RP:At Each Other's Throats Again

Part of the The God of Undeath Arc

Part of the Welcome To The End Of Eras Arc

This is a Mage's Guild RP.

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: It's the first book club meeting of the four separate guilds! Except not really. And Lanlan might have a deathwish. But! Everyone does manage to tell Lanlan what their books are about and he confirms that his own mentions items or places like those in everyone else's, that are all supposedly to be used to kill a god. Tentative plans start being made while everyone tries to keep Khitti from killing Lanlan or makes their escape from the bakery.

Ginger Snapped Bakery, Cenril

Khitti sighed as she brought out some snacks for the meeting, setting a small tray of various sliced meats, another of various cubed cheeses, and yet another of veggies with an onion-y dip for them, and yet another still of some breads like rolls, cornbread muffins, and regular fruity muffins out on the tables she’d pushed together for everyone to sit at. She still hadn’t fully processed things from all those books she’d stolen from the library and subsequently read. She wanted to know more, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to the library itself. Somehow the five to ten books she’d grabbed (look she couldn’t just have had only one or two volumes of an entire series) and shoved into her bag hadn’t been enough for her and she knew the only way to get more information was to go back home to begin with. Eventually, she brought out a pitcher of water, another of lemonade, a teapot of hot water, and several bottles of blood, along with the necessary fixings like tea, glasses, and mugs and finally sat down in her chair. The redhead reached over and grabbed one of the books off the stack, the stack itself on a table near her, though it wasn’t a part of the pushed together tables for the group. She opened it, and read what she’d read what seemed like a hundred times already, still in disbelief as everyone started to gather at the bakery.

Lanlan would read his tome only under cover of a mystic veil, one that hid him from spies who would gaze seek to uncover his secrets from near and far. Scry toward him and perceive only smoke. When it was time to reveal what he’d learned, he became someone else and stole away to Cenril dragging a mist. One can never be too careful. The mist waited outside the bakery as Lanlan entered, carrying an account bound bound in wood and vellum. Xaliotheosis, it was called. But he didn’t tell them that. He addressed Khitti first, as the owner of the establishment. “Is anyone here that isn’t attending this meeting,” He says, rather than asks, and then because no answer would be good enough, he begins his own investigation.

Kailani :: Cenril was a long way from the area that Kailani normally frequented, much preferring the wild and untamed lands of Venturil to the city. There was something about the tall buildings and cobblestone streets that just did not sit right with Kai. The druid was always on the quiet side but today she carried a tension between her shoulders as she tried to navigate her way to Khitti's bakery. Truth be told, the druid did get a little lost on the way to the bakery, passing by the street at first and ultimately doing a loop around the block. Were it not for catching sight of another guild member entering the building, Kai might have managed to overlook the place once again. Look, she was just not a city-girl. Anyway, Kai has made it and when she finally does enter it is with a green book clutched protectively to her chest with both arms. This was less because Kai was trying to protect the book and more because she was feeling a little defensive and closed off. It seemed like the larger the crowd, the less the blue-haired woman was able to cope. One hand is removed from her precious book so that she can greet the mage’s with a wave and then Kailani quickly finds a seat. Honestly, she’s the sort that would just plop her tush on the floor but with so many tables and chairs available, the druid takes a hint. Of course, it is after Kailai awkwardly has a seat that she will notice all the snacks and her stomach will promptly rumble. So now she’s got to get up so that she can get up and help herself to some snaaaaaacks while everyone else filters in.

Kanna has been camping out at Khitti's bakery, partially due to the fact that leftover pastries that are about to be thrown away are her favorite kind of free things. Never mind that the woman actually has money to spend now. As the powerful figureheads of regions trickle into the bakery, Kanna slides a plate towards Valrae. A series of chocolate dipped strawberries have been cut and fastened togther with toothpicks to make what looks like a bird. "It's a strawberry phoenix!" She beams, extremely proud of her handiwork. Judging from the plates of other strawberry creatures around the table, it looks like she has thrown herself into yet another miniature hobby to distract her mind from something she does not want to think about. Given the books Kanna obtained are on the counter directly behind her, it's safe to say something in those pages are the reason why.

