RP:Who Will Save Your Soul?

Part of the The Whisperer In Darkness Arc

Part of the What You Leave Behind Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Brand, Lionel, and Meri finally set out to find their Khat.

♪Who will save your soul if you won't save your own?♪

Hilltop Ranch, Berendebyrg, Venturil

Khitti || It was a dark and stormy night and--. Wait. No, it wasn’t. The blonde trio that was looking for their missing Khat knew better than to go up against the forces of evil at nighttime (it was almost always Khitti that decided to do that; she’s got that love for the dramatic, you know). No, no. Today was a perfectly sunny day, albeit perhaps a little windy, a sea-salted breeze blowing in from the west. You would think that, with this perfect weather, that those that lived in farmhouse nearest to the fields in Berendebyrg would be out working or having a picnic or -something-. ANYTHING. But, nope. And these fields just so happened to be the same ones Lionel, Meri, and Krice happened to find Khitti’s bracelet in. Huh. -Weird-. Come to think of it… there wasn’t anyone in the byrg nearby either. There was no noise. Nothing. Nothing except that wind anyway.

Khitti || No. There -was- noise. What was that…? It sounded so familiar. So musical. So electric. -So Khitti-? ♫I would've loved you for a thousand years, I would've died for you. I would've sacrificed it all my dear, I would've bled for you. Till death do us part, you were unholy right from the start. It's a nice night for a red wedding!♫ The sounds of a piano accompanied the mystery band, the raspy voices, not unlike those of some undead folk, filled the farmhouse, and filtered out into the field. It certainly wasn’t Khitti singing it, that was for damn sure. Whether the three would-be-heroes went inside that house or not, the music would continue, and then it would end, another taking its place, coming from within the house’s large parlor on the first floor. ♫You'll soon be hearing the chime, close to midnight. If I could turn back the time, I'd make all right. How could it end like this? There's a sting in the way you kiss me. Something within your eyes, said it could be the last time, 'fore it's over! Just wanna be, wanna bewitch you in the moonlight! Just wanna be, I wanna bewitch you all night!♫ This one, while still hard rock in nature, had an air of disco to it. Maybe they just stumbled onto an innocent dance party? Those don’t always happen in just Cenril, after all.

Khitti || “I think your guests have arrived finally,” came the voice of none other than Gabriel Loorkah. Within the parlor, chairs had been set up for all of the guests and all of the guests were in their places--all but three chairs remained empty. The guests though… they were rather quiet. That tends to happen when their throats are slit and their blood allowed to pool around them. There were indeed still some in the room amongst the living however! Or, unliving. Definitely both. The band, who were certainly not as fresh as the guests, had shifted their music to something more suitable for wedding ceremony. The seemingly human male (though everyone but Lionel would be quite aware that he’s not at all and was very much a Preklek) danced about with Khitti, continuing to speak to her as if they’d been together for years, “It’s quite a shame they’re so late, isn’t it? Well, we’ll just have to show them what happens when they’re late to such an important event.” The redhead said nothing. Could she even speak anymore? Her head was someone lolled to one side, against Gabriel’s shoulder as they danced. Dark patches of blood and tears in the fabric were numerous on her dress, the same she’d worn to Lanara’s birthday party. Some were even fresh and still dripping with blood. But, it wasn’t as fresh as the odd markings on her neck. It was reminiscent of a vampire’s bite and yet… it looked more like a rather large leech had gotten ahold of her. There was no light in Khitti’s eyes; that familiar spark that made her who she was, was completely gone. She was alive, very much so, and yet she didn’t fight. Not one bit.

Brand might have confidence in Khitti’s ability to hold her own against any baddies, but that didn’t mean he could leave her to it all alone. What little information they’d been able to uncover had led them here, to this strange house in Venturil. The music made Brand’s hair stand on the back of his neck. He had no way to know for sure, but his gut told him Khitti wouldn’t be far from such … eclectic music. He motioned silently to Meri and Lionel, indicating that they should circle around and try to investigate without being seen.

