RP:Etch an Esche

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

Summary: It is a lovely day at Vigilanti Semper. Rilla further describes her strange journey to the Demon Archipelago for the studious trio of Krice, Quintessa, and Jessie. Hypotheses are formed. Suspicions arise. And when Quintessa sketches the unknown elf in Rilla's story, the honorable Ms. Jessie Raspberry unwittingly performs an epic fantasy rendition of the pop culture "mic drop" on her way out.

Vigilanti Semper, Courtyard

Rilla || Vigilanti Semper was not the kind of place anyone who knew Rilla would have pictured her. She lingered all the same, despite frequent visits to Tico and a feeding a night since it happened her arms were healing at what felt like a snail’s pace. Having two broken arms was no easy task for someone who preferred to travel through the trees, the safest place to be was here for the time being. The young vampire skulked around, wary of every sound and sounds there were many. At least practically gorging herself on blood in the evenings kept her cravings under wraps when the men paraded around with scraped knees or battle wounds. She settled down outside of the wing, unwilling to remain indoors anymore although she knew there were people coming to find her today. One of Khitti’s books from the meeting in her lap, she stilled herself, focused on the words and not the pain in her arms every time she had to move them. Her hair was a mess, unbrushed since yesterday – it wasn’t like the men were going to do it for her, and she wasn’t willing to ask – her same cloak still pulled around her, though her clothes underneath had changed since yesterday.

Krice was similarly dressed in the same style of clothing that he had been wearing the day prior--black button-down with the collar open and sleeves rolled to his elbows, black slacks, boots, katana strapped to his back--and hair its typical natural mess around his face. As he ventured closer to Vigilanti Semper, his sensitive olfactory detected familiar scents made stronger by their owners revisiting the headquarters - namely Rilla ahead. His other senses were divided between the world around him and the injured vampire ahead, whose slow healing was cause for bemusement at the very least. As he approached the seated woman, his naturally stealthy movements would become more apparent to her vampiric hearing. Hopefully this would serve to announce his presence before he spoke, as he lacked the intention to startle her. " How're you doing?" Was his simple question once comfortably within two metres, asked in relation to her injuries more than her general well-being.

Quintessa Dragana was exhausted, but in the good way for once, spending all night long pouring over the book Khitti had left her last night, and then discussing the findings with her enamored colleague, Jessie Raspberry. She had spent so much time talking about her research she never actually got around to creating a practical experiment to show off until the sun was peeking over the horizon and her time was running short. The countess still had to meet with the vampire Rilla, so she took a bottle of stimulant potion and downed it quickly before dusting herself off to head outside, book in hand. The memory of Krice saying he also wanted to speak to the woman had faded in the back of her mind, but the thought came rushing back when her mismatched eyes spotted the enigma standing over Rilla. “Elazul’s bite,” she mutters to herself, brushing the lock of hair that hung in her face out of the way before crossing the distance to meet them, letting her annoyance melt away in favor of her sweetly fake smile. “Rilla, Krice.” Quintessa gives a polite nod to each of them, her attention flickering to the vampire as she finds a seat next to her. “You don’t mind if I sit here, right? Thanks.” She, of course, didn’t wait for an answer before getting comfortable with her notebook on her lap. “You seem to be recovering somewhat- Did you consider my offer from last night? Healing the undead requires a different kind of magic, but I am well versed in necromancer. It would be a simple enough process if you decide to consent to the treatment.”

Lionel || Light shone down upon Vigilanti Semper in waves, the cloud mid-morning skies suggesting rain by early afternoon. Each time the sun's rays beamed, the keep's gorgeous stained glass sections lit up vividly. On cooler summer days like this, soldiers and civilians alike occasionally gathered in small groups to admire this scenic synthesis of nature and humanism; Semper's position deep below a canyon caused many tricks of the light, casting shadows and sun sometimes in equal measure. Even when it rained down here, the angle of the world might favor Hollow's life-giving star, presenting fresh drops of water in golden brightness. That was one of the things that Jessie Raspberry loved most about her life. Growing up in the slums of Venturil's least prosperous burg, she had never been afforded the chance to bask in the beauty of her own native region before now. Her active and scientifically-oriented mind had gotten her out of the slums, but it hadn't saved her friends from lives of destitution. At times, she felt awful about that. She told herself she was doing the work that would save the world, but when she paused to soak up the outdoors, or spent all night wishing she could not only discuss dramatic and wondrous inventions with Quintessa Dragana but maybe get a few scattered cuddles in too, Jessie felt a pang of guilt. She tried her best to brush it away today. After a short walk across the courtyard, the young woman came upon the unmistakable Krice. Smiling politely, she almost walked right on by, but spotting Rilla and even Quintessa herself, she lingered. "Hello friends and fam."