Quintessa || After much convincing, the Worm That Walks was allowed to enter Khitti’s bakery, under the promise that no worms would accidentally get left behind somewhere for her to find later. From behind their cold-iron mask they stare at the treats laid out with an unreadable expression, the unlocked memories grained from their visit in the repository causing them to linger on the distant past for a moment. “My mentor, Malcom, she always liked the hot-dark-chocolate dark strawberries best…” They say to Kanna, appreciating her work of art while still abstaining from touching anything themself. Awkwardly they wave from their seats next to Kanna as people slowly trickle into the bakery for the meeting. “Hello, everyone. Hope you’ve been having a nice day.”

Valrae || Despite the summer heat that had settled over Cenril, Valrae traveled to Khitt’s bakery underneath the hood of a long white cloak. It had nearly suffocated her as she traveled down ill lit alleys that reeked of garbage and worse. She didn’t remove it until she was well within the bakery’s walls and well away from the windows. It wouldn’t do well for this group's little book club to end up in Cenril’s sunday papers and moving around within the city unnoticed had become increasingly impossible since she’d been sworn in as Mayor. Not to mention, she was nearly always made to travel with a detail of at least ten Cenrili guards. Still, she’d managed to slip out by way of the balcony off of the bedroom, that still didn’t feel quite her own, as if she were a teenager skulking away to steal kisses on the beach. Her golden hair was pulled into a high, messy bun and the curling waves that had escaped the golden hair pins framed her face. Her vanity had demanded she wear the crescent pendant that glamoured away the white fire brands that crawled along her arms, neck and cheek. Free from the cloak, the witch slides into a seat near Kanna and smiles back at her brightly, “They’re almost too pretty to eat!” Val exclaims, even as she plucks one off of the plate. “Hot-dark-chocolate dark strawberries,” She echoes the Worms, nodding seriously as she holds the delicate little strawberry art up. “I love them,” She adds quickly, around a mouth full. As she ate, she helped herself to a cup of tea, gently placing the lavender blend she’d found into a mug before the already hot pot was poured. The witch had lazily used her magic to do so, and the pot seemed suspended on only air as it filled her cup with steaming water. Besides, her hands were busy piling food onto her plate. Muffins, veggies with the dip Khitti had brought out. She’d grabbed a little of everything but the meat. “Khitti, this all looks amazing!” She says, muffled around a bite of onion-y dipped carrot goodness. “Mmm…” She added, wiggling happily in her seat. She was still eating as Lanlan prowled around the bakery and Kailani entered. She greets the latter with a friendly smile. “Hey, look, muffins!” She calls to the drow, patting the open seat next to her.

Kasyr arrives somewhere between breaths, insinuating a place for himself at the snack-laden counter with little warning, save a flicker of electricity, and the subtle scent of storms- both of which are likely to find themselves overwritten by aroma of baked goods and liquid comforts. It's only after he's heaped a diverse array onto a plate that he finally notes that he's arrived last, offering a non-commital grumble to those gathered before he steps over to a seat, turns it in place so the back faces the table- and flops into it, his arms folded so he can rest his head across them. Despite his more recent ascension to revenancy, the Kensai is looking close to how he had in life- which is to say, incredibly tired, and a toouch disheveled. Clearly, something was on his mind- though, continued proximity to the rest of those gathered had at least minimized the grumbles that had initially queued his presence. That, and the muffins that were occupying all available space in his cheeks.

Khitti rolled her eyes at Lanlan, “My guy, do you realize how often I get attacked by bad guys? Of course this place is warded and safe. I literally have children. A family. Which are upstairs right now. I understand the need for freaking out, but the places I work and live at in Cenril are probably the safest places in the city itself. Even the wards themselves are enchanted to act like simple security measures to anyone that might try to detect them, similar to the ones they have across the street at the bank. And if you don’t want to trust me on this, -Archmage-, then you can get the hell out.” The redhead crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. But, the annoyance didn’t last very long as the others showed up. She offered a wave to the ever-shy Kailani, the blue-haired woman looking like Khitti used to when she was a kid, carrying her treasured books around. And then there was Kanna and Valrae, who were also being entirely adorable. It really helped to balance out the massive urge Khitti had to smack Lanlan, pick him up by the collar, and literally kick his ass out the door. She tilted her head at Worms, watching as they stared at the food for a moment before greeting everyone. The gears in her head turned for a moment and she got up and went into the kitchen. Returning, she set a few clean tongs out for each tray, thereby allowing Worms to have food if they wanted some. And then there’s Kasyr, who looks like he’s in a bout of stress-eating, to which Khitti can only say to the revenant, “Same.”