Lionel did Brand’s bidding. Moving quietly was not going to be a challenge for him today, as he had arrived dressed in his thin black silks and nothing else save for Hellfire and a pair of healing potions. Following Brand’s lead, Lionel strafed his way behind a tree trunk of considerable size parallel to the house’s eastern side. As the music grew louder, his sense of dread grew exponentially. He and his friends had clashed with enough taunt-heavy megalomaniacs over the years to recognize their techniques by tune. He waited for Brand and Meri to catch up, taking position wherever they might have taken, and should either one of them have rushed on ahead he would catch up to them briskly. The former prince couldn’t rely upon his magical speed, however; roasting the farmland wasn’t exactly stealthy. But his natural abilities were enough. A well-shaded corner at the bottom end of an overlooking hill provided decent cover from the sun’s revealing rays, and the wind beneath the scattered trees helped to further mask their movement. With luck the group would soon spot a subtle way in.

Meri :: Oh it was such a lovely day, why were people not out having a picnic? Meri liked picnics, usually. Except that the last two picnic-type parties Meri has gone to have proven to be full of trouble, so maybe it was good that there was no picnic. But still, it was such a nice day out. Meri was tempted to whip out her sketch book....Except she did not bring that. She brought her stabby stuff, and her shooty stuff, but not her drawy stuff. An unsettling feeling takes over Meri as she realizes that no one else was in sight. So maybe people did not want to have a picnic today, but there was also no one tending to the fields either. This prompted Meri to draw and ready her bow. She was just about to comment on the weirdness of this entire scene, but before her own voice can break the silence the sounds of some very Khitti-like music are heard. Regardless of how Lionel and Brand react, Meri's feet carry her in the direction of the music. Brand makes some gesture that they should circle and try and investigate without being seen. Meri nods in agreement. This sounds like a brilliant plan. And at first Meri is totally on board and cooperating with this plan, until they get close enough to the farmhouse to get a peek in through a window. Once Meri sees a flash of what is occurring within the parlor, her temper flares up. It's been slightly more prone to getting the better of her lately, ever since she ended up becoming a werewolf. Lionel and Brand are going to have to be quick on their feet if they want to keep this subtle-sneak entrance going. They'll get a light warning that Meri has lost her cool, because the blonde woman is issuing a deep and throaty growl as an expression of her anger.....And then they're going to have to grab hold of the feisty werewolf to stop her from brazenly blazing her way into the parlor bow-first, shout something about get your hands off my sister. Thanks Meri. Even if they do slow the werewolf's roll, she's probably managed to make a little bit of a ruckus with that growling of hers.

Khitti || There were no guards of any sort. No magic on the outside of the house that the three of them would be able to sense, nothing that might prevent them from heading inside. There was a backdoor and a front door. There were windows, of course, but who likes going through those? There’s all that struggling to climb into it and who knows if you’re even going to fit? Whatever way they chose, though, they’d not be met with a fight. Today was a joyous occasion! What the heck? No one should be fighting. What’s wrong with you all? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CELEBRATION. No big deal though. Meri’s seen the event for what it is and wants to head inside! Yes! Bring your friends! This is going to be fun.

Khitti || Gabriel spun Khitti a little, finishing their dance before finally addressing the newcomers that lurked about and what to do about them, “What do you say we properly welcome them? I think you should do it. You’ve not done a thing in days and I’m sure you want to shake off all those cobwebs from your lack of fighting. You poor thing.” Gabriel was strangely attentive to Khitti, helping her to stand properly, for the blood loss had weakened her somewhat. It happens when someone becomes your food supply. There was just something about the blood of the not-quite-innocent. It was sweet enough to denote that goodness they’d tried to retain over the years. But those bad things they’d done throughout their life, whether far and few between or many, it just added a nice spice to it, like the kick hot peppers gave to any dish. “Yes, yes. I think that will do. Here--” Gabriel paused and reached into his coat “--I think you’re ready to use this now.” The soul-draining dagger was handed over to Khitti, dark magic runes etched into its blade. They glowed a deep red; red like the color Tenbatsu Kaji’s aura at its full power.

