RP:Friends in the Shadows
Part 3 of 3 of Karasu's initiation to the Syndicate of Shadows.
Summary: After a trek into Frostmaw at Magik's request, Karasu returns to deliver Magik's bow only to find none other than Quintessa. After so long, they finally reunite forces and make their way to Kelay, where a surprise awaits beneath the old Kelay Tavern.
Xalious Tree
Nestled at the edge the southern cliff is an enormous tree. It towers some three hundred feet into the air, stretching outward nearly as wide; the soft sapphire glow of its enchanted boughs filling the vicinity with a soothing aura of metamagical power. The leaves are a rich golden hue with each vein therein shining in brilliant silver contrast; each one having the striking resemblance to a large human hand. Each sun-kissed leaf seems to move of its own volition, slowly writhing and reaching in all different directions to get the best angle of the sun as the daylight passes, then to drink in any soft moonlight that shines down on the mountains. The bark is a rich charcoal black near the base, though taking on a deep brown hue as it extends upward into the canopy. The mighty Xalious Tree, which appeared when the Archmage Xalious died and ascended to assume the divine role as God of Magic, stands in majestic beauty as an eternal symbol of the mortal's ascension. As you look closer into the tree you see an inscription carved deep into the bark. There is nothing else here but a field of carefully kept grass and some of the late Archmage’s followers who have come to bask and worship in this sacred tree's presence. An old and faded note seems to have been posted on the tree's base. To the west appears to be a merchant's shop. To the north is the town well.
Karasu had not been expecting to land squarely on the roof of the Mage’s Tower when she teleported. The shock of where she had ended up makes her freeze up just long enough enough to allow her to roll off the sloped roof and off the five-floor building to where, either luckily or unluckily, a thick bush of meadowsweet had broken her fall. Karasu limps out from the plants, thankful that no one had been around to witness this. “Ugh.” She draws out the compass from her breast pocket and flicks it open. Odd, Magikrios was at the Xalious Tree? The halfling mutters an enchantment, and her telltale jaguar pelt is concealed, turning into a solid black fur coat around the dangerous bow. She makes her way down past the library, the tavern, and the well, and begins the ascent towards the tree. The monks that usually congregate around the trunk of the Holy Tree are absent today, and only a single figure remains, obscured by Xalious’ low hanging branches. “Magik!” She wheezes. Great, had she bruised her ribs again? “I got your stupid bow, man.”
The scent of cloves on the late-spring breeze would give Quintessa away before Karasu even saw her as the changeling slowly turns around and drops the hood obscuring her identity. Magik would not be meeting the half-feline today, not here anyway, this had all been planned out way before. With a heavy sigh the necromancer takes one last, long drag of her cigarette and drops it to the ground to be crushed under her heeled boot. "Come now, Magikrios is a bit taller than me, isn't he?" Quintessa tries to force a friendly smile. After the last time Karasu ran into her she didn't know what to expect. As a show of peace, the hex blade holds open her cloak to show that she had come without her sword and alchemical belt, putting her at a heavy disadvantage should a fight break out. This was not why Quintessa was here. "You did well to retrieve that bow. Frostmaw is host to many unknown dangers but navigated them with ease." The Raven holds out a gloved hand, indicating to Karasu that she wants her hand the weapon over. "Do you know what happens next or shall we be left to improvise?"
Karasu considers fleeing the moment the scent of cloves reaches her, but she holds her ground. The halfling looks a little worse for wear with her outfit scratched up by thorns, both from her foray into the Dark Forest unguided and from her fall. Tiny white flowers from the bush litter her frizzy curls. “I…” She sighs and marches over, keeping a wary eye on the changeling a she does so. The bow changes hands, and Karasu takes a step back. Her expression shifts from suspicion, to embarrassment, to resignation. A hand reaches up to scratch the back of her neck, and she winces a bit, pulling out a stray caterpillar that is promptly tossed into the grass. “I suppose now you’re going to put a katana through my stomach for being paranoid that you might kill Kanna or myself at Kaaname’s request?”