Lanlan was stunned. “I thought you understood the need for secrecy but clearly you don’t or your family wouldn’t be in the same run-down dwelling that we’re supposed to be planning to kill the omnicidal spawn of the god of murder.” Kasyr arrived and essentially fell into a seat, looking deeply uninterested in the fate of all life. Lanlan rolled his eyes, understanding how much later he must’ve left to arrive last. He would do what he was supposed to do at least. “No Khitti. If you -can’t- be trusted with this, then maybe you should go.” Well this didn’t take long at all. “Hey Mr. or Ms. Worms,” says Lanlan, his tone mockingly agreeable now, “How many people have you told we were meeting here today? Zero? Wow. I bet that was-” Valrae distracted him with the offer of a muffin, and he accepted it with a huff, taking the hint. But didn’t take a bite. “Fine. Everything on a need to know basis, only. So the children listening in can’t tell all their mouth-breathing friends.” Still, he didn’t sit, he was anticipating a threat against his life and needed to be able to move freely. “Short meeting then. Kailani? Why don’t we start with you, whatever you figured out seems to be…affecting you. Somewhat.”

Kailani :: Oh. Oh no. Khitti was sassing Lanlan right in front of everyone. By now, this is not entirely unsurprising to the druid. Yet that does not mean that Kai has become a master at responding to these moments. What is she going to do? Eat her snacks and pointedly not look at Khitti or Lanlan during this. Yummy, yummy. The tension seems to ease, probably because of the light banter over hot dark chocolate strawberry phoenixes and Kai is nothing but relieved. And then all of a sudden, just as Kailani was starting to relax, Lanlan puts all of the attention on her. And manages to make her feel just a little insecure in the process. Something was affecting her? What? Did she do something weird? Oh no. Kailani knew prior to arriving to this meeting that at some point she would have to speak and share information about her book. She had been practicing what she was going to inform the members internally her entire way here. Yet when the time came for her to speak, Kai finds her nerves to be rising as eyes shift to her. For what feels like an uncomfortable eternity to her, she loses her tongue completely. To everyone else? It was just a few more seconds of awkward from the druid who has never been the best conversationalist to begin with. Some moments are better than others. Anyway, here Kai goes, “I have not finished reading mine cover to cover. Part of the reason that I have not is because it appears to be written in high elven, but a very old dialect. From what I have learned so far, it speaks of a Triskelion that is connected to Hind. It was not the author of the book that had the artifact, but the High Priestess at the temple he chose to serve at. In one passage he described that this priestesses was able to shift into any animal form she wanted to on a whim and that the earth would grow roots at her bidding. I just. I am still working out where exactly the temple is. I do have a few suspicions though.” Okay, she can stop talking now, right? Lanlan is losing cool points for making poor, shy Kai go first.

Kanna 's smile falls as the call rings out for everyone to reveal the contents of their found books, starting with Kailani. The bickering of Lanlan and Khitti is only met with a raised finger. "Information first, punch each other later." A plate of sweets is pushed in the druid's direction as a silent reassurance that things were going to be okay. As Kailani speaks, Kanna's eyebrows raise, disappearing under her fringe. "Wait, I can read old high elvish. That's what my book was written in too, and it's the root language of my home language." As everyone looks at her, her expression falls again. Turning around to grab her two books, Kanna lays them out on the table. Pointing at the sapphire book first, Kanna says, "This book was written in part by my mother, and was forfeited to the library in an exchange for forbidden knowledge. It details the history of a creature on our island that the high elves of Rynvale believed were an avatar of Vakmatharas himself, capable of unleashing screams that bards and banshees could ever dream of imitating. They called it the Onniont." Kanna grips the edges of the book. "The only way to bottle the death cry is to kill the beast and have a powerful arcane user or necromancer capture the cry in an Inexhaustible Jar, specifically designed to hold “less corporeal” things. When unleashed, this death cry has the ability to stun and render even the most powerful creatures immoble, as well as imparting a deep sense of mourning. It is theorized that the first slain Onniont was used to stop a mortal attempting to ascend to godhood's reign of terror before banishing him from Praemia. I can't read this name, though, but that's not important. What's important is that the last Onniont known to exist is still on Ikari..." Kanna's voice softens, though. "I don't want to kill it, though."