Rilla perked up – or perhaps jumped – at the sound of Krice’s approach, although if he’d waited any longer it likely would have been a much different sort of surprise. She stiffened for a moment, but a slight smile flashed across her face and she settled once more, closing the book in her lap with a red fabric marker between to mark the pages. “I really couldn’t tell you. I’ve only been hurt as a human, never a vampire.” She laughed nervously, this was one of those times when having a sire around likely would have been helpful. Or even just an older vampire friend. Her attention was pulled to the other woman then, brows pulled together at her smile. She leaned away slightly, nodded her consent to sit all the same. “I have questions.” She said after a beat, crystalline gaze fell hesitantly on the vampire’s heterochromatic one, still unsure if she could be trusted, and then back up at Krice who she had at least some knowledge of, limited as it was. Rilla offered a nod of her head to the other girl who joined them. One minute she was enjoying a quiet evening, the next there were people there. Life in a castle was difficult. “I’ve never been healed that way, is it dangerous? All I’ve known of it is traditional healing – as a human Keturah healed me probably more time than I can count, but I spent so much time running that nothing’s touched me until now.” Even then it was more the elements that got to her. Crushed under an avalanche where there was no mountain, who would have imagined? “I’d like to be able to hold my own – I’d like to go back before the mission. There must be a way in that doesn’t get me sent right back to Lithrydel, but there’s no way I can sail back there with my arms like this. But that’s not why you’re here, is it?” She looked between the three for an answer, uncertain about what else they could possibly want to know.

Krice's expression was mostly neutral, but his eyes harboured apology for startling Rilla as illuminated by the kaleidoscope reflections of sunlight off a nearby stained window. He greeted her once more with a nod, thoughtfully silent following her reply. And in just a moment, his pleasantness with the injured vampire was interrupted. The enigma wasn't surprised when he heard Quintessa's voice; he could have smelled that insolence from Cenril. Her fake smile left an irritating imprint on his peripheral vision but he didn't look at her until she seated herself beside Rilla, thus in front of him. Her offer to help the ailing vampire encouraged skepticism to the surface of his expression, which he leveled pointedly on Rilla following her subsequent glance his way. " Where possible, healing naturally is always the better option." Not only did she not have to trust someone she barely knew, but it would enable her to learn how her vampiric body healed. Jessie's arrival drew Krice's gaze briefly and he responded to her greeting with a second nod of his head, more amenable toward the scientist than he was toward Quintessa. The warrior answered Rilla's expectant query with a simple, " Going back alone would be a mistake, regardless."

Quintessa grins, her pointed teeth showing as her lips peeled away from them at the mention of Rilla’s questions. “Certainly,” She seemed happy to oblige, giving Jessie a motion to come and sit on the other side of her. “It -can- be painful, should you require extensive rearranging, but it looks like all of your parts are intact, so I can use less invasive means... Here,” The changeling quickly drew a vial from her belt, the thick, blackish liquid slightly translucent in the morning sun. “Because we are only acquaintances I’ll provide a method that doesn’t require any touch at all. If you drink this potion your already accelerated healing abilities will triple, cutting the length of your downtime into a fraction of what you might be used to as a human.” Quintessa expects Rilla to be hesitant about drinking something from a stranger, so she offers her a quick word of reassurance. “Don’t worry, if it was poisonous it likely wouldn’t affect your vampiric biology any. Very few poisons can harm us at all… well, except for dragon’s blood, which I’m sure you know to avoid already.” Sapphire and topaz eyes flicker up to Krice, to whom she gives a nod in confirmation, first to his assessment that natural healing was perhaps better, and then again at the comment made about returning to the island alone, and the changeling parts her lips again to speak up on that issue. “Yes, given your report that island sounds quite dangerous, which is the real reason I’m speaking to you now. I want to understand what it is we are heading into and what kind of things you witnessed there. Whatever you are comfortable sharing with us, anyway.”