Quintessa utters the phrase "Niwtraleiddio." and a transparent green bubble forms around the bow before Quintessa presses her hands together, squeezing the bubble seemingly out of existence. In truth it had been transported safely to the Syndicate Headquarters. "I'm not going to do anything to harm you, Karasu." Quintessa says, throwing her peer a lazy smirk. "I got all that out of my system the night we almost killed each other. That was certainly not on my agenda, I promise you that." The changeling whistles and from the east, through the park, comes Bloodbeak, Quintessa's prized cockatrice. The giant bird halts when he smells the feline, unsure if he can trust her, and lingers a few meters back. Seeing this, the necromancer reaches into her cloak pocket and pulls out what looks to be a bundle of herbs wrapped in dried meat. "Here, take this. I want you to gain Bloodbeak's trust. Carefully. He can't see you through his visor but his sense of smell is more than powerful enough to know where you are. Hold it out and let him come to you."
Karasu seems impressed by the teleportation spell, her eyes lighting up slightly. Something like that was still years of training away for the spell-blade, she estimated. She supposes that Quintessa hadn't been labeled a magical prodigy for nothing. At the request, Karasu's head snaps up, looking mildly alarmed. Her aversion to getting too close to the cockatrice had always been known, even before her disappearance from the Mage's Tower. "He hates me, though." As if on cue, the mount gives a snort, ruffling its feathers slightly in a mild display of alerting its master that it would attack if need be. Karasu looks from the beak to Quintessa's quirked eyebrow and rolls her eyes in response. "Fine." She takes the bundle and takes a step forward towards Bloodbeak, her hand extended palm-side out.
Quintessa nods, "That's because I trained him to be highly aggressive but deep down he's still an animal and all animals crave affection." Bloodbeak can hear his mistress and Karasu speaking and he cautiously takes a step closer as Karasu holds out the treat. The three-meter-tell bird lowers his head down low, taking in the scent before stomping the rest of the way over. Sniffing through a beak that could take the half-feline's arm off in a single chomp, he blows Karasu's hair back before licking the morsel out of her outstretched palm. His powerful throat muscles move it into his gullet in one gulp and Bloodbeak moves down to sniff the one who offered it again. His posture relaxed notably and he even let out a soft "Kweh." "Good boy," Quintessa says, patting his feathery hide before climbing upon his saddle. "It was the only way to get him to let you ride him, now climb up." The hex blade scoots back in her saddle and holds her hand out expectantly. "I'm not walking all the way back to Kelay. Plus this will give us some time to talk."
Karasu clenches her jaw as the giant cockatrice sniffs around. “I’m going to pretend that bit wasn’t meant to double towards me.” Her leopard ears flatten down against her head as it stomps over, but her training makes her unable to flinch or move away from it. Once Bloodbeak is sated, Karasu relaxes visibly before Quintessa’s words make her perk back up. “What? What’s in Kelay?” The spellblade instinctively moves to fix her cloak, and realizes that it went with the bow to where Magikrios presumably was. Spinel eyes flicker to Quintessa’s hand, then back up at her. That was it? Was she really being forgiven so easily? Almost reluctantly, she takes the hexblade’s hand in her own and jump up into the saddle. Her tail switches back and forth in consternation as she instinctively holds onto Quintessa for balance.
Mountain Path
To the east and west the terrain is almost unbearable, but here the land is open and the earth not as rocky. Paths intersect here as the way to the north has been carved out of the mountains, and would take you in that direction. The incline is gradual as far as you can see, and goes up and over some mountains, blocking any vision of the north beyond. To the south is a spectacular scenic view from the edge of a cliff, and you see a small footpath that leads east from it to some unknown location. To the west, as well as east, the path dips down a little and goes into some very rough terrain. Further west you spot what looks like a small village, and you can also make out the two towers of Xalious, the Mage Tower, and another you cant recall the name of. From here they look splendid as they reach up into the sky before the great mountains of Xalious. To the north a path leads to a higher, more strenuous parts of the mountain range.
Quintessa waits until Karasu is seated before she grips Bloodbeak's reigns and gives them a tug. "Yip-yip!" The massive bird spins to the north, crossing through the village quickly before making a sharp turn eastward into the mountains. Quickly, Bloodbeak navigates the rocky paths, never once losing his footing as he leaps over and crushes other rocks and boulders in his wake. "So," Quintessa begins once they had left the tower behind them, "Me and your father, huh?" The changeling still can't believe Karasu said that and she scoffs at the thought. "That was never going to happen, even if he wanted it. Do you really think your father was going to risk his reputation on some 17-year-old apprentice? Not likely, and I wasn't attracted to him for long anyway. It was strange, he was this man who had provided you everything you needed to be a powerful spellblade and I thought for a moment that maybe he could provide for me too." A lighthearted laugh escapes Quintessa's chest as blue and hazel eyes watch for the upcoming turn on the path. Her stomach lurches slightly as her mount skillfully jumps down into the valley, taking the low road down into the sage. "I don't need anyone, especially not some man, to provide for me. I have provided for myself plenty." The hex blade hoped her explanation was enough to satisfy her old friend. All of it was the truth, every bit of it. "What made you think him and I were working together like that? I've done some pretty evil things in my life but that would be demented."
