RP:Discovery of a Buried Book

Synopsis: Celaeno and Raevyn finally infiltrate Larket to search for Nasada's grave, finding a book instead of a body.

Date: Jan 8, 2018

Dormitory (Mage Tower)

The day had arrived and Raevyn awoke upon her cot in a less than lovely manner, with hair all over the place and a pile of drool pooled upon her pillow. She didn’t recall passing out the night before, but it was obviously needed. It wouldn’t take too terribly long for the girl to rise and begin the preparation of getting ready- They had a big day ahead of them! “Okay, so you might feel a bit strange. Maybe even nauseous. But it should be relatively painless.” the girl had offered the half-elf, handing her one of the potions. Baelok was busy preparing Tempest outside, and soon enough, himself. “You also might want to plug your nose when we uncork these. While the raspberries will mask the taste, it doesn’t smell so great.” Given that it would take two hands to open, this fact would be made immediately known as soon as the cork was pulled, the scent of what could only be described as stale flatulence assaulted the nostrils. Raevyn gagged. “Ready?” she would ask, holding out her flask in an attempt to offer a cheers to her partner in crime.

Celaeno had woken early, never one to sleep too well when something was afoot the next day. Instead Raevyn would find her friend with her nose in her Minor Book of the Dead, more studying. As soon as her friend stirred, though, she gently closed the text and slipped it back into her pack. Raevyn might catch Cela fussing a bit with her friend’s hair before it was put up, but eventually both young women would come to the potion stage of the day. Cela gulped as she took her potion, sitting down for it, just in case. Already her hand was shaking a mite and her head was a bit dizzy, and she hadn’t even opened it yet. She closes her eyes, taking deep breaths to push down another of those flashbacks. In through the nose, out through the mouth. It passed, more or less as she tugs the cork off with a pop. It takes her a moment to register that Raevyn was holding out her own flask, the smell was doing a better job dizzying her than her nerves. She holds her breath and reaches up to clink her container against her friend’s with a puffy-cheeked smile. Then she closes her eyes and downs the potion like someone might do to a small glass of strong liquor. Bottoms up.

Raevyn watched Celaeno carefully, a bit of concern shown as the half-elf showed an obvious discomfort. At first, the young necromancer was going to tell her that she didn’t have to do this, but she knew better. Celaeno was much like she were- stubborn and eager for adventure. Clinking flasks, she too plugged her nose and tossed the strange mixture into her mouth. Thankfully, despite the smell, it went down with ease. It tasted sweet and fruity; it was like drinking a glass of ordinary juice! “That wasn’t so bad…” Raevyn said before her hand fell upon her stomach. She looked like she was going to be sick. Celaeno’s transformation would start first. Those long brown locks began to pale into a frizzy blonde, and her brow became a bit bushy. Her chest would expand a cup size or two, and with them, her face and belly would grow as well. Eyes once stormy gray were now a deep shade of green. When all was said and done, Celaeno resembled a slightly heavy set woman. Raevyn recognized her as a barmaid that she had once seen in Larket when she first arrived in Lithrydel a couple years back. There was a bit of a giggle to come from Raevyn before her stomach began to gurgle loudly like she hadn’t eaten in a few days. She looked like she was about to be sick. Suddenly, her face began to twist and contort, the cheeks filling out a little more. Her pale skin bronzed and those dead eyes began to fill with brown. Her hair lightened a couple of shades into more of a chestnut hue, and she began to grow a couple of inches. Her chest receded, while those slender shoulders broadened. And soon, she was showing signs of stubble. She grew uncomfortable as her pants didn’t quite seem to fit right, and so she ran over to the mirror where she let out a bit of a scream. “BY THE GODS! WHAT IN THE HELL?!” She was now, effectively, a man. Baelok came rushing in, thinking at first something had gone wrong. “Oi! What’s goin’-” he called, until he spotted Raevyn. It took a moment, but he started laughing. She was standing there, holding out the waistline of her pants and staring down inside in disbelief. Her hips flicked forward and she cried out, “I..I.. I HAVE A DOODLE! BAELOK, WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Another fit of gruff laughter escaped the undead guardian as he retorted, “Ye didn’t say whose hair.” The girl, or rather, man, huffed in annoyance. “Let’s get this over with…”