Lionel || Jessie wasted no time seating herself beside Quintessa. Who would? Staying silent never suited her, however. Rose Tico might have been a more suitable match for medical discourse, but the honorable Ms. Raspberry would give it her best. "I've always been fascinated by vampiric physiology. Rilla, correct? If I may be so bold, once all these latest shenanigans are over and done with I would treasure the chance to research ways to improve your resilience ever further." This was accompanied by a pleasant smile. "For now, of course, do trust the nice Lady Dragana." Jessie was not the sort to pick up nonverbal cues particularly well, so Krice's rather forward disdain of Quintessa went completely over her head. "I'd love to study you, too," she added, her smile even sweeter -- and as genuine as they came -- as she surveyed the silver-haired warrior. "But I digress! Um, let's see. There is one thing. Yes. Rilla? No. No, no, no, no, no. Please do not go back alone." A pause. "At least take me!"

Rilla nodded slowly, listening to both of her acquaintances, though she shifted away from Quintessa slightly. “I did most of the rearranging with a doctor.” If anyone was nearby they’d likely have heard it, the screaming as he set the bones back into place, the wild growling it turned into when Rilla had to fight for control with her more base urges. “I don’t have time to heal naturally, I really don’t have time for any of this nonsense.” She glanced down at herself with a good-natured laugh, one hand reached for the vial, thin fingers closed around it and she nodded. With a second confirmation that it was likely to be safe, Rilla gave another, eyed the two women and uncorked it. Without another moment of hesitation, she downed it and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand all while Jessie was still talking. She pocketed the vial with the last drops, “what do I have to lose, right?” She questioned, gave a less certain glance back to Krice before leveling her gaze with Jessie – the only one she’d never met before last night. “I doubt you’ll learn much, but if you’d like when this is over.” Rilla agreed. Fingers tapped against to cover of her book nervously. “I don’t know what else to say about the archipelago. I’ve never been anywhere that the entire world seems to exist to break you down. The monsters were the size of buildings, and the travelling through space.” She grimaced, drew a slow breath and looked back down to her lap. “If you have specific questions maybe I can help more, the elf I think was strange. I don’t know why he saved me.” Brows pulled together in thought, she licked her lips. “And I’ve never heard that accent before in any of my travels.”

Krice may or may not have genuinely wanted camaraderie with Quintessa, especially in those moments where she agreed with him and thus showed a reasonable side of herself. But alas, they had a history and it wasn't conducive to bestie relationships. His focus drifted to the vial she produced and he squinted slightly, studying the movement of its contents as she offered it to Rilla. Well, it was ultimately up to the vampire what she put in her own body. Still, the warrior couldn't shake his skepticism. Jessie's bubbliness drew his attention next and he met her request to 'study him' with a narrowed eye that conveyed a soundless 'Why?' Weird girl, but probably well-meaning. Back to Rilla, he noted her ingestion of the sickly-scented liquid and grimaced slightly. Somehow, perhaps for the greater good of the group, he managed to reign in vagrant thoughts--skepticism, paranoia, over-watchfulness, whatever else along those lines--so that his energy could be focused on her answer about their future destination. " The elf seems interesting - maybe an ally we could utilize while over there. Could you emulate his accent?" More importantly, the warrior asked, " Is he the method by which you returned twice before from that place?"

Quintessa || While Rilla begins to explain what she encountered on the Demon Archipelago, Quintessa copied down the description. Muttering along as she went. “...monsters were the size of buildings… travelling through space…” These were the types of things that inspired the changeling’s curiosity. When Krice spoke up about the strange elf, Quintessa nodded her head. “Yes, a good start,” she says to the man, giving him a genuinely pleasant smile, “Did you get a good look at him?” she continues, focusing on Rilla once again. “Any physical descriptors out of the ordinary? Longer ears, strange eye color, unusual height or build?” Quintessa turns her page to begin a sketch, trying to emulate whatever information, if any, the vampire could pass on to them. Meanwhile, the hexblade nudges Jessie with her elbow, giving her an impish expression. “You never mentioned being into vampire physiology before,” she says coyly in a hushed tone, “You should visit my manor sometime in Vailkrin. I have an extensive library you could look over; It’s a specialization of mine.”