Khitti shifted her attention to the window that Meri had just peeked into. She wasn’t actually going to fight them was she? Heading across the room, she slipped through a magical barrier that enveloped that room only. It shimmered briefly as she went through and then disappeared once more. The whole thing blocked off Gabriel -and- the band. Strange. That guy really likes his music. And speaking of--“Oh! Music! We need better music!” The undead immediately stopped their playing and shifted the music once again to something more heavy. The lead guitar and drums played fast and loud, the raspy voice of the lead singer, screeching like a banshee, ♫Guilty as charged, but damn, it ain't right--there's someone else controlling me. Death in the air, strapped in the electric chair, this can't be happening to me. Who made you God to say "I'll take your life from you?" Flash before my eyes, now it's time to die! Burning in my brain, I can feel the flame!♫ “Perfect,” Gabriel said with a grin. There was no time for calculations. No time to figure out who to kill first. It didn’t matter; an order was an order. She knew their strengths, their weakness--but Khitti wasn’t Khitti. Khitti was a puppet, nothing more. Three on one? This was a piece of cake. At least, that’s what Gabriel told her in the back of her mind. Like the Khitti of old, she struck without care. She found the exit just as quickly as Meri approached it, pale orange balls of holy fire conjured up and tossed about her with one hand as the other sought to stab the closest living thing with that odd blade Gabriel had given her. With Khitti’s soul seemingly gone, the blade hungered for more and she--or Gabriel rather--was keen on feeding it. “It’s a pity you couldn’t bring the boy! It would’ve been a lovely family reunion,” Gabriel called over the music, following along behind Khitti, but keeping a distance between the quarrel and himself--that barrier even moved with him, keeping him safe for the moment. Khitti flinched somewhat at the mention of Dominic and hurting him. Maybe, just maybe, there was still yet a little bit of Khitti somewhere inside that head of hers.

Brand || Here was Khitti, a mind seemingly not her own, and it recalled nightmares of her as a lich that had never come to pass. Brand let the thought roil in his stomach for only a moment before burying his emotions. They would only get in the way right now. He saw the lurch, the moment’s hesitation. Khitti’s attack toward Meri was analyzed coldly -- cold, that was it. He conjured a wave of freezing cold water, meant to lock Khitti in ice anywhere it hit her. Maybe he’d slow her down, at least.

Lionel’s eyes were trained on Khitti the entire time. Her motions were off; her gaze was off. Her actions, of course, were very much off, but it didn’t take her brother but a second’s passing to recognize she was not herself long before she broke away from her strange suitor. As Meri rushed forward, Lionel did not take his eyes off of Khitti. As Brand thrust forth a volley of ice, Lionel did not take his eyes off of Khitti. The raven circling high overhead was a distant, senseless sound. Lionel was the last of the three to start his charge. His sprint was, for once, completely linear and without deception or intrigue. His pace brought him perpendicular to Brand’s spell as he drew closer and closer to Khitti. It should have come as no surprise that a sibling headed toward their lost family would not draw his sword, which is why the hidden jerk of his left wrist underneath his silks would have been a challenge to detect even when his fingers wrapped around Hellfire’s hilt. Finally, he broke his completely straight path, flourishing his nimble body around and past the fireballs headed his way. When at last it seemed Lionel had reached his sister, presumably intent upon grabbing her in some dastardly heroic fashion, he drew Hellfire and felt its rolling flame. Without slowing down, he knelt into a slide across the house’s floor, coming up as close to Gabriel as he possibly could -- directly beneath the man, if the barrier allowed it. That was when he’d leap, nothing preventing him from tapping into his sword’s magics any longer. The leap was unreal, high enough and swift enough to have been brought about by Halycanos’ aid and nothing more. Lionel’s eyes turned to Gabriel now, and he swung. Fire and ash surrounded the Preklek and the tip of a deadly blade lurched ahead for his throat.