Karasu is thankful that Quintessa can’t turn to see her mortified expression. “That’s not… I didn’t think-- Ugh.” Unable to come up with a decent quip on the spot, the feline rests her head against Quintessa’s back. “The man is meticulous. The night of our induction as Arcane Stewards, I broke into his office to look for information about my condition he might have had. Tessa, I wanted to die when I stabbed you in front of Kasyr.” Her hands grip tighter around the hexblade’s midsection as she recounts it. “In the left desk drawer, enchanted with a lock that I think can only be opened with the metal of my katana, since it was once his katana too, he kept reports. In it, he made some insane calculations on the risks and likelihood of things happening if he were to take a certain course of action. One of them was quote unquote, allowing you to get as close to him as you wanted, which... I thought... meant....” The embarrassed feline waves a hand dismissively as if to say ‘let's not talk about that ever again.’ “He also notes sending the Rynvalian slave traders after Kanna as a kid, along with correspondence with a network regarding finding assassins willing to put a mark on a teenager. That thing she has strapped to her back all the time, he’s desperate to get it, but he’s almost afraid to go after Kanna himself. It has something to do with Vakmatharas, though. It's also related to what’s on my neck: I was his prototype for puppeteering.” There is a pause, and a grunt as Bloodbeak takes a shortcut down a short cliff. “You can’t ever let him know you’re against him, Quintessa, or trying to use him. He has contingency plans to kill you if you betray him. And Berrentam.”
Quintessa pulls down on Bloodbeak's reigns again, causing him to halt suddenly. The force of the stop is enough to cause Karasu to press even harder into the changeling's back, but that wasn't why she stopped. "He's got a contingency plan against me?" This seemed to unnerve the changeling. Had he discovered her secret weakness? "That's not good. Larewen and he have been working in the shadows together for years- he might even know how to bypass the manor's defenses." The necessity to move out of House Dragana and into a proper fortress was now a top priority. Quintessa gives one last worried glance back at Karasu before she puts on a confident guise with a fanged smirk. "Luckily for me I have a safehouse he will never discover. Yip-yip!" And with that command Bloodbeak continued on his way down the mountains.
The Pass through Xalious
‘’Dwarven craft is in this road, as it is well levelled, and smoothly done. The top layer is dirt, but beneath is an obvious layer of stone. Dwarven stoneworkers, being very good road builders, set this to keep rain from washing away the top layer and to also keep carriages from sinking into muddy ruts. It is a fine portrayal of ancient craftsmanship.’’
Karasu gives an annoyed noise of protest when Bloodbeak stops. “Of course he knows how to get past the gates, he’s a Dragana.” She quips. “That’s why I thought you were working together when you said that Larewen gave you control of the House instead of him. Despite the confident smile, Karasu furrows her brows in concern. Kaaname was studious, just as much so as Kyl'oriel or Odhranos, but more dangerous in that he never had to sleep in those many years since his transformation. Karasu had seen the order forms from a metalworker out in Chartsend. Pure iron, with teleportation runes etched into the outer frame of it, with a matching piece to be shipped to a remote location in Frostmaw. She wouldn’t tell this to Quintessa, though. Not yet, at least. The last thing the changeling needed was to be antagonized against someone more dangerous than she. The halfling clears her throat in an attempt to change the subject. “Does Berrentam still remember me?” The stewardess remains wracked with guilt now for having fled without the dragon hatchling she loved so much. “I didn’t want to abandon him, you know…”
Bloodbeak slowly comes to halt this time as he reaches the crossroads. He had traveled along this flat dwarven road many times before and had memorized the steps. Cooing softly, Bloodbeak hesitates without any commands coming from Quintessa. In the saddle she remains quiet, trying not to feel the sadness in her heart. "Berrentam misses you," she says, her voice cracking a little. After all those months Quintessa complained about being left a 'single mother' she felt really guilty for holding such resentment against Karasu. "He asks, when is cat-mommy getting here? And I keep telling him soon, that you got wrapped up in something. Missions for the guild." Quintessa is a little misty-eyed when she turns in her saddle to look at the mauve-haired stewardess. "Be sure to tell him about all the cool places you've been when you see him again. He's got tutors and nannies and everything he needs at Dragana Manor, but he still misses you the most." Quintessa straightens out to face the eastern road again before muttering. "...he and I have that in common..." A snap of his reigns causes Bloodbeak to enter a slow trot as they pass through the sage forest.