Quintessa || Worms finds themself shaking their head when Khitti rails into Lanlan, and honestly this strange being believes the half-drow earned it. A hand moves up to cover their mouth, a useless gesture, as they turn to face Lanlan. “Yes, Mr. Elf, this young woman has guaranteed our safety, you should trust her. After all, you -are- friends, right? …Right? And I prefer Comrade Worms, if you don’t mind.” When Khitti returns with the clean tongs Worms is touched, emotionally. “Did you get this for me?” They are feeling a little bit bashful now but they pick up the tongs so they don’t look ungrateful, reaching forward to snag a few pieces of meat. “Thank you so very much- you are so kind.” They devour the meat by placing it inside the squirming mass of worms that made up their body, leaning forward to look at Kailani. “Anything that needs to be translated I'd love to help. I’m a bit of a polyglot, I must admit.”

Valrae greeted Kasyr cheerily, nodding very seriously at his choice in muffin before taking a bite of her own. The witch stops eating for the first time as Lanlan and Khitti seem to have a touch of back and forth. Anxiety blooms as a pink blush on her cheeks. “Oh, gods.” She murmurs, hiding her frown behind her tea. There was something endearing about the way Khitti thought to give the Worms something to gather food with. It made a warmth spread through her chest, despite her misgivings about the creature that had attacked them during their ritual. Still, Valrae valued Khitti’s judgment and would follow her lead. But Lanlan kept going. He seemed to be cranked up to eleven. She was afraid to look at Khitti, already imagining the look of murder on her face. Panicked, Valrae stood quickly and placed herself between the two. “Hey, why don’t you stop throwing your weight around here, sit down, and eat a gods damned muffin. Maybe if your mouth is full you’ll shut the f-” Whatever word she was saying was covered up by the sound of some commotion outside of the bakery. “Up.” As she spoke, she jammed a muffin right into his face. “He didn’t mean it, we’re all just on edge right now.” She calls to Khitti over her shoulder as she gently steers Lanlan as far away from her as they can get. The witch throws a helpless look toward Kasyr, hoping he can read her telepathically screamed, ‘HELP!’. She nods toward the druid too, trying to focus on Kai, who was offering them valuable information. She had to wonder if Lan or Khitti would even hear over the sounds of their own anger. And then it was Kanna’s turn to speak. Valrae offered her a look of sympathy but said little more, instead she leaned over and whispered something in Lanlan’s ear, after which she gave him her sweetest most pleading smile.

Valrae whispered something to Lanlan.

Valrae || She had placed her purse on the back of her seat. It was a giant thing, made of sturdy leather and very bright pink. She took a long drink of her tea before turning around to fish around the nearly bottomless insides of it. Her arm nearly disappeared to her shoulder. “I have them, I swear…” She says as she looks up, her face painted in lines of sheepish apology. The golden one came first, a tick tome covered in silver threads. There was no title, only the imprint of ornate scissors. The next book she found was much larger. It seemed to have been bound in opalescent white snake skin, the corners of it decorated with intricate gold. It too seemed to be missing any words, in common or otherwise, that would hint toward what might be written on the pages. She popped another carrot into her mouth after setting them both in front of her. “The Serpent’s Pass…” She says the name as if anyone in the room would recognize it. “I don’t know what it is. Most of what this book is saying doesn’t make sense to me yet. It’s a path but it doesn’t always… Exist? It’s connected to the gods, if I’m translating everything right anyway, and it acts as a sort of… Passage to places that aren’t revealed until you need them or maybe are ‘worthy’ of them?” The larger white book opens, the cover thumping loudly onto the table, and the pages begin to turn even as she nurses her tea with both hands. “I’m still working my way through it, but…” As they stop turning, the witch leans over and taps a pink polished nail on a passage. “This caught my attention. It talks about the ‘where’ mattering just as much as the ‘how’ for certain feats. I think that if I have a bit more time to dig through it I’ll have everything I need to find the ‘where’ and when… For…” She looks up again, her eyes moving around the faces in the room. She doesn’t speak again, only offers a long shrug of her shoulders.