Meri evidently would not have gotten far even if she was able to break past Brand and Lionel. There was a barrier, the magical sort and the psion has never been great about sensing such things but the barrier was revealed as Khitti passed through it, armed with her holy fire and her dagger. Meri has never seen this dagger in particular before, but the way it glowed did not escape Meri's attention. Ah hell, Meri wanted to go brawling with the other guy, not trying to duke it out with her sister. She was going to have to do something though, as she was at present the nearest living soul to Khitti and thus was about to face the brunt of her attacks. Except much like Lionel, she was not going to fight her sister. Her psionic abilities are employed to deflect the holy fire and the dagger while Meri distances herself, hoping that Brand will be able to hold Khitti in place with the icy barrier he is creating. Of course the psion could probably be useful in this area, her mind tricks could be utilized to try and help further restrain the redhead. They're not. Not yet at least. Not until Brand seems to be losing a handle on freezing his woman into place temporarily, if he ever gains it to begin with. Why? Well Meri can see Lionel going after Gabriel now that he has some distance between his family and the enemy...but Meri is not entirely sure...that he can just leap through that barrier there? Maybe he can, Lionel has some tricks up his sleeve. But Meri has mind to try and assist him. Just because Meri herself cannot actually get through that barrier...doesn't mean she can't try and move objects within the barrier? Maybe it does, though. Alas, Meri has never had training with another like herself, so she often learns these things as on the fly. While Lionel is doing his running and his leaping so that he can be all stabbity with Gabriel, Meri is concentrating very hard on the furniture in the parlor itself. If she gets her way, Gabriel is going to end up pelted with a coffee table or a chair....Which will hopefully be distraction enough to break that moving barrier long enough for Lionel to cook himself some Preklek. If not the trio is going to have to go back to the drawing board again to scheme up a new plan of attack.

Khitti || This wouldn’t be a boss fight without some random enemies showing up out of nowhere, would it? A very large, very scary, very undead Amos burst through wall in the house. Yes, you read that right. Literally through the wall. Gabriel’s recently deceased henchman let out a vicious growl and set off to rip the limbs the nearest blonde. Hell, he didn’t even care if Khitti got in the way. Amos was hungry and no one likes a hungry undead. They get all bitey, after all. The great hulk of a man--who was once quite the cinnamon roll before--roared and charged his way towards Meri, intent on plowing her over like a freight train and pummeling her into a bloody pulp wherever she landed before she could get near to Gabriel.

Khitti, on the other hand, was very much stuck in place where Brand had frozen her. She’d managed to dodge most of the attack, but not quite as quickly as normal Khitti would have. Part of her lower half was fused to the ground, thanks to that ice, but… Amos soon carelessly bowled her over, breaking and bruising bits and pieces of the redhead, but still, she didn’t seem to mind. Must get up. Must kill. Feed the dagger. Souls, souls, souls. You know the drill. With most of the ice gone, she went to lunge at Brand, dagger at the ready to sink into whatever part of him she could reach first. That is, until Lionel slid in through that barrier and found himself face to face with not a human, or a preklek for that matter, but a mindflayer--seemed the creature didn’t know quite as much about Hellfire as it thought it did. Big and ancient, he took up most of the hallway where he’d been standing. This flayer was paler than most, instead of the darker shades of greys and purples, this one was nearly white; it likely had something to do with his vampiric status. Face tentacles flared out angrily at Lionel, but alas Hellfire’s blaze seared some of them off, leaving the not-quite-Gabriel to lose his focus on not only the barrier, but his mental hold on Khitti as well. The Ishaarite spirit within the former prince’s blade was infinitely more ancient that the flayer and, well, the flayer wasn’t happy about this. Letting out a screech, it conjured up a large pool of blackness below Lionel, not-so-nice tendrils snaking out of it, keen on dragging Lionel to whatever parts of the void that black hole in the floor led to.

Khitti || And Khitti? Her mind was finally her own in days. It’d felt like weeks. Months even. “Brand.” Her words were hollow, monotone. “The dagger.” It wasn’t something she could destroy, but she didn’t get time to say that. The flayer’s barrier faded, allowing him to recapture Khitti’s mind and force her back into that state she was previously in, and revealing Gabriel for what he truly was. Unfortunately, however, that meant Khitti was back to the killing. Or attempting to kill. Brand really doesn’t get a break from women trying to murder his pretty face.