Karasu bites her lower lip to keep tears back. “I love that fat baby just as much as I do my stupid fat sister.” She says, her voice wavering. “I was going to buy him all the gifts and souvenirs he could ever want... And then I had to throw my money away on this stupid teleportation crystal that doesn’t even teleport right because stupid Magikros gave me a ridiculous deadline!” It seems as though the feline has regained her fire, at least. As the cockatrice trots between the trees and onto the dirt path that soon becomes replaced by old cobblestones, Karasu rants about terribly cold Frostmaw is, and how a clearer path needed to be drawn from the streets of Vailkrin to House Dragana, then back to how Kanna’s “stupid wolf” almost bit her tail off once. For a little while, it seems like things are somewhat normal again between the two girls.
Quintessa is happy to be talking to Karasu like this again, like they never spent any time apart. "Don't worry, I'll give you some gold to replace what you lost. I have plenty left over from my third place winnings in Frostmaw." Her defeat at the hands of her sometimes-lover Kasyr was still fresh in her mind. Quintessa tells Karasu about the trouble the kensai had gotten her involved in with the Drow. Kasyr almost died, Gevurah tried to assassinate Quintessa at the Red Skull Arena, and then Lanlan got kicked out of the Guild for helping the Matron all along. "So that makes two of us who hate him. If I ever see Lanlan again I'll cut out his eyes and cast them in resin for a new pair of earrings." Bloodbeak stops in front of the tavern and Quintessa climbs off before stretching slowly. "Alright, we're here." The changeling smiles impishly, awaiting Karasu's response.
Karasu listens intently as the developments from within the Mage's Tower are relayed, following up with more questions to which Quintessa patiently answers. Once they depart from Bloodbeak, to whom Karasu gives a tentative pat on the side, she looks at one end of the street, then to the other, then back at the calm storefront of the south, then to the tavern where Quintessa stands. The changelings' expression of excitement only returns a look of pure confusion from the halfling. "We're... having drinks?"
Quintessa clicks her tongue and Bloodbeak stomps off to go hunt in the sage forest, knowing not to wander too far away during 'free roam' time. With her mount gone the changeling grins at Karasu, flashing her a mouthful of sharp teeth. "Not in the tavern," she tells her before slipping down an alleyway behind some crates. Quintessa beckons Karasu with her finger before pushing the ring on her left hand into an almost invisible divot in the wall. The sound of stone grinding against stone can be heard from under them until a small slab of cobblestone slides out of the way to reveal a ladder leading down. "This is the best part." Without attracting too much more attention, Quintessa climbs down hoping that Karasu will be right behind her.
Karasu takes a cursory glance at the residents of Kelay who seem to pay the duo no mind as Quintessa disappears into the alley. She quirks a brow as her boots click against the stones. She had been down this way once before, when there was a leashed russet wolf who needed to make a quick escape. "Here?" She starts to ask before Quintessa reveals the way. Karasu balks at the revelation and looks down at the hole with wide eyes. The sense of excitement she felt when conspiring with Ghost returns, and she looks back around to make sure she is not followed before joining in on the descent.
With both Karasu and Quintessa down in the Syndicate Headquarters, the changeling pulls a chain to hide the entrance once more, the grinding of stone signifying their safety inside. "Well, here we are- the war room of the Syndicate of Shadows." Quintessa moves over to the large cherry wood table where her katana and belt of alchemical supplies and she begins to re-equip them. "This was once the meeting place of very power people..." As Quintessa explains she points to the different banners, the first Enchantment's. "The former Queen Thea and her husband Rheven," She moves on to Trist'oth. "The Archdrow himself, Tiphareth," To Frostmaw, "Queen Satoshi," To Vailkrin, "Kasyr Azakhaer." Quintessa finishes with her belt and turns to Karasu, "Queen Ryeanna and Governor Morvious of Vhys. The list goes on. But now? The Syndicate of Shadows will use the resources abandoned here for our own ends. Question is, what do you think we should be using them for?"