Kasyr isn't quite sure how accurate Khitti's statement of 'Same' is, but some small bleak nugget in his heart hopes that his particular dilemma isn't one he's facing in isolation- especially given the odd sense of vacancy he's had since their travel. He can't put his finger on it, how could he, given the perfect excision of that knowledge- but the seams still protest, their absence promising weeks, and perhaps even months of disquiet to come. In the wake of this, the odd ringing in his mind is welcome- a tinnitus-like buzz accompanied by some anxious impulse from the witch, which has him glancing between the two feuding mages. "Lan. Imagine there's people you actually care about here- and see if you can pretend to be a better person." Khitti, on the other hand, just affords the woman a slight shrug, "He can't help himself. It's like a nervous tic. Et given we're plotting Deicide, ou quoi-ce-soit- It's a surprise everyone hasn't developed one." That's...yeah, that's about the extent of Kas' attempts at Placation asofar. If things break down into an actual conflict, he's perhaps more likely to intervene, but for the moment- the vampire's more concerned about washing down pastries with a few cups of bloodwine, and hearing what fresh discoveries the others have made. Though, even that only lasts for so long. Whilst some part of him contemplates the possibility of stalling for the others to go, he figures he may as well get his portion out of the way. Who knows, maybe it'll provide Lanlan with an awkward opportunity to vent his grievances at someone else. "Mine was blank." To emphasize this point, he fishes the currently rust-colored journal out from his pocket, and haphazardly tosses it out onto the table in front of himself- at which point he carelessly draws his fingers through it's pages- revealing a vast expanse of blank, yellowed paper. All save for a a single shifting phrase on the very first page, centered prominently, whose soul purpose seems to be to tell the reader 'This book is not meant for this place'.

Khitti || It was obvious Khitti was seething with hatred for the drow right now. This was -her- building. -Her- house. -Her- property. And -he- was telling -her- to leave? As he continued on his little tirade, the smell of something burning started to fill the air. The redhead reached her hand out to an unused table, the entirely wooden piece of furniture going up in purple flames immediately. Mmm, nope. Still didn’t feel better yet. So, the four chairs that accompanied the table went up in flames too. It’s fine. She’ll get new ones. She can afford it. People try their best to comfort her and settle her down after Lanlan’s rant, but it definitely takes a few minutes for the rage to subside. When things circled back around to her regarding the books, she took a deep breath and let it out shakily. Yes, she still wanted to murder Lanlan. “Well, first of all, Mage’s Guild meetings are hereby banned from this establishment, effective immediately after this meeting, until the day that I either change my mind or someone replaces Lanlan as archmage.” The witch sighed. “That aside, my book was also about my homeland, like Kanna’s. Khitt and I are from a long line of witches. We are the…” She counted on her fingers. “--thirteenth of our names for our respective timelines. The first was the child of the high priestess of the Shadow Lily coven in our homeland. Apparently the whole ban on magic is due to the fact that the non-magic users got jealous and killed off almost all of my people.” Khitti forced a smile here, trying to act like she’s totally fine with this. “Why is this relevant? Because their mother, the high priestess, had a ring called the Celestial Abraxas Ring. They worshipped Arh’Nuk and Valaane, so they drew their power from there. Called themselves ‘twilight witches’. The ring itself has the ability to reflect magic. That’s about where I stopped reading for now though after the mindfrakkery of learning that I’m an actual witch and that there were more people like me, with similar magic, who are now dead.” There’s another forced smile. “The problem with all of this, besides the dead relatives, is the fact that Dhavislaav is probably more dangerous than that damn library.” Yes, she’s serious. “And I’m not going back there, unless it’s either by myself or solely with my husband, so I’m going to have to create a spell to summon my ring here--regardless of whether or not it gets used against Caluss.”

Kasyr said to you, "So, that's a no to a homicide filled fieldtrip?"

You said to Kasyr, "For now. This place is like Larket, but bigger and far more ingrained in their ways of magic-hating and witch-burning. I've got a sneaking suspicion now that the person in the council that runs the Capitol that suggested to banish me instead might actually also be a witch. Because otherwise, I don't think I would've escaped that place."

