Reunion - Seekers

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin followed Sae out of the Gunslinger Chapter house silently. It was around 8:00 pm now, and it had been over 10 hours now since either of them had seen Ve'ra or Mirrai. He had expected that they would have been at the Chapter House and waiting for them. But returning from the Castle and finding that they had gone off somewhere together; well that was unexpected. 

He kept a weather eye out as they walked and began noticing that a lot of shops were closing or were already closed. With that in mind he kept looking at anyone on their path on the off chance that they would simply bump into them returning.

Following a couple moments of companionable silence a smirk formed at the corner of his lips. Breaking the silence he addressed Sae with a hint of mischief in his voice. "Are you going to get another piece of Silverware for your collection? Especially since we've now directly aided the King."

[redcoat]

Sae fell into step next to Taliesin, keeping her eyes peeled- she didn't think that Mirrai and Ve'ra went to the shops- it seemed infinitely more likely that they were storming the castle, as a note saying 'not dead' was probably a bit too vague.

"I actually already have a spoon from Astor Castle- so we'll need to travel in order to add to that collection. Perhaps in Kyr, or Otori."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin shrugged softly. "Well, Kyr might be a stretch. And Otori ... well, that would be interesting." He looked around and began to wonder whether there was a place that made sense for them to go.

He attempted to think of something that Ve'ra and Mirrai had in common. The only thing that came to mind was in relation to Mirrai's past and seeming connection with the next General ahead of them. He attempted to recall if perhaps there was somehow a temple to Change or one of her pantheon in the temple square. Barring that he tried to think about where Ve'ra might take Mirrai.(Insight Rolled 7+3=10)

"So, seeing as stores appear to be closing or closed we're either going to intercept them walking back ... or they went somewhere else." He looked over to Sae and continued with a question. "Where do you think Ve'ra might take Mirrai?"

[redcoat]

Sae frowned softly, deep in thought as she considered the pair, before turning them to head towards the temple district.

"Perhaps it's not so much where Ve'ra would take Mirrai, but where Mirrai might have taken Ve'ra? Mirrai isn't familiar with Astor- Ve'ra wouldn't leave her to wander the city streets by herself."

((Insight- 24))

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin pursed his lips in thought and gave a quick nod. That made as much sense as anything else might at this point. He took a skip-step to fall just behind Sae to let her course correct as she saw fit before he would get back in step side by side. "Temple district would make sense if Mirrai was looking to make sense of the changes. Not so sure what else she might seek out though beyond my first instinct which was bad due to time of day."

[Ancelas]

Astor City was a secular city - rather than choosing to honor one god or pantheon, the Temple District housed temples to all of the Divine Dragons and their children around a large space known as the Divine Promenade. The district was a collection of well-maintained parks and shrines nestled between the merchant and noble districts of the city, ensuring it remained a clean, open space for Astoreans to gather. Even in the evenings, numerous people could be seen out and about, attending late services or enjoying an evening among the statue-dotted parks .

In the center of the Divine Promenade was a large fountain dominated by a sculpture of Bahamut, the Creator, in flight with streams of water gurgling out of the rocky outcropping He was leaping from. Seated on the lip of the fountain were two figures, lit by the glow of oil lanterns hung from posts encircling the Promenade. One was obviously Mirrai, while the person next to her was dressed in loose Eastern clothes with a veil over their face, easily passing for someone from one of the Mazuran nations.

Mirrai was dressed in her adventuring gear and sat with hunched shoulders, brows furrowed, a distant look on her face. Her companion rested easily, eyes scanning the crowd around them.

[redcoat]

Sae guided them to the promenade, spotting the pair at the fountain- one openly Mirrai, and one clearly Ve'ra in a disguise. It was a good disguise as well. She approached the pair, inclining her head.

"Good evening."

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra's eyes snapped to Sae once she spotted the two Valor Company members crossing the promenade and she stood as they approached. Mirrai blinked out of her reverie and looked up, standing quickly.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I hadn't meant to stay out quite so long-"

"'Not Dead?'" Ve'ra asked. "A little more context would have been nice. The guards in this city have been rushing about like bees in a disturbed hive all day."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin kept in stride. He felt relief upon seeing Mirrai sitting safely. Her reaction to seeing them caused a small and hidden reaction in Taliesin.

He opened his mouth to offer a greeting, and respond, but Ve'ra took that opening. He chimed in. "We're in no position to complain having been gone for 9 hours."

He gave the slightest look to Ve'ra and addressed her before Sae could. "You can't fret over her if she gives you more context." He said with a clear teasing tone aimed at Sae.

[redcoat]

Sae stuck her tongue out at Taliesin as he teased, turning her attention back to Ve'ra. "Demetrius is dead, we kidnapped the king for a couple of hours, and the castle guard is no longer mind controlled. Both Skyhammer and Astor are now helping with the invasion plan, and unfortunately I have a mission for you."

[Ancelas]

"I wasn't fretting, I was demanding more than a simple 'Not Dead,'" Ve'ra said, her tone as close to pouting as one who was habitually annoyed and sarcastic could get. "You're welcome for retrieving the king, by the way - Mirrai and I were the ones who met him at the sewer house you entered through and got him to the guards. I planned to journey with them to the castle, but... there were other things to attend to."

She glanced at Mirrai and back to Sae. "Killing a Sage, organizing an invasion, and dispatching allies... you really do take little time between tasks, don't you?"


"It was my fault," Mirrai chimed in. "The delay in getting back to you all, I mean. I wanted to ask some questions of the priests here, and Ve'ra insisted on accompanying me. To ensure we didn't all loose track of one another, I believe she put it."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin watched the interplay between Sae and Ve'ra and simply side-stepped any collateral damage. His attention shifted back to Mirrai as she spoke.

"It's okay, Mirrai." He offered softly." We don't expect anyone to forego their own needs or desires, especially when we're finally in a place that makes such things possible." He shifted his position to be a little closer to her as well as in a more relaxed pose.

He refrained from answering Ve'ra, or from saying anything further in order to let things continue with ease, ideally.

[redcoat]

Sae smiled at Ve'ra's pouting tone, enjoying it a little- knowing that she'd pay for it later. "Time? No, I can't afford it. I already had to apologize to the Duchess for the amount of time it's taken to liberate her city. When I agreed to it, I thought... well. I don't know what I thought. Not that an angry god was sitting on it."

As Mirrai spoke, she inclined her head. "Makes sense- I wouldn't expect you to sit around waiting on us like Emmett. Taliesin is right- best to use the time you have in the city and make the most of it."

[Ancelas]

Ve'ra nodded and folded her arms across her chest. "What's the task you had in mind?"

Mirrai nodded at Taliesin's concern. "I know - you're all quite understanding. I still feel somewhat guilty though." She flashed him an apologetic smile, one tinged with barely concealed sadness.

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin looked between everyone as they spoke in turn. He attempted to read into Mirrai's expression, but his mind was far too muddied to connect her attempt at hidden expression to a source. (Rolled 3+3=6)

"I'd feel guilty if you hadn't gotten the chance to seek out information you need at your pace." He looked over to Sae and back again. "Sometimes you need to split up and do things separately in order to get what you need when following is keeping you stuck."