Brand || The eyes on that “pretty face” are busy trying to keep track of everything as it happens. Bitey undead, void tendrils, some kind of burly, angry undead… He’s busy dodging Khitti’s stabs all the while, too. He vaults inside the barrier as much to try to gain some distance from her as to assist Lionel -- can he stuff that void full of earth magic? Well, he can try. And just for the lulz, let’s set the house on fire, shall we? Brand can’t recall whether mindflayers do well in fire or not, but they certainly couldn’t do any better than two fire-wielders and a psion. He’s… pretty sure he just saw mindflayer tendrils, anyway. There was a lot going on, and he doesn’t like the look of that dagger still getting stabbed his way…

Lionel || “Halycanos, guide me.” They were the first words Lionel had uttered in hours, and he made them count. Even the near-perfect sync between man and spirit that was Lionel and Halycanos couldn’t always be counted on to guide them as quickly as was needed. This simple request from Lionel’s lips was like an incantation, or more accurately a summoning. The thick and loamy blackness enveloped the Catalian, and even Hellfire’s piercing flame could not dispel it. The tendril coiled around the man like a snake, and it was too dark to see it coming. Inky darkness pulled him under and if it weren’t for those three words this would have been the end for Khitti’s brother. Brand and Meri would have needed to drudge on without him, and if they successfully freed Khitti from her poisons they would still not have come home completely. Blue eyes, unseen in the black, rolled a red which cut across the darkness like a sword through wind. Seconds later, Lionel emerged, a massive tendril severed and sucked into the void of its own creation. Lionel spat in front of the hellscape Gabriel had revealed himself to be. “No, seriously, I’m going to kill you.” He slashed twice, first diagonally and then across, Halycanos’ flames aimed to tear off the rest of Gabriel’s face shred by white-hot shred.

Meri was not actually trying to physically move toward Gabriel. She was literally just a sitting duck, trying to concentrate hard on the objects inside the house. Her focus is strong enough that it's a little hard for Meri to really pay attention to her surroundings, while maintaining her concentration. So Amos really has a fairly easy time barreling into Meri. She might be a werewolf now but that is still bound to hurt. Hopefully she is not actually being beaten to a bloody pulp, but there does not seem to be much fight coming form the blonde...So at least for the time being it seems that at least one of the three people attempting to save Khitti is down and out for the count. She's keeping Amos distracted, for now at least. Hopefully he won't get bored by the lack of fight he's getting from Meri and doesn't end up turning his sights back on Lionel and Brand. They seem to have their hands full anyway, they don't need to deal with Amos too.

Khitti || The roof. The roof. The roof is on fire. They don’t need no water, let the motherfrakker burn. Burn, motherfrakker. Burn. And burn it does. That poor band. There’s no music now, just the screeching of that mindflayer. Lionel managed to pull himself out of that black pit and Brand helped to reinforce it, filling it up with large chunks of earth and stone, keeping the void from pulling Lionel back in. And Meri, she definitely did not get beaten to a pulp. The mindflayers own loss of concentration had given way to not just Khitti, but his creations as well. Amos would stumble, lose track of what he was doing briefly, and then went after Meri again. The psion was definitely doing a great job at keeping him busy because that kept him from going to aid his master.

Khitti || All at once, as the house burned and Lionel turned the flayer into freshly grilled calamari, things stopped. Khitti stopped trying to skewer Brand with a dagger. Amos lost whatever sort of consciousness he was allowed as an undead and just… fell over, dead as doornail finally. The house burned and Khitti regained her mind once more--permanently this time. There was an eerie sort of calm about her as she stared at Brand, then at Meri, then finally turned around and eyed the charred flayer and her brother. How long does a soul stay around after the body’s dead? That wasn’t something Khitti’d been able to figure out when she had died, since there wasn’t a body to speak of afterwards. This Khitti, this redhead without a care in the world right now for anything but her own self-preservation just, kinda, strolled away from Brand, right on towards Lionel and the mindflayer.