Lionel || Caught off-guard by a man who could respond to her using only one eye, Jessie swallowed hard and gave up immediately. 'That's OK,' she thought to herself in silence. 'I'm sure there are plenty of other bizarrely dreamy, chaotically-layered silver-haired men with gold-freckled crimson eyes who seem to exude an intense strength and swiftness and carry a katana like they could carve a birthday cake without ever drawing it. I'll get by.' Her bitter disappointment was short-lived. Krice might have been the king of quiet meaningfulness here, but Quintessa was queen of the elbows. "Manor? Yours? Visit? -Library?-" That last word held enough emphasis to rival Hammurabi's Code of Laws. "You'd best believe it, girl." Jessie cleared her throat and continued to smile in Rilla's direction. "It appears my colleagues are asking all the right questions. I don't want to overburden you with even more. I'll add just one more. You reached the cave, yes? The titular Cave of Regrets?" The woman waved her hands emphatically. "What were the voices like there? Not elven like our mysterious friend, correct? I have a hypothesis involving congruences of otherworldly spirit apparitions, but it's just a hunch." Hunches, to Jessie, were already very nearly fully-formed.

Rilla was quiet for a moment as she considered the onslaught of questions, where to start. Things that seemed important to her could have been entirely meaningless to the mission as a whole, things that were meaningless to her could have been the answer they were looking for. She chewed her lower lip in contemplation, choosing her words. For a moment her face was stormy and closed off, a messy curl fell across her forehead and Rilla did not bother to fix it. “I never saw a face. He was tall, thin, elven ears, but just a silhouette.” Her eyes searched the empty space between her and the book in her lap, although whatever she was seeing certainly wasn’t in front of her but rather an image in her mind for her to replay. “His accent was the same softness as the Lithrydelian elves, but less lilting; more refined, slower. He sounded smart, his words were intentional, clear.” Her own words came softer, slower, though she did not try to match the accent – her own was faint, but it effectively excluded her from mimicry when she already had to fight to assimilate. Although possibly unclear, Krice may recognize the description as similar to that of Esche, though Rilla could put no such name to the thing. “I think it was him, definitely the second time, probably the first as well. I think he also exploded a boat, and disappeared an island.” For a moment she didn’t even breath, considering the last question. The young vampire turned her head to look at Jessie, an echo of pain flashing in her crystalline gaze. She was silent for a moment, jaw set as she leveled her gaze with the other woman. “I did.” She said hesitantly, swallowed her nerves. “There were many voices –“ she drew a breath – “many different ones. Some may have been elven, but there were too many to tell. None of them were his, I don’t think.” She shook her head, cleared her throat. “As far as apparitions, who knows? An hallucination or a reality, how would I know?”

Krice observed Quintessa's note-taking purely because he was interested, followed by a brief glance between them before Jessie earned herself some non-judgmental attention. The words she spoke about the Cave of Regrets piqued his interest further, in particular her theories. Indeed, there was depth to this girl beyond the bubbles. The warrior found his attention arrested by Rilla as she unpacked her memories of that otherworldly archipelago, gold-streaked eyes awash with scrutinous shadow. The description was familiar, and it unsettled him that this faraway elf-apparition felt connected to Risu, the quiet woman he had seen in their meeting the night prior. His brow twitched. Caution prevented him from hastily concluding that he knew either one, though like Jessie, he was possessed of his own hunches. Noting Rilla's distress at least at one point in her reply, the warrior met her last words with a calm, " Take a rest." She could soothe her lungs with wordless breaths while he and the others communicated for a round about the archipelago. He asked of Quintessa and Jessie, " What d'you guys think? Disappearing islands and boats... Is this place some kind of interplanar realm?"

Quintessa feels an icy pit form in her stomach at the description of the elf. Whoever he was, he sounded eerily similar to the ancient elf she had encountered at the Mage’s Guild, and the changeling silently hoped to herself that this was at all not related to the Robious Tribe of Rynvale, whose magical techniques were so old and forien that she was scarcely able to identify them. Still the hexblade turned countess never backed away from a mystery, especially if it was mystical in nature, and she idly allows her her charcoal pencil to trace out a loose sketch of what the elf might have looked like. However, Quintessa found the information about the cave proper to be much more compelling. “Evocation? Illusions perhaps?” Her lips pull together in a straight line before a sigh escapes her, mismatched eyes returning to Krice as he questions Jessie and herself about the magic that could have been involved. “Making things disappear and reappear somewhere else is achievable through the means of certain transmutation spells- spatiomancy and the like, but moving an entire island would take an immense amount of mana. It’s much more likely that an illusion was in place… or perhaps something else less obvious. The idea that a massive gateway to another realm has been left open is unlikely, but it isn’t impossible. Take the Dark Portal leading to Vailkrin, for instance- it’s been open for as long as I can remember, probably longer. The thing that really bothers me is this cave, however…” Quintessa looks back to Rilla. “Be they hallucinations or apparitions, it certainly seems like mind-affecting magic is at play, perhaps psionics- which I pray to Delisha isn’t the case. For everyone’s sake I hope it is indeed ghosts on that island and not something more… Eldritch in nature.”