Celaeno groans as the concoction goes down, the woozy feeling hitting her full force as she sags onto her hand and holds her stomach. Had she not had a preference for looser fitting clothes, then they might have torn. Fortunately everything merely fit much tighter than she liked as she looks down at her new shape, extra pudge and all. She loosens the straps on her gauntlets, sliding them off with a bit of effort. Her stockings stretched plenty so they slipped off in her teeth without any extra fuss. "Well, no one will recognize me." Raevyn's fright makes her jump, though and she blinks a moment as a man was standing where her friend should be... She muffles the laughter threatening to escape in the crook of her elbow. Deep breaths, in and out. She almost had it under control when Baelok bursts in and Raevyn's final exclamation has her guffawing in a very unladylike manner, eyes tearing up and everything. "I...I'm sorry, Raevyn. I couldn't...At least it will go away." She wipes them on her forearm when the worst of it passes and she's able to speak again, though her cheeks are sore now. "That was...very rude Baelok," though the reprimand had her failing to suppress a grin.

Larket

Raevyn narrows her eyes at Celaeno. Should couldn’t fault the girl, really. If there had been in a change of positions, Raevyn would most likely have laughed just as hard. “It was, wasn’t it? Must have been my mistake!” Baelok answered the pudgy avatar, a sly little wink cast in her direction. “C’mon. Steed’s ready. Just gotta wrap me up.” It wouldn’t take too terribly long to roll Baelok up on the bed sheet, but getting him onto tempest’s back was a bit of a challenge. For someone dead, he sure as hell was heavy! It took the aid of a few student magii to finally get him all set up, but in a matter of time they were finally on their way. Because Baelok was already up on top of Tempest, Raevyn felt it was probably a better idea if she and Celaeno walked, rather than trying to ride and balance the three of them. Then they finally reached the entrance to Larket, Raevyn looked to Celaeno and took a deep breath. She would nod slowly, indicating that she were ready, and gean to lead Tempest forward. On watch, a pair of guards cautiously stared down the two transformed figures with a bit of scrutiny. They saw the shovels and then the body, but seemed to not have seen past their disguises- So far so good. ‘Halt!” One of the guards commanded, looking between the pair. “What business have you here?” Raevyn froze up, forgetting completely what she was about to say. A nervous look was thrown to Celaeno, hoping that the half-elf was quick with the recovery.

Celaeno 's heart was already beating a bit fast as they traversed the city. Walking alongside the horse helped serve as a somewhat soothing distraction, concentrating on Tempest's breathing and such. She never looked anyone in the eye or threw any passing smiles, as had become her habit. As the guards came up, she jumps, her wrist going to her chest. The panic flitted away quickly enough as she glances toward her friend giving her the same bewildered expression. She sighs, swiping her forearm across her eyes. Her disability was shown for all to see at that point and she sniffles behind her sleeve. "We're headed to the cemetary. My...my poor Henry passed and I... This young man offered to help me bury him."

One of the guards moved toward the body and went to cut a slit into the sheet where Baelok’s face had been, when Raevyn suddenly lifted her hand and snatched the man’s wrist. This of course gained her a very displeased look, but she rebounded with, “It’s not a pretty sight. Kahran’s forces. They ate his face.” Another glance was given toward Celaeno, the male avatar trying his hardest not to smirk at that well played performance. “Alright. Hurry on through. Don’t let’em stink in the streets.” the guard stated. Raevyn bowed her head and tugged upon Tempest’s reins, leading them through the side streets without another incident. When they finally hit the outskirts of the town, Raevyn felt it best to pause and consult the map to make sure they were going the right way. Of all places in Larket, the cemetery was one place she had yet to visit. “So, it should be just through the forest, a little bit northwest of here. Are you doing okay?” These words were spoken to Celaeno, obviously.