Khitti hadn’t been the one to kill it, and it made her regretful, but in a selfish way. The first and only other elder one she’d killed, she’d used her dark magic to crush its skull. Even now--especially now--it was nice to think about. Bits of ash and wood began to crumble around them as the house slowly came down around them, but Khitti took no notice. She’d kneel down next to it, still just as calm and seemingly collected as can be… and then proceeded to stab it repeatedly. There was a lot of disgusting black blood and angry screams from Khitti. Even if the dagger didn’t absorb the flayer’s as it had her own, there’d be no coming back after she was done with it. And when she was, she’d drop it to the floor beside her and say, “I can’t do it. Someone else has to.” She meant the dagger of course, but she was much too focused on that now dead creature in front of her, savoring in its demise.

Brand || Cautiously, Brand retrieved the dagger from Khitti’s side. He wasn’t quite convinced just yet that they were clear and free of the danger. It was taken, considered, and then… handed to Meri? Yeah. Let the psion try to figure out what the heck was up with a mind controller’s dagger. Made sense to him. “So, uh…” he’d turn back toward Khitti. “I’d ask if you’re alright, but that seems like a silly question under the circumstances.”

Meri wasn't much to look at for the brief moments that she had Khitti's eerily calm gaze on her -- just some chick laying on the floor of a burning building. At least Amos had fallen to the ground right next to her. Meri was not quick to recover or find her feet now that she was not being assaulted by the beast that is Amos, but she does issue a groan that suggests she is still conscious. So there is that. Meri barely has a chance to right herself back to her feet, and is still feeling dazed and confused, when before she knows it Brand is passing off a dagger too her. What is Meri supposed to do with this exactly? Hold it, she assumes. Even if Meri did have the notion to destroy the dagger, at best the psion could separate hilt from blade -- and would that be enough? She can do some damage with those mind powers of her's, sure, but it's definitely not enough to deconstruct metal in that fashion. Isn't that what hot heads are good for? Brand? Lionel? If someone wants to destroy the creepy dagger, speak now while the psion is stumbling out of the burning building with the very confused and questioning look on her face?

Khitti sighed and rolled her eyes at Brand. “Would you be fine if you were made to drink flayer blood, stabbed several times and never allowed to fully bleed out, -and- have your soul taken? Yeah. I don’t think so.” Pause. “And he was a vampire.” Pause again. “Alnd was going to marry me, I guess, but not really.“ Yet another pause. “Also, Gabriel’s dead. He got his face eaten. It was a nice look for him.” Okay. Creepy much? Khitti was so nonchalant about the things that someone should not be nonchalant about. She might need therapy after this. “If you don’t destroy that thing in the next five seconds, then I’ll be taking it and leaving. Your choice. I’m a bit keen on the idea of finding more of these, to be honest.” She waved a dismissive hand, then used the same appendage to sort of poke at the flayer’s squishy, bloody mess of a corpse. “I don’t know. Do that whole working together crap you all love so much. It’s gross, but it’ll probably work. Or something.” Even Khitti wasn’t entirely sure. The only sort of enchanted weapon like it that she’d come into contact with before was the magic-draining dagger Emrith used on her in Vailkrin, way back when--she hadn’t actually gotten a hold of that, however. When she was finally satisfied, she stood up and walked away from the building much like her sister had. It was on fire, after all.

Brand was born in the fire, MOLDED by it -- wait, no, he needs to leave. He goes with Khitti, not quite sure what to say and definitely not able to help out with the therapy thing (sorry, Khitti. Maybe Lennier or Dozla will be less useless on that front). And it looks like Meri isn’t quite sure what to say or do, either. “Can’t you … I dunno… un-mindflay it or something?” Brand doesn’t really know how psions work, other than her being able to kill things with her brain. “That’s how that works, right?” Yeah. Totally.