Lionel || Jessie blushed, embarrassed. "Of course," she quickly told Rilla. "You've been through so much. Of course, of course… You wouldn't know the answer to that. No one would without proper study, and that's going to be an arduous task indeed in this case." Her word flow gave the intentional insinuation that, arduous or not, Jessie was going to do it. That was when Krice enlisted her and Quintessa's thoughts on the matter. Had it been any of her formal co-workers, Jessie would have trusted herself first and foremost to be the one to speak up. Quintessa was different; she was possessed of an intellect that in truth Jessie had to admit surpassed her own. It was the best kind of inspiration. And it was good reason to keep her lips sealed until the hexblade was finished. "I agree," Jessie eventually felt confident enough to say. "Nothing is impossible. Everything in our universe is ultimately capable of being pushed, pulled, and otherwise affected. It's a theoretical potentiate that an island can be moved. There's no reason to doubt anything; only to question its relative likelihood. In this, I agree with my esteemed colleague." That's what Jessie was going to call Quintessa in public. In private, she could think of all sorts of sexier terms, such as 'exceptional thinker' and 'cultural anthropologist.' "We have enough eldritch to last a lifetime through Xicotl itself. Many lifetimes, rather; we have uncovered clues to the customs and rituals of entire civilizations who have been swallowed up by the creature through the ages. I suppose Xicotl is, in its own gruesome sense, something of a convergence. It patterns the wheel of time for countless societies, ending them all at a predestined point." Jessie shook her head. "Tangent. Forgive me. My point is that if the Demon Archipelago seems to illustrate more types of magic, simultaneously, than anyplace in all the world should be capable of supporting, it could be a focal point where all the planet's energies converge. Something like that would be all too alluring to the wrong sorts of people. Gather the spirits together of enough wrong sorts of people, and pluck them all into one centralized area, and frankly whoever that elf is I should very much like to kiss him on the cheek should we ever meet, because if anything the fellow sounds unusually kind."

Rilla swallowed the lump in her throat at Krice’s words, perhaps as a human her heart would have raced, panic may have risen. Maybe it still did, but without the physiological reaction she just stayed still. She looked between the three, all of them clearly more educated on the subject matter than her, and still Rilla was the only one who had seen it firsthand. “I’m less of a scholar – I study what I need to know to get the job done. There are always people like you three who know more and are too valuable to be lost.” The heel of her boot tapped against the ground beneath it, something else to focus on as her knee bounced up and down. Magic was a reality for these people, but it had always been entirely out of her reach. Rilla was resigned to this, maybe in another life she’d have been known for being smart, kind, or generous. Rose tinted lips spread in a wry smile, she studied each of them one by one as they conferred, first Quintessa, then Jessie, and finally Krice. “Whoever the elf is, he saved my life. If we meet, I’ll have questions.” She laughed, a wildness crept through it but Rilla remained in place. “He told me that my will was almost Ishaarite – I don’t think I’ve been told that before.” She shrugged, slight and stiff but the first real attempt at motion of the day all the same aside from what the doctor ordered. “I want to go back – I hate letting people go in this blind.” Delicate brows furrowed with concern, her head tilted to one side as she looked between them. “If I can get past the cave in a boat maybe just sailing along the coasts I can find a trace of him – a scent. Or I can at least get a better sense of what’s waiting to come after us once we’re there.” She sat forward, focused on Jessie who she was almost certain would agree with her. “We could be prepared for monsters the size of buildings and other assorted madness that way.” Her words were even, but rushed. Regardless of the physical and emotional pain she was in, she could hardly resist the urge to go running right back to try to solve the mystery. “I’m sorry, I wish there was more that I could do.” Rilla said finally, biting the inside of her cheek to silence herself once more. There was little chance of going in the first place, despite the fire the very notion set underneath her.

