RP:Help from a Snake

Part of the Home Sweet Home Arc

Summary: While inspecting part of the forest that had been lost during the war, Gilwen meets with Xzavior. The naga not only offers up what he knows about Gevurah, but also offers to attempt to get information about the curse from the Priestess as well.

Razed Forest

Abruptly the forest shifts from green, brown, and silver to cinder, charcoal, and rust. The springy grass beneath your feet fades into a crunchy carpet of ash. At the center of the destruction you realize that not a single tree stands for a mile in any direction. What more, the hum of insects, twittering of birds, scurrying of rodents, and melody of magic has been silenced. Only the wind howls past you, changed from a forest breeze to a brazen gust. Gone is the serene glade, that testament to the resilience of nature. But watchers of the forest would recall that the glade was nature's salve to past destruction, and the forest can overcome ruin again and again. To your east, south, and west, lines of green in the distance hint at life beyond death, of leaves and birds, of light. To the north, the drow military camp, the blight in the forest responsible for this destruction, taunts any who would question the drow's right to rule.

A single dead tree, burned from the inside is here.''

Gilwen was crouched in the center of the area that had once been filed with green vitality, but is now nothing more than dirt and cinders. Upon reclaiming the forest, the elves hadn't made an effort to clear the area of the organic debris, and instead left it to act as fertilizer for future growth. In the months that past since the razing, nothing has grown however, which now made sense with the curse brought to light. The fiery headed elder didn't seem to be looking for anything in particular, and instead seemed to be distracting herself from the bureaucracy of the council; handfuls of dirt and ash were scooped up only to trickle through her fingers time and time again.

Xzavior did not enjoy coming to this place, or even remotely close. The sight just never sat right with him. He tried to avoid this place as best as possible but sometimes he had to pass by out of some strange curiosity. What had happened here? This was more or less one of those times. As he made it into the clearing he saw Gilwen there and made his way silently over, not wanting to disturb her thoughts. He could wait awhile, no big deal.

Gilwen knew Xzavior was there despite his attempt to remain silent to avoid disturbing her, and after a few minutes of silence passed of them both sitting there, the elf dropped the handful of earth once more and pushed herself to her feet. "This is what Laezila has done to the forest." She stated as she wiped her hands along her leather leggings; there had been others involved in the destruction of this forest, but Laezila had been one of the main contenders.

Xzavior didn't really respond to that. He had to admit that there wasn't much of a connection that he had with the drow other then her friends, all this really didn't help her case with him. But he still offered to help her and he wouldn't back out of it now. "It certainly some destructive force. Where are we going to even start?" That he was curious about. There should be a plan set up shouldn't there?

Gilwen continued to inspect the damage around them, from the razed area, to the infected trees and back. "I haven't had time to speak with Laezila about what she might know of this curse." Between dealing with the death of one of her people and a drow, as well as the knowledge that there is a traitor among her people, the curse itself had been set on the back burner. "I suspect I'll have to visit the paladins in Larket and see if they might be able to help."

Xzavior only hummed and nodded quietly. He had to think about this for a moment and he was more then certain that this would come to bite him but it might also do some good if things worked out well. "I could possibly find out about the curse myself. Get that info and relay it back to you." He wasn't sure if Laez knew about it or not. He didn't exactly know her entire position on this whole thing but he potentially has some connections that could help.

Gilwen turned to the naga at that point and studied his features carefully, as if to find any indication that he might be lying for some other hidden agenda. Whether or not something was found in Xzavior's facial expressions or body language didn't matter; she could always question Laezila herself if she felt the information was lacking. "Laezila should be back in Vailkrin by now, either under Kasyr or Larewen's care. You are welcome to ask her what she might know about the curse. It would be a great help actually," Unless, of course, Gilwen, or the other members of the council for that matter, felt more information was needed and they themselves had to trek up to visit the little drow.

Xzavior raised a hand as if to correct her, "I'll see to that, but I meant something a little different. I meant talk to Gevurah herself. Obviously it would take longer then with Laezlia but it would be more accurate and a lot more information could be gained besides." He guessed almost right away Gilwen would start asking him about what his connections were to her so he decided to answer that as well. "I have been in her presence twice before, and she seems to trust me enough. She told me something that not anyone would be too keen to let people know of."

Gilwen became immediately wary of Xzavior in that moment, though no outward change of stance or expression belied that. "Why would Gevurah trust you?" The druid was more or less asking what task Xzavior had done for the drow, because there was undoubtedly no other way to fall into the woman's trust without first scratching her back. Despite her wariness of the naga however, his latter statement gave birth to a touch of curiosity. "What was it she told you?"

Xzavior had to shrug at that. He didn't quite know himself why, "I can't really tell why, one of those meetings was after telling her I purposely failed a mission she had given me." He smirked a bit at that, though he wasn't out right happy. The mission nearly severed some ties to friends because of it. "But the thing she told me, well I'm not too sure just how unknown this is, she is gathering necromancers in Xalious to resurrect this Shade Nightmare. I am not a necromancer so I don't see the purpose for her telling me that." He really was confused at the interaction the more he thought about it.

Gilwen was relentless in her questions regarding Xzavior and Gevurah. "What was this mission she gave you, and when did she give it to you?" Again, the druids gaze watched the naga carefully, looking for any tell-tale sign that he might be hiding the whole truth, or potentially feeding her lies. The mention of this nightmare and Xalious was tucked away for future deliberation.

Xzavior would give her what she wanted, scrutiny or not. He knew that if he was going to get anywhere he needed to be trusted at least. "The mission was to take a book all about The Order of Shade from Larewen's study and return it to Gev. I had broken into the study and located the book but I left it there. That was little under a month ago."

The fact that the mission Xzavior failed was not one intended to endanger the well-being of the elves seemed to bring a small sense of relief to Gilwen, but neither expression nor stance changed; she remained utterly stoic. "Who knows what Gevurah is planning?"

Xzavior shrugged again, "As far as I know I am the only one she has talked to about that. I don't know if there are others or anything so I could be being lied to as well. Along with a lot of other things. But the fact of the matter is you are going to need to trust me on this if I am to help. I am risking quite a bit letting you know all of this. Along with letting Laezila live. That is another thing I forgot to mention. I am the reason she even knows that she has the bounty on her head." Pausing really quick he added, "No I didn't go after her I told one of her friends."

Gilwen's eyes widened fractionally with the continued information provided, and eventually, she raised a hand to stop him before he could continue. "Talk with Gevurah. Try to be as coy with your questions as possible. Do not tell her that I sent you, do not tell her you gave me this information. Do not tell her we had Laezila in our care. I have urgent business to attend to, let me know when you've spoken with Gevurah." With that, the elven woman was off, heading back to the fort and to whatever aforementioned business she might have.