Celaeno hid her face in her forearms and burst into a proper fit of whimpering sobs as they walked away until they were well out of range of anymore prying ears. Still, even when they did reach the outskirts of the city and she let her sniffling die down, her heart still hammered in her chest and her arms shook some. It added an extra layer of believability to the act, but the nerves were real enough. "I'm holding up fine enough, I'll just be happy to get this over with." Her words stayed vague, on the off chance someone was dropping eaves, hiding somewhere between the trees beyond. "What about you? This can't be easy."

Raevyn put her hand to her crotch and adjusted the extra appendage, making as face of discomfort. “Alright. A little chafing I think. This… is just so bizarre.” Baelok fidgeted on the back of the horse and grunted out to the duo, “Hurry the hell up and get movin’. This ain’t comfortable ya know.” The necromancer’s elbow lifted and hit the man in his ass as she scolded him, “Ssssh. Or we’ll really bury you.” Once the coordinates had been set, Raevyn once again lead the trio on their way and into the forest. It wasn’t too far in that the cemetery gates would come into view, the butterflies in the pallid girl’s stomach beginning to stir. She wasn’t exactly sure what, if anything, they would find- But she was hoping for at least something that could shed some light on her situation. The graves seemed to span on and on, neat rows of tombstones for as far as the eye could see. There were plenty of freshly dug graves now, given the most recent attacks on the town, and it was pretty easy to distinguish between those newer and older sections of the graveyward. “Okay, so… over this way?” Raevyn guessed, leading them into one of the older sections. They graves here had been pretty neglected. Many were cracked or work, some beginning to topple due to the shift in the landscape over the centuries. Among the various graves and tombstones were some majestic, or at least would have been in their day, statues of former denizens of the land. Although, one seemed to have suffered some sort of cruel fate, as all there had been left was a pair of legs attached to a base; The rest of the work of art either pilfered or smashed to bits. Pointing to a large radius of graves, Raevyn looked to her friend. “Okay, so you want to take the left side and I’ll take the right?” she finally asked Celaeno, working then to untie the body from the back of the horse. “And you can head straight down the center here?” she asked Baelok.

Celaeno still kept her pace measured as they went and her own pulse only died down when they came to the further reaches of the older section where not many would tread. She heaves a collosal sigh of relief as she glances around, frowning as she contemplated what they should be looking for. "I suppose we should be looking for any un-marked stones or perhaps even areas where nothing is growing, depending on how bad he actually was, as well as the easier option of a tombstone with that name carved on it. Unless Baelok remembers what it looks like...

Raevyn thought that made a lot of sense, really. Baelok however, after dusting himself off, shook his head to Celaeno. “Ain’t never seen it, myself. Just heard word. Your guess is as good as mine.” With those words, he quietly stalked off down the rows of graves, looking for any that matched the things that Celaeno had mentioned. Raevyn, shrugged her broad shoulder and also began to go through the old tombstones, searching out for something that looked out of place. She wasn’t having too much luck. Once half an hour had passed, Raevyn would call out to the pair, “ANY LUCK?”

Celaeno wandered about her assigned section, winding between the old plots and faded tombstones. Many were too faded by weather and time to read. She bent and cleared away overgrowth and moss from some of the older stones where they obscured the marks. She did manage to find a few blank plots, either belonging to paupers or criminals by her estimation. nothing that had struck the very ground whatever it was. Belatedly she realized an actual body would probably do that, but perhaps an artifact might? She cups her hand to her mouth. "I found a few contenders, but not much!"