Krice 's expression didn't change much through the duration of Quintessa and Jessie's theorizing, beyond the intensifying of thoughtfulness that wrinkled his brow. Building-sized monsters, a strange elf apparition that assisted the escape of corporeal beings from the archipelago... Hell, it was practically just another day in the life of Lythridelians. His gaze drifted briefly to the movements of Quintessa's hand as she sketched in her notebook, but his features were turned toward Rilla and resolute when he said, " I can scout ahead of the mission. I can detect the magic signatures of spells and auras--illusory magic is different from healing magic, for example. And I have, uh... I'll probably be -safer- than any of you because of, uh... reasons." He shrugged off his uncharacteristic lack of coherence in favour of coolly stating to Jessie, in as polite a manner as possible, " Not sure I'd take -you- with me, though. You're too... friendly." Sentient evil things typically ate friendly things. Such was the way of the world. A thought doubled-back on his mind and he blinked, almost visualizing all the pieces in one puzzle. " Ishaarite... Like the Ishaarite spirit... something...?" He shot a schooled look toward Quintessa while trying to more privately make sense of his thoughts. Rather than speak further before understanding himself, and perhaps sensing that her sketchwork was related, he asked the brat, " What're you drawing?"

Quintessa leans back on her elbows, her pencil and notebook resting idly in her lap as the lass stared up at the sky. This was a lot, even for her, and her mind raced with the possibilities of what would happen when they got there. A small smirk cracked the edge of her mouth, musing quietly of how in a universe so wild and dangerous, things all fell into place in the end. “...a convergence.” she says, trying to summarize Jessie’s words, her head rolling on her shoulders to slightly loosen the stress, her raven hair falling in her pale face to hide her heterochromia. “You’ll get your opportunity,” Quintessa says to Rilla, a single, icy blue eye peering at her from behind her fringe. “I have some questions for him myself, but we mustn’t rush into this. We prepare, take our time, and gather the people and resources we need to before we sail into Hell itself. What you’ve provided so far has been more valuable than you know, trust me.” Her attention flickers next to Krice and she pushes herself up to flip her notebook around, showing the sketch of an elf that looks eerily similar to someone named ‘Esche’ whom Quintessa has never met or heard of before. “Just a rough idea of what our mystery elf might look like… Y’know, based off of what Rilla just told us.” Talk of Ishaarite spirits, however, were lost on Quintessa. It seems not even she had heard of everything.

Jessie || Laughter was Jessie's answer to Krice this time. Gleeful laughter. "Too friendly? I suppose I can work on that. Maybe not today." She laughed hysterically for a few more seconds before straightening herself upright. "Yes. Well. Indubitably. Be that as it may." Peering over Quintessa's shoulder, she caught sight of the drawing. It was impressive by any measure. "Hey. Ishaarite? That's what Lionel's sword-spirit, Halycanos was from. Or rather, Ishaara. The root word. The name of a country of elves and creatures called spirits -- but who likely warranted their own binomial nomenclature, if we're being real here, and I mean, let's be real -- and anyway, based on my research, something happened there millennia ago. Something bad, right? And big. And everyone, elf and 'spirit' alike, is thought to have died all at once. But I guess there were a few 'spirit' survivors, since Halycanos was inside Hellfire. That's honestly wild and so cool," Jessie giggled. "But not as cool as it could be, since Halycanos is dead now. But hey," she finished. "That's a really great Esche sketch. That's totally Esche. Wonder where that guy went." Break time was over. "Alas, this lass has much to do. Krice? Tessa? Let's chat some more soon. Rilla?" Jessie smirked. "I like your zeal, girl." And Jessie was off.