Kanna said to Kailani, "I know we don't know each other well, but would you come with me to Ikari to see if the Onniont is still there? You're an animal whisperer, right? I want to see if there's a way to get this artifact without hurting the creature."

Kanna said to Comrade Worms, "I actually have a book that you can research. It's this one; it's not dwarvish, elven, high elven, draconic, or fae, you can tell that much from the writing alone." She points to the ruby book titled 'Creations of Vakmatharas.'

Kailani said to Kanna, "I would be happy to help you try."

Lanlan was fairly intrigued at the idea of a triskelion. He’d never even heard the word, as far as he can remember. Which, after that mishap in the library, maybe he had heard of it. “Triskelion? Second time I’ve heard that word, ever. Maybe there are things they care about after all. Good.” When Kanna described the frightening fish, he was even more surprised than he was about the triskelion. A strange word is one thing, but using a fish to pummel a god-thing like Caluss? Preposterous. And yet, that wasn’t even the surprising part. He frowns slightly when she confesses her reluctance to kill it. “But if it has to die then that’s what must be done. One life for…all of them. Have Kasyr go with you.” Problem solved. With efficiency! Valrae had to find her books in her universe-on-a-strap, and the time spent doing so seemed to stretch infinitely, as it does under the gravity of such palpable tension. For now, he was mostly just pretending to be keeping his composure, and rather indignantly. But Worms tilted his flat mouth into a slight frown, and then Valrae whispered something that turned some part of himself off. Probably his ears. Only when it comes to things he’s not interested in hearing, apparently, because he’s definitely tuned in to what Valrae has to say about her book. Serpent’s path? He’s mildly triggered, recalling traversing a bridge composed of nothing but venomous snakes. And then falling into it. Must be a different one, because this was connected to no god. “Let’s hope we’re ‘worthy’.” A humorless chuckle. He merely averted his eyes as Khitti spoke, heeding her words, confessing to neither guilt nor spite. It wasn’t his fault her stuff was now on fire. “How dangerous can they be if they don’t even use magic,” he mumbles. And then it’s his turn to speak. “I’m not interested in being somewhere I’m not welcome, so I’ll be quick.” He looks at everyone. “First of all, I’d like to remind -everyone- that Caluss wants to know what we’re doing, his eye has been upon us for -years- now, or have you all forgotten when, from -somewhere-, it cut off Gevurah’s magic, allowing Quintessa to nearly kill her?” Well, they might praise Caluss for that one. “Or how it knew exactly when to take Kanna? Or show up just as we gathered to heal the Xalious tree? -I- at least, will take this seriously.” That was enough. “The account I found seems to be written by a few different people, in a few different tongues. But it’s connected to Caluss. And Xalious…The man, not the god. Seems they were guardians or protectors, guarding…locks? It’s not clear. And then Caluss opened one what was unleashed almost ended everything.`` He shook his head slightly. “That doesn’t…but what’s really surprising to me, is that it mentions something like a fish. And a charm. And…well I thought it said circle but clearly it means a ring. And a place where heaven and earth touch. Five. Five guardians, five objects, used together to take the heart out of…Mana. That’s what they called it. Or it could be more than five, it’s a little inconsistent, but mostly it says five. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence, these books we found. We were meant to I think and…” His speech was meant to be more grandiose, but something definitely sucked the exuberance out of him. “That’s all. I’ll be at the tower.”

Kailani tried to ignore the tensions and focus on the information that was being shared. They were here to figure out a way to defeat Caluss, not to fight each other. Her strategy was only so effective for peppered into the conversations were comments chastising Lanlan for his behavior. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Kai manages to send an appreciative smile to both Kanna and Worms. Maybe some help translating would be good, her elven was not what it used to be due to lack of use. She’ll keep trying first. To Kanna, Kai further confirms before the night is over, “We will talk more soon and see if we cannot find a way….” Or. Perhaps they would not be able to, but at least Kai was willing to help her try. Anyway, the longer the meeting went on, the more eager Kai was to leave. It could not be helped, the druid preferred the wildness and relative silence. There were only a few select people she enjoyed breaking that silence and well…Okay, actually, two of those “people” were creatures. Grimclaw and Aspen. Kai was starting to look flighty, but for a change she tried to keep her butt in her chair until the meeting was adjourned.