Raevyn was searching as hard as she might, and yet, much like baelok and Celaeno, she too was coming up on dead ends. A few empty named graves here and there, but they were so mundane looking. It dawned upon her, maybe if these signs didn’t show, would they have to just start digging up random bodies and hoping for the best? That might not sit well with the local guard, especially when they had so very little time to work with. When all of the tombstones in her section had been read over and searched, she turned and headed back toward the central section of plots in which they started. Each of the present statues were gone over, names of past historical figureheads read aloud while she waited. It was when she stopped upon that statue of nothing but legs, that she noticed something. It was barely visible, almost scratched away, but she made out what looked like a letter ‘D’ in the center of the base. “HEY! COME HERE!” she called out. When Baelok and Celaeno returned, she would point at the base of the statue and say, “I… I think this is it. I just… it’s got to be.”

Celaeno 's ears perked at Raevyn's voice as it rang through the area. Knowing they were short on time, she sprinted back to her friend between the old stones, hopping over a few that got in her way. The extra weight did leave her panting as she arrives to the statue alongside Raevyn, supporting herself with her forearms on ther knees. "Help me...with my hands. Let's make this quick." She narrows her eyes up at the statue, despite that the top of it had been knocked off by something. "Not well liked...yet...he gets a statue. Either this land or...it's gods are very strange."

Raevyn quickly set to work helping Celaeno put on her hands, her gaze looking upon the statue with her reply. “Yeah, I could be completely wrong, and we could be digging up someone completely innocent. But if this is his statue, then I wonder who would even bother erecting it. I mean, it’s a little out of place given the things we know… which is not all that much.” Once Celaeno’s gauntlets were fastened tight, Raevyn would hand her a shovel and soon take one of her own. She hit the earth and seemed to struggle with getting it started. Seeing as they were on a schedule, Baelok grew pretty agitated and took the shovel from Raevyn. “Gimmie that.” is all he would say. With him doing a larger portion of the work at a faster pace than either the two magii, it really cut down on the time needed. Even still, it would be nearly an hour with two people shovelling, having Raevyn and Celaeno trading off at intervals. They had already surpassed the normal depth where some sort of casket or remains would have been located. “Sorry kiddo. I think you’re out of luck.” Baelok muttered. Raevyn wanted to cry.

Celaeno :: "Whoever it does belong to certainly isn't using it now. They won't mind." Her lack of qualms showed as she got to work with a straight, determined expression. Starting didn't prove difficult, despite being a tad awkward since she hadn't gone digging since losing everything attached to her fingers. Still, even without calluses it was good going work. When the past hour had turned up nothing, one look at Raevyn's distraught face has her tapping her chin, her gears spinning hard and fast as she pondered the statue. She did trust Raevyn's instincts, whether it actually being accurate enough being another question. A little smile comes to her face, one that should have no place being there as she glances over her shoulder to her friend. The mischievous glint perhaps sat oddly on the borrowed face. "Perhaps something is inside the stone? Why not blow it apart and see? Since we're short on time, that is."

Raevyn sighed and looked to Celaeno with a pout, she didn’t really think much of the suggestion. She figured that is why the statue was destroyed in the first place. Someone had already been here, long ago. She shrugged, “I guess we can try.” Baelok climbed out of the grave and offered the pair a hand so that that they too could easily get out. Once all were accounted for, the undead took his shovel and approached the fallen effigy, looking the thing up and down. There was a heavy clunk as he tapped leg of the statue with the shovel. It was solid. Again he tapped upon the corner of the base, and it was the same effect. Heavy clunk - Solid. The shovel was lifted and then tapped upon the top of the base, right between the legs. This time there was more of an echo; Hollow? “Hold this.” the male commanded, handing off the digging tool to whomever was closest, and he soon dropped to his knees. With his armored fist he began to punch at the flat of the base repeatedly, causing the stone to crack and fracture with each and every hit. Soon, the stone would give way and a hole into black appeared. Again he began to hit, soon digging his hands into the sides of the hole to rip away more od the stone to get at what lie beneath. After a few minutes, something was pulled free, wrapped in thick, decaying animal hide. It was rectangular in shape- either some sort of box or book. But but before they could have a look at the thing, a voice sounded out, ‘Eh! What’s going on over there?!” From the south appeared three guards and they began to approach the graverobbers with their weapons drawn. Raevyn and her companions had to think fast.