Karasu can only stand by the ladder from where she descended, wide eyes like a child looking around the majestic room. Her gaze follows Quintessa as she introduces the secret base to her, and she slowly walks out to the center where the beautifully woodworked table and chairs matching the banners along the walls reside. Her fingers feel the velveteen plush of the deep blue that symbolize Xalious and the Mage’s Guild it hosts beneath. “For what?” She echoes, caught off-guard by the question. Karasu brushes a frizzed curl up behind a cat ear that twitches with protest to the movement as she thinks. “I think we should use this room to gather our thoughts on the bizarre events taking place around Lithdrydel and see if there’s a way to intervene undetected.”
Magik's familiar black smoke enters the Grand Council Hall from the entrance above. After violently swirling around the room and between the two present he finally takes his proper form sitting at the head of the large table with his booted feet propped up. He folds his hands across his lap, waiting for Quintessa to finish up with the tour, "Don't mind me. Have a seat when you are done with the tour."
Quintessa watches Karasu, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth as the pink-eyed stewardess traces over the Xalious banner. Slowly, Quintessa finds herself a seat at the table and nods her head at Karasu's answer. "Precisely. While all the governments of Lithdrydel vie for power and struggle to deal with their own problems, who is there to make sure they are protecting the subjects they rule over? Be it Xalious, Larket, or Vailkrin- wherever there is corruption we will be there to check it. Silent. Observant. Deadly. Just like the shadows of our namesake." Quintessa gives Magik a nod before snapping her fingers. From above fell his bow wrapped in Karasu's cloak, landing right next to his booted feet. "Things are moving smoothly," she tells Magik, "You were right- I just needed to talk to her, but things are more dire in Xalious than I feared."
Karasu tilts her head as Magik graces the head of the table. From what she knew, Magik was a powerful mage, one that led the courses on meditation and finding inner tranquility. The idea that he would have been behind something like this surprises her. "You? Is that why you sent me up to Frostmaw?" The mention of the place makes her brows furrow in annoyance and she retrieves a green crystal from her pockets. "Do you know how much this little--" Her hip knocks into the chair, making it clatter as it bounces back upright. "--set me back?" She tosses the expended item at the Lyastri and sits down at the table as well. "Yeah. Lanlan getting banned from the Guild, my dad using apprentices to do his dirty work and report on his secret daughter's movements..." She props her head up on her chin. "All that's left is a coup and I think we'll legally be allowed to call the Mage's Tower cursed."
Magik removes his feet from the table. The cloak is neatly folded after unwrapping his prized weapon. After reaching into an inside pocket in his black vest, a golden key with a black handle is produced. Nothing fancy. Magik placee the key on Karasu's cloak. His focus shifts between the two as they speak, taking in every word said, but he remains quiet. A simple nod is given in acknowledgement to Quintessa's words. Karasu's projectile is quickly caught and placed in front of him as well. He's somehow gained a small and dangerous arsenal on the table. A deadly bow, invincibility cloak, and a teleportation device. Not bad. Finally, he speaks to Karasu, "How's your hand?"
Quintessa shrugs at the mention of a coup in Xalious. "Provost Grace and Provost Kerrigan are perhaps the only two I'd like to see running things at the tower. Administrator Brenwyn, Provost Tsuji, and Provost Kyl'oriel have the Mage's Counsel gridlocked. Nothing official can happen without those three agreeing first." Quintessa brings a clove cigarette to her mouth as she speaks. "I've gained a modicum of trust when I assisted them in banishing Lanlan, but that will only last as long as our goals align. The anti-Drow sentiment is only slightly higher than the anti-undead whispers that circulate the halls." As someone who was pretending to be a vampire, this prejudice concerned her. With another snap of her fingers the young mage lights her cigarette before pulling a ceramic ashtray from the center of the table closer. Mismatched eyes gaze at the key with scrutiny. "Is that key to...?" Quintessa didn't need to finish that question, she knew what this meant. "It's official then? Rinn's not gonna come down here throwing bottles at me again for overstepping my bounds?"
