that Sylvia picked up on your dancing around the truth, but it is hard to get a read on what she is thinking right now either.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you. I know you have readings you need to get back to. I just felt as though you were somebody I could talk to, you know? And your story... it's pretty incredible. I was actually wondering about the book you mentioned. How did you find it, and how did you lose it?"