Rilla shook her head back to Krice when he spoke. “No, I’ve done it twice. I’m doing it the third time. I’m going with you.” Her words came evenly, but she looked up at him more seriously than normal. There was no chance she’d let it go, there was a fierceness to the way she spoke. A sense of duty, despite having no obligation to help. “I dealt with captain oblivious underestimating me, but in very much the same way that I did when he told me it was a bad idea, I will go anyway.” She laughed softly, watching his face while she spoke. “I understand the need to plan, where I come in is getting the information you need without dying so that the rest of you can do what you do best.” Her hands clenched; nails dug into her palms. The motion hurt, but it brought her back into focus, back into the moment again before she could get swept away telling them -why- she needed to go when the reality was that Rilla had never needed permission to do things before. She drew a calming breath with closed eyes before looking back to the trio. “But it’s like I said, I think that unless you are incredibly fast –“ something that she’d learned was true of herself as a vampire, despite the other limitations her rather diminutive size brought – “you’ll never stand a chance against monsters like I saw. I don’t care who you are or how strong, something that large will swallow you whole if you can’t outrun them. Or else if we go as a group. Together or not at all.” From the way she spoke, Rilla intended to make it clear that she was an outsider. Despite how entrenched she felt, the young vampire wasn’t truly part of this team. She peered over at the sketch curiously as she stood, though the features had been effectively nonexistent, the form could have been right, and she gave a curt nod to Quintessa as she used Jessie’s friendly departure as an excuse for her own. “Pardon me, but it’s getting late and I have to hunt,” Rilla flashed a toothy grin to the two remaining, “it’s easier with two hands, but I get by.” She joked as she backed away and out, eager to consider her options (and perhaps to research who exactly that Esche fellow was and if she needed to thank him for saving her life.).

Krice spent a moment regarding the resolve in Rilla's eyes but opted in the end to let her have the little victory; if she wanted to come with and risk herself again, so be it. Her revelation that speed was necessary to survive in the otherworld was met with a hint of 'got that in droves' in the warrior's reciprocal stare, somehow without the arrogance one might have expected to go with it. A moment later, his focus was on the brat of the pack. He didn't need more than a glimpse of Quintessa's sketch to know whose likeness she had portrayed. 'Based off Rilla's description'. Squinting slightly but in obvious skepticism, he asked, " You've never seen him?" Her image was an oddly-accurate portrayal of the missing elf, description aside. Skepticism fading, Jessie's laughter rang like an after-echo through his mind and he spared her a bemused sideways glance, courtesy of her input on the sketch. " Esche... Right," he mused, perplexed as to -her- connection to the missing elf. The plot thickened. His attention remained on the bubbly woman as she launched into an explanation of Halycanos and its connection to the word 'Ishaarite'. The plot was getting too thick to wade through, now, and Rilla was rising with the intent to depart for a nightly hunt. As Jessie dismissed herself, he murmured a distracted, " Seeya," and then said to the vampire, " Seems like you might have been rescued--twice, if you're correct--by an old ally." Who would have thought that Esche had just been transported to an other-place? Weird. All of it was almost too weird for Lythridel, even. " Take care of yourself." Left with Quintessa, the warrior opted to ask her a single question before she also rushed off to do probably-sinister things. " Your sketch is pretty accurate. You sure you got that just from her description?"

Quintessa gave the two departing women courtesy farewells before she got to her feet, continuing to stretch the rest of her body as she too prepared to depart. The odd young woman gives Krice a nod of her head, messy locks brushed aside by a swipe of her hand before the book was placed in her satchel. “I don’t know, I certainly don’t recognize him. Maybe I saw his face in a book or something. Or a dream- that happens sometimes. But no, Esche is not a name I’ve heard of before today. If my drawing looks like him perhaps it is a coincidence, or if you don’t believe in such a thing, call it a premonition. Either way, I’m afraid I’m not much of a Diviner, otherwise I’d have all the answers already.” The smile that was once polite shifted to one more sinister now that it was just the two of them, and her sharp teeth show just enough to glimmer in the morning light. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have unfinished business back east; It seems a gang of ruffians have donned theatre masks and committed a spree of crimes inspired by the Vailkrin Slayer. They were last seen between Kelay and Cenril, near the border to my homeland, if that’s something that interests you.” The way Quintessa’s voice seems to coo at Krice was strange, like she was alluding to something else and leading him down a false path. “Bye-bye, handsome.” The brat adds with a wink, heading in the direction of the stables to retrieve her Cockatrice.

Krice turned as Quintessa began her own departure, watching the little cretin with pointed interest. It seemed as though every time he tried to be civil with her, she threw in his face more of the sinister charm that encouraged contempt more than friendship. Still, he didn't take long to move southward thereafter, a brief glance at his surroundings confirming that all was well at Semper and likely would be after he left. Gylworliath was off somewhere further southeast hunting, but it would be atop her back that he'd journey into Kelay - just to make sure a certain girl wasn't wrecking havoc.