Karasu nods in agreement, at least for the mention of Odhranos “Odie” Kerrigan. She still knew next to nothing about Provost Grace. “Given the position of power, we likely need to look closer at the members of the council before trying to make a case against Kaaname for abuse of power. We also don’t know how tight his network is, or how soon he will retaliate the second whisperings of a case are brought to him.” The halfling stands and retrieves her cloak from Magik. Deft fingers turn the key over in her hands before it is tied around a chain that contains a key to her bedroom in the Xalious. She tenses at the mention of Rinn, a memory replaying in her head of Magik antagonizing the poor feline while she was in the middle of a panic attack, and Rinn finding it necessary to step in to retaliate to Karasu’s clumsy swing to make him shut up by trying to seriously kill the spell-blade. “Ah… the one that put an attempt on my life and put a bounty on my sister. This won’t be awkward at all.” She says dryly, taking a seat again.
Magik pulls a small cloth from his pack to wipe down his bow. The frost giants were not gentle with this piece and it looks like it took quite a number of times before they realized it couldn't be touched by bare hands. A few tough scrubs around the handle knocked loose any charred skin. The recurves got the same attention as he continued to listen to the current happenings, "Stay the course, Tessa. Continue to gain their trust. A opening will present itself and we will be there. I'll continue with my classes as normal." The key is next except Karasu has assumed wrong. That key was meant for Quintessa. "Kara. Key," he points to Quintessa, "That's for Tessa. I have something else for you, Karasu, when I find it again. Anyhow, that key locks the upside entrance and the armory. It may also unlock a few other things around here. As for Rinn," he shrugs with a smirk. They all knew Rinn. No words were needed. She was unpredictable. "As of now, Tessa, you are basically my right hand. You only answer to Rinn and myself." He shifts his focus to Karasu, "Karasu, if you want to become a part of this, you'll be working closely with Tessa. If not, well, you'll be forgetting this conversation happened." There's a potion somewhere around here for that sort of thing. "We are to not rush the matters unfolding at the Tower."
Quintessa sighs. "If what you say about Kaaname is true and he has figured out a way to destroy me if I 'step out of line' then I can take no actions that he would find threatening. Let him, and the rest of the Mage's Council, believe I am some sort of puppet for them. An ambitious young neophyte willing to stand on the throats of my fellow mage's to get ahead." Quintessa flicks her ashes as the cloud of clove scented smoke swirls around her. "I wouldn't worry too much about Rinn or her bounties- Besides, nobody is even going to think about hurting Kanna on my watch. Once I sort out the proper paperwork she'll be under the protection of the Necromancer's Guild. House Dragana and House Mahara's conjoined forces will be more than a match for any bounty hunters." The changeling rises like a specter to drift behind Karasu, a pale hand resting on her shoulder to await the key. "I will continue my work marking people I find useful. Unfortunately, my next target has been captured and I must work to free him before he can join us." Quintessa pauses for a moment to take a drag from her cigarette, "And any word from the good doctor?" Magik would likely know that Quintessa was of course referring to Penelope. She hadn't gotten the chance herself to sit down with her yet.
Karasu seems disappointed at the instruction. "Why did you put it on -my- cloak, then..." The woman gripes under her breath as she unhooks it and holds her hand out for Tessa to take the key back. When she opens her hand, she winces slightly from the burn, and she realizes then that her hand had been facing away from him whenever she moved. A delayed click in her brain goes off. “Magik. Were you in the cabin?” She asks in a warning voice not because he had been completely capable of retrieving the bow himself, and had been there as well, but because he had seen the embarrassing display that was reserved only for the mysterious dryad to know the truth behind. Karasu gives a sharp inhale at Magik’s note of working alongside Quintessa. “Given that we’re sitting here not trying to claw each other’s throats out, I think working under her is a suitable punishment for desertion of my post in the Guild.” To this, Karasu gives a smirk up at Quintessa. She listens as a captured target is mentioned, and her brows go down. “Hm. If there’s anything I can do to assist with that, my schedule has been cleared up considerably.”
Magik adds as he admires Karasu's teleportation item in his hand, "I'll send a note to the Unseen as well. Kanna is fully protected." Quintessa should be wise enough to know to ask for Magik or the Unseen's assistance as well regarding breaking out of another potentially 'Marked'. To answer the question about the doctor the Lyastri shakes his head from side to side, "Nothing yet. I will make my way to have a chat with her soon. Worst case scenario is she gives me something to help me get some real rest." He finally tosses the crystal back to it's rightful owner after she questions his presence during her mission. Magik simply smirks. He wasn't there but eyes were on her the moment she stepped away from Dragana Manor. To change the subject he focuses back on the captured person's situation, "That sounds like a perfect situation for you to get involved with, breaking out the potential Marked. Hopefully I'll find this lost item for you beforehand." Leaning forward, the elf folds his hands together on the table, "Anything else? Kara, any questions about all of this? Or about me?"