Kanna shakes her head at Kasyr. "If Khitti is willing to shadowstep us to and from, or allow us to borrow her ship, although that would require a good month at sea, that should be all the power we need." When Lanlan finishes his speech abruptly, Kanna's brows furrow. Everyone was on edge after what they had seen, with Khitti and herself reasonably having even more reason to be shaken... Or was there something he wasn't telling them? "Lanlan." She says softly to get his attention. "Thank you for putting your life on the line to help with this. It's very noble of you." Hopefully, a kind word would help ease his mind. "Of all of you." She adds. Standing suddenly, Kanna claps her hands together. "Comrade Worms, one of the constellations that scholars are said to be born under is going to be visible just down at the beaches, would you care to join me? Valrae, Kailani, Khitti? If Caluss is watching, it may as well be watching us in a location that's inconsequential to us, but that it might think is significant." It would seem this is her way of trying to light-heartedly adjourn the meeting.

Quintessa || Worms gives a long look at Lanlan, an errant thought bubbling up to the surface of their mind. “...I’ll never get over the fact that a petty hedge magician like you made it to the once-honored position of Archmage. Xaloius must be in hard times indeed. Ever since they started allowing undead in the guild it's been going downhill…” Comrade Worms stands and meanders over to the burning rubble, waving their hands to create a small cone of cold that magically extinguishes the remaining coals. “So it sounds like we have several leads, and while I’m a scholar- not a treasure hunter, I’ll do the best I can to illuminate the paths leading to each of these objects.” With the fire extinguished they approach Kanna to take the book she offered them, resisting the urge to spill their worms on the pages so they could rapidly consume the knowledge in a few moments rather than pouring over the pages the old fashioned way. They yield to tradition, sitting down and opening the book in search of the mystery language. “I suppose it wouldn’t be in Giant, Goblin, or Orcish either… You think it might be in Aklo or Undercommon? Speakers of those two tongues tend to be the sort that would align with Vakmatharas- though I suppose it isn’t out of the question that it was written in Gnomish…” Once Worms lays metaphorical eyes it becomes clear. “Ah, close but neither. This is in Deep Speak, an ancient language that predates the Drow colonizing Trist’oth- A death cultist must have compiled this, or someone who knew one at least…” They look up, shrugging as sheepishly as they can appear. “I’ll need time to read this whole tome but I have a feeling we are on the right track. Perhaps we can break into smaller groups to discuss moving forward.” When Kanna invites Comrade Worms down to the beach, they are somewhat surprised but not unpleasantly so. The bashfulness they felt when Khitti also showed them kindness was back with a vengeance. “You want -me- to come with you? I’d be delighted, thank you.”

Valrae had lost her appetite. It was a shame really, because the food had been good and she’d been struggling with her schedule to find time for meals in between putting out the fires of her new office. Still, she nursed her tea and hoped the lavender and honey that curled up from the steam of it would soothe the worst of her frayed edges. She listens as Khitti speaks, keeping her eyes down on the cup before her to watch the dark liquid as trembled in her unsteady hands. She winced when Khitti mentioned “witch burnings”, imagining she could still taste the smoke. Or maybe she could and it came from the table and chairs that were currently aflame. As the conversation continued around her she said little else. It was Lan’s turn to speak, he’d clearly ignored her suggestion. Her lips tilt into a demure frown. She didn’t see how this group, as clearly fractured as it was, would have any hope of doing what needed to be done. She listened to what Lanlan had learned but didn’t process it yet. The witch wished she’d had the foresight to make notes. Maybe she would visit him later. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of hopelessness open up like a chasm in her chest. Suddenly, she’s standing. Val pauses to consider Kanna’s offer before shaking her head softly. “I should return before anyone is missing me, thank you though.” Her words had been gentle but her next motions belied the anger that had been rising underneath the thin veneer of calm. She spent most of her days soothing bruised egos and shuffling around words until the poison in them went down as easily as honey. Why should she have to play peacekeeper here? In a group of highly capable people who, despite current actions, had seemed perfectly able to remain focused when it mattered. She snaps her book shut and collects both of them before she shoves them into her bag, stepping into her cloak again, and shouldering it. “The food was very good.” She says to both Khitti and Kanna. Valrae walks toward the door but it was the worms that stopped her. She turned on her heel quickly, that anger she’d hidden burning hot across her cheeks. What she calls him next is not fit to repeat and certainly wasn’t something that usually tumbled from her lips. “You’re here because the *people* in this room allow it.” She emphasized people, clearly happy to point out that he was, in fact, not a person at all. “You’re insignificant, a pest that traveled in on Khitti’s boot. How you’re allowed in this room is beyond me but if I had to hazard a guess I would say it’s simply pitty. Disrespect our archmage again and you’ll find out exactly how quickly my good will ends for you, worm.” She spat the last word out with so much venom it hurt her own teeth. With that, she pulls the hood over her head and slips back out into the Cenrilian heat, the door slamming loudly behind her.