Celaeno pouted a bit herself as Baelok took over the role of defacing the statue. She hadn't gotten to use that particular set of runes since a certain mausoleum a couple years ago, had snuck her stylus in her belt and everything. But that feeling vanishes as the hollow clank of the shovel makes her ears prick up and she lifts herself on her toes to see better as Baelok works on punching through the thing. It was a more efficient solution... As much as she wanted to help inspect that box and its contents, her triumphant smile is cut short by shouts in the distance. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. To top off the list of things to go wrong, A glance down at her skin would reveal its natural coloration coming back as the effects of the potion begin to wear off. She curses to herself as she pulls her hood over the frizzy blonde hair that slowly began to morph back to a longer deep brown that hangs in her face. "Let's lose them in the trees!" Sure, the guards might have anti-magic abilities, but targeting something that wasn't them might slow them down. If Raevyn and Baelok were running by then, Cela would linger behind for as long as it took to spot a thick line of dying overgrowth between them and their pursuers. If they weren't suspicious right then, the snap of her fingers and small flame she brings to life in her palm would certainly give at least her away. She aims for the brush, sweeping the ball over the whole line of it before letting natural forces do the rest to spread the blaze. It might be a bit rash, but she didn't have much time to contemplate as she runs after her friends.

Raevyn took off as her little feet would let her, seeming to begin her shift back to woman in the process. The whole effect made it hard to run, as each time she dashed, her body would jerk and pull as it shifted things back to where they should be. She looked back to see Celaeno ignite a blaze that would surely stop those guards… briefly. An arrow zipped past the young necromancer as she headed for the treeline, causing girl to duck her head. “Here!” Baelok called out, tossing the concealed object in her direction, soon turning toward Celaeno and her pursuers when they pushed through the large conflagration. The guards had come prepared. “Go! Get in the treeline and circle around the outskirts, back to the horse! I got these guys. “ The guardian commanded, drawing his weapon. Raevyn caught that item and sprinted for the trees, only stopping to make sure that Celaeno wasn’t too far behind. She watched as Baelok was beset upon by the three guards, his adept combat abilities coming into play as the sound of clashing steel filled the air. She wanted to stop, to go back and help him, but if they were caught- he’d never forgive her. As soon as Celaeno caught up, she would take her friend by the hand and pull her along into the forest.

Celaeno stumbled once as her body started to suck in the extra weight, the difference making her lose her balance for a crucial moment. She scrambles forward still on her elbows, trying to get to her knees so she can find her footing again. Were it not for Baelok, the guard closest on her heels would have overtaken her. But she finally finds a root to launch off of and dashes off toward Raevyn. This scene was all too familiar to her, and she had no trouble falling back on her old habits of following orders. As she neared Raevyn she called out, "Go!" But still, she wouldn't reject her friend's hand as she gripped it tight and ran on as fast as her sore legs could carry her.

Raevyn scrambled through thick brush and followed along the edge of the forest, just out of sight of any that would be looking inward. She caught a brief glance of the skirmish between the guards and her guardian, but she could not watch for long as they still needed to get out of the town before they were caught and thrown in jail. Raevyn saw what happened to the last witch that had been imprisoned in this town- She did not want to suffer the same fate. The wooden whistle she had used the day before was brought up to her lips and blown into just as the pair had come out of the woods off of a side street’ Tempest came running into view not long after. The wrapped object was stuffed into one of the saddle bags before Raevyn helped Celaeno up onto her steed, soon jumping into the saddle and giving the temperamental beast a swift kick. Typically she would not do this, but thus far, the pair had already established- When she kicks, it meant run for your life. The guards stationed at the front of the town had yet to be alerted to the scuffle taking place at the graveyard, and so were caught by surprise when Raevyn and Celaeno came barreling through at full speed. The pair would most likely hear all sorts of shouting as they rode off into the safety of the encroaching evening. When they rode up to the Mage Tower, Raevyn didn’t even bother typing Tempest up outside. She was in too much or a hurry to get at whatever it was that they found. The object was tucked under her cloak and as soon as they entered the dormitory, she shut the door and locked it behind Celaeno. She slammed her back against the door, a deep sigh as she held the object to her chest where her heart was still thumping hard. There was a look of regret upon the necromancer’s face and eyes began to glass up as she muttered, “I can’t believe we left him…”