Quintessa takes the key gingerly, giving Karasu a soft pat on the head once the key had been safely attached to her utility belt. "Thank you, my dear." Quintessa finishes her cigarette and leaves it to burn out in the ceramic ashtray. "I know how best to utilize your skills. You'll be an invaluable asset for me going forward." Quintessa's hand lingers on Karasu's head for a moment longer than she meant to, but she eventually pries it away before it became too awkward. "In the meantime I'll work on logistics at Dragana Manor. When you are ready, Karasu, I'll gather some Unseen and we can begin planning there." The changeling wraps her cloak tightly around her body before heading for the ladder. "Berrentam will be waiting for you too. He's going to be so excited when I tell him you're finally coming to visit... Is there anything else either of you want to say to me?" Quintessa lingers at the bottom of the exit expectantly. If there was nothing more she would bid her farewell and quietly leave them to begin her mission. Truthfully, there were many loose ends to tie up in Vailkrin while she was there, not just for the Syndicate.
Karasu gives Magik a suspicious glare in return to his smirk, lifting a hand to catch the crystal. “Now I wonder if you were really thinking of how to renovate this place during all your meditation classes.” She teases. “I can break into anywhere in the Mage’s Tower second-nature, but wherever this guy is will be more of a challenge. I suppose as long as it’s not Frostmaw, it will be fine.” She dismisses the praise politely with a wave of the hand. A slight blush rises to her freckled face as Quintessa rests her hand on her head, and she quirks her lips up in a smile. The concealment is removed from the runic cloak, revealing the auburn coloring again, and it takes up its place on Karasu’s shoulders again. “Yeah. Introduce Kanna as his aunt. She’ll go nuts for him.” There is a pause, and she adds, “Should I return to the Mage’s Tower? Kaaname knows that I know. Why he hasn’t used me in the time since I left is beyond me, though.”
Magik gets to his feet, "As always, be careful. Both of you. If you need help, whisper to the shadows." After collecting his bow, he looks about the room, "Hm. Perhaps we can seek out an interior decorator in here." Turning his focus back to his clanmates, "Now, I'm going to go seek out a Ghost." Karasu would receive a wink to add to her paranoia about him witnessing any embarrassing moments during her initiation mission. With that, he poofs. Black smoke and such.
Quintessa 's hand grips the bar on the lower row of the ladder idly as she ponders Karasu's question. "Hmm, if Kaaname is aware you know what he's planning it might not be wise to make yourself known to him. Have you considered wearing a disguise? Its easy to pose as an apprentice or steward- nobody pays us much mind anyway, but I'd make your visits there scarce just to be safe. Odhranos, as you know, can be trusted, but let nobody else know you are there save for the Veneficuses. Kasyr and Khitti aren't involved in any of the wrongdoing there, I'm sure of it." Quintessa put a lot of faith in her personal teachers. "It could be that your father is biding his time. As I said, things have gotten complicated with the recent anti-undead sentiments, so perhaps he feels his Vakmatharas-inspired plots will only draw unwanted attention from the other Provosts. He waited years for you to grow up before he activated that 'birthmark', waiting a few months longer while the Guild calms down would be a simple thing for a vampire." The changeling hesitates for another moment, remembering something she needed to tell her. "If Kaaname really shares Larewen's blood- if he's secretly been a Dragana all this time, then we are dealing with something unpredictable. The Dragana bloodline is cursed. Everyone Larewen turns ends up losing their mind, just like her. She wasn't called Larewen the Mad simply because she delved in forbidden magics, she's literally unstable. Kaaname could likely be suffering from the same delusions as she had."
Karasu mulls the suggestion over as she rises from the chair. "A disguise is already difficult for someone like me to pull off. I can barely maintain the full feline or full human transformations unless I completely concentrate on them. I suppose I have to find a master of disguise to consult with." Her mind is immediately assaulted with hideous eyebrows. "Not Lanlan." She adds with a repulsed curl of the lips. Before anything else, she needed to know her father's motivations. For that, she would need to get back into the Tower. Well, I'll figure something out." With that, she motions for Quintessa to ascend the ladder so she can follow suit, their relationship at long last mended.