Kasyr offers a faint shrug to Kanna, trying not to scrutinize the former harbinger for longer then necessary, "Non. You are correct, it would be a misappropriation of resources. If your intention is to preserve this thing, my attention would be best focused elsewhere. I need to consolidate certain options, if I'm to uphold my part of this whole sordid mess." That said, the Kensai retrieves the book, making a marked point of ignoring the shifting text as he slams it shut- just as he does his best to ignore the abrupt shift in Lanlan's priorities. Perhaps the man had simply reached the end of what he'd translated or read- or perhaps there was something unseemly or dangerous he was leaving unsaid. In either case, it would likely crop up in time. Still, for the Kensai, the summary of this meeting was simple enough- Stay the course, and prepare for a suicidal encounter with divinity. Business as usual. "Have a good evening, Madames, monsieurs, comrade~" As he moves towards the door, he does scoop up another pastry, and a bit of bloodwine to dip it in, "And as ever, I appreciate the hospitality."

Quintessa || Worms shrugs after she leaves, her words not having the sort of impact she might have assumed it would. “I suppose she -is- right. This existence I am forced to live in an abomination and once my duty to destroy the God of Undeath is done I will seek ways to end this existence.” They turn to Kanna, unfazed. “Shall we?”

Khitti shook her head at Kanna, “I cannot promise my husband’s ship for a month long trip at sea, unfortunately. It’s not mine in the slightest. The crew on the ship have families to feed, which means they need to continue their cargo runs. The longest it has been used for guild matters is a week at most--and that was for a guild that he’s actually a part of. Brand isn’t even a part of the Mage’s Guild. It would likely be for the best to look into renting a ship for a short time, or checking at the docks here or Rynvale or Chartsend to see if there’s a ship that runs a trade route there often. Going by way of the Shadow Plane isn’t really viable either, to be honest. My shadowstepping is short range only. Getting a ship from people over there would be basically the same as getting one here.” She sighed as Valrae got up, said her bit, and left. Her attention then shifted towards Lanlan. “While I don’t feel quite as strongly as they do,” she said, a hand motioning towards the Worm That Walks, ”You have yet to show any reason for me to give you the respect that Valrae claims you deserve. I don’t even know how you went about claiming this position in the guild for yourself so quickly as I’ve seen you do nothing but flaunt yourself around like a peacock, berating everyone that doesn’t meet your standards. You come here into my house, my place of work, and act like I can’t protect my own? And insult a toddler and an infant? Are you nuts, Lanlan? I will never understand what it is that Valrae sees in you as a friend and I fear at this point, I never will because you are the rudest, most self-absorbed person I have ever met in my life. You have literally done nothing but insult me the entire time you’ve known me. See yourself out, -Archmage-, and do not come back to this place again.” Quite suddenly, Khitti looked incredibly exhausted. She turned then to the others. “I’m sorry that yet another meeting has gone awry. Good luck with your item quests. My family needs me and won’t actually question the things that I do for them.” And with that, she headed into the kitchen and headed up the stairs to the apartment.

Kailani might have accepted Kanna's offer to go to the beach if another round of bickering did not occur. Here they were. As of now, Kai is happy to leave the city all together and enjoy some silence on her way back home to Orion.

Kasyr said, "And he said I was a danger to the guild."

Kasyr has by this point crossed the threshold, but supposes he can afford a clever line to end that carriage wreck of a meeting on, "Lanlan isn't the guild."