Celaeno found her seat very quickly as she held onto Raevyn's waist, just in the nick of time as her chest started to get sore and bile rose in her throat. She doesn't say anything as they ride, swallowing it down and regaining control of her senses. Was there going to be a correlation between that sensation and life threatening situations? When they did come upon the Mage tower, she helped Raevyn push the door shut, as if guards were hot on their heels. She panted, trying to get her breath back from the chase. It meant Raevyn suffered a bit of silence before Celaeno chimed in, taking her friend's hand and squeezing. "No. He ordered us to leave because he can handle himself. If we stayed, we would've gotten in his way, or worse. Whatever happens is not our fault." She repeats those words to herself as she takes a final deep breath and slides down the door until she sits against it with her legs sprawled out in front of her. "If he doesn't show up in a few days, hopefully things will have settled down by then. We can go back then." Conflicted gray eyes shift to their hard-fought prize still clutched to her friend's chest. The box stank, she was sure, from the animal hide it was wrapped in. If it was made of wood, perhaps part of it had even rotted through in places. A new anxiety stirred in her stomach, something ominous and uncertain. "You were right, Raevyn. We found something. Now...what should we do with it?"

Raevyn slid down the door to join her friend upon the floor, a few deep breaths taken to calm her nerves. Celaeno had a point. Baelok did give an order. This was exactly the sort of thing he was raised for, and something she had been told over and over again. Still, she felt awful. They had their problems, sure, but she felt deep down that she might actually care for him. For better or worse, the miserly brute was part of her life and she wasn’t sure what she would do if he were no longer part of it. The smell emanating from the object brought her back to the present, those dead eyes falling now upon the animal hide sheathe as the item was settled in her lap. “I think we should see what this ‘something’ is before we decide what to do with it. I’m sure we’re going to want to hide it, regardless.” There was a lump in the necromancer’s throat as she began to unravel the hide, her breathing slowing to a crawl. While she wanted to just rip the thing open, she was a bit afraid of what may lie beneath. When she reached the final layer, Raevyn held her break and revealed what they had nearly been captured for. As it turns out, it was not a box, but a large book. The binding was leathery and stitched together in many places. Raevyn could have sworn it was flesh. Burned into the cover were a series of strange lettering; Three rows - Six on the first, Seven on the second, and Three on the bottom. It was a language unlike anything the girl had ever seen before. Celaeno might recognize one of the symbols on the bottom row as something similar to what she had sketched down in her own book a few days prior when she met with a like-handed male. Raevyn then began to flip through the pages, one by one, and what she saw was nothing less strange. Each page felt leathery, as if made from the same material as the cover. The pages themselves played host to different drawings relating to terrifying and evil looking things, while some seemed to depict spells or some sort of magic. The language within was varying; While most seemed to be the same language on the cover, there were bits and pieces of more known languages scattered throughout. Elven, common, draconian, and even ancient avian. The passages and drawings seemed to have been done in some sort of red ink that had faded over the years. “What is this?”... Raevyn murmured to her friend.

Celaeno , as much as she felt she had a strong stomach for strange things, especially such obviously magical things spotted the symbols on the cover, the fine hairs on her arms standing up. She almost stopped Raevyn as the other woman opened the cover, but a combination of curiosity and lightheadedness made her watch as Raevyn turned through the macabre diagrams. She reaches over and feels the texture of the pages, their odd shade, and her stomach turns. "Parchment or vellum is usually made from sheeps hide, leather from cow's hide. If armor can be made from a dragon's skin, in theory such material could be made from just about any animal or...being." Cela gulped as she gazed over the spells, the bits she could recognize. "Some of the language on the front was infernal, I recognize it from someone who showed me something the other day who said only followers of the Dark Immortals knew how to read it." She shudders, her stomach churning as she leans against Raevyn's shoulder for support and forces her eyes away from the tome. "I...I don't use this term lightly, but considering whose apparent grave it was in, I think we've stumbled upon an evil spell book."

When Celaeno made mention of the pages, Raevyn’s eyes went wide and she looked disgusted- Yet she could not help but to bring the book close to her nose and give it a bit of a sniff. There was no real discernible odour to pick up, aside from a staleness and a hint of smoke. She then traced her finger over the reddened ink, her first thought immediately turning to blood. Although, such ink would have dissipated by now, wouldn’t it? “Infernal? This is the language if the Dark immortals? That is so strange. It’s beautiful, but the thought is a bit terrifying.” Again the pages were flipped, more images of a disturbing nature. Ghastly ghouls, rotted corpses, and all sorts of unknown buildings and structures. Some images had entire pages dedicated to them, and one such page Raevyn stopped upon. It was some sort of sword buried into an altar, with some sort of robed figure standing behind it. It garnered a little attention before she began flipping onto the next. There were a few hundred pages in this book, a collection of experiences and dark magics collected over the lifetime of its dark owner. When Celaeno leaned upon her for support, Raevyn lifted a hand and stroked the half-elf’s hair. “Well… we wanted to find… something. This is something, alright. What should we do with it? Have it translated? Should we approach someone in the guild and see what they think?”

Celaeno shuddered, the uneasy feelings from that language reminiscent of the evening that still haunted her a bit, giving her a different objective opinion for the moment. "Dark Immortals include Elazul and Khasad. I remember reading that...If the front has said language on it only known by their followers, I'm sure it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to assume that book is...you know who's." Her fingers flex, the excitement of the day starting to catch up, her protective determination starting to wear away to dread with the analysis. "This seems...significant. As far as the guild goes, I'm not sure. We've already established we don't necessarily trust Lady Dragana as far as we can throw her...which for me at least is not a great distance. That Mr. Mahara fellow seemed neutral enough, but I don't know. I wish we could do this all on our own, but that will take a great deal of time considering how thick this is. Baelok probably won't be able to say anything, when he comes back." She said it with a wishful certainty more than absolute. "I think...we should sit on this a few days. Think through what to do next, see what parts of it we can possibly understand before taking it to someone else so we can approach it carefully." Cela let herself give into her vulnerability a bit as she curls her arm around Raevyn, almost reassuring herself her friend is there.

Raevyn’s lips pursed in thought as she finally closed that book, using on hand to wrapped it back up in that wretched piece of hide. Celaeno had a point. If this was Nasada’s book, it stands to reason it might have been sought by others. Larewen could not be trusted fully with the item. No way in hell would Raevyn even be letting that woman near it. Bradyn on the other hand, might be a viable option. Even if he couldn’t read the language, his insight and knowledge could prove invaluable. When Baelok’s name was brought up, the girl’s heart sank once more, wishing she could know if he made it out of there in one piece. She figured that he would have been back by now, but knowing him, anything could have happened. “Alright…” Raevyn says quietly. “We’ll wait.” She snuggles into Celaeno when the half-elf’s arm came curling around, eyelids falling shut so that she could take the moment to rest. It hadn’t been as long of a day as the one prior, but it had been just as eventful. And because of this, it would be an early night to catch up on some needed rest- After that Damned book was hidden away from prying eyes.