Lionel had a better idea. “If you’d please,” he said to Meri, holding out his hand. If she obliged, he would have thrust the dagger into the dirt blade-first and crouched over it, clenching his hands into fists. Hellfire, though returned to its sheath, pulsed an eerie green. Although it was all the sword’s doing, balls of green flame seemed to emanate from his fists. The flames hovered over the dagger for a time, and then it appeared that the dagger was lit by some unseen fuse. It melted, foul magic released into the wild with a scream and then fading into oblivion. The melting was unnaturally slow -- the evils within did not release their hold easily. When the deed was done, Lionel stood back up and dusted ash from his silks.

Meri hears Khitti's statement. Better destroy that dagger in the next five seconds. Unfortunately she is going to need a little more than five seconds to cook up a plan, especially after what brand just said. Meri stands there and blinks at him...and then blinks at him again. What even is un-mindflying? This is really not the time or the place to get into what she is or is not capable of doing right about now. The gears in Meri's mind were starting to turn...She could levitate the dagger back into the burning house and...then Lionel interrupts her thinking through her headache with his 'if you'd please.' And you know what? It pleases Meri very much to hand the dagger over to Lionel so that he can more efficiently destroy the dagger. Meri blinks a couple more times at Brand because that is just definitely not how it works, before those blue eyes settle on Khitti. Was she going to...uncreepify her personality a wee bit now that the dagger was destroyed? Meri hoped so, and it would result in her keeping a watchful eye on the things Khitti says or does for the entire trip back home.

Khitti stopped and squinted at Brand. How did this guy get around so long without running into anything supernatural-esque? How did normal Khitti fall in love with a dude that could be rather dudebro-y and dense at times? How? How was this a thing? Soulless Khitti had that look of ‘I’m screaming on the inside right now’ as she eyed him. Lionel finally took that dagger though and was about to do the thing. “Thank frakking god, someone made a deci--,” Khitti had started to say. But, then there was this strange tingling when the dagger was destroyed. So -that’s- what it was like to get your soul back. The tingling was so strange that she’d even make an odd face at it, but then everything switched gears all of a sudden in her body. Huh. Wait, no. This is bad. This is really bad. “Owwwwwww!” Cue lots of swearing. Yep, that’s definitely Khitti. There was even a bit of a tears because frakking hell everything was pain. “Can… can we never do that again? Please? Ever? Can we just burn the town on the way out too? All of it?” We hates this place, precious. We -hates- it. It’s really a wonder Khitti’s even standing. Amos had… not been kind to her after her kidnapping. There was definitely a few broken ribs. “Home. Now. Please. Ring. Brand. Please. Now.” Your woman’s not going to shut up until you use that fire ruby ring she gave you forever ago. You know, the one that’s linked with the portal on the ship? Do the thing. Doctor Strange it up in here.

Brand || Yes, Khitti, how did you ever fall for someone so dense? He hadn’t pieced together that she’d been soulless. For all he could tell, she’d been quiet since the flayer died because of trauma or something. It wouldn’t have surprised him. But then the dagger is destroyed, and everything makes sense. And Khitti is much more… Khitti. Durr. In hindsight, Brand realizes, it was pretty obvious something was still off with her. The least he can do is not frak up the portal ring. “Uh, sure thing. Let’s go home before something else creepy comes our way?” And so it goes.

Lionel watched over his sister for a time, worried something unforeseen and vile might yet happen. It didn’t. With parting words, he turned and exited on to the deck, fully intending to leave the Tranquility behind once again. Staring out over the edge of the bow, he remembered a moment he’d once shared there with Esche not so terribly long ago. Khitti was now rescued, but the elf was still nowhere to be found. Never for a moment did Lionel suspect his sister had been slain, but ominous uncertainty began to weigh heavily on his heart over the fate of his friend. It was as if, whether Esche was alive or otherwise, the friend himself was gone. He couldn’t explain it. He chalked it up to an overactive imagination. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d self-deprecated himself into flights of malevolent fancy. Yet Lionel never left the ship that night. Instead he stayed, perched upon the bow, reminiscing.

Meri was given a lift back to Cenril via ring. She'd stick around and help out long enough to make sure everything was okay with Khitti -- that she was indeed back to her normal self and was not too banged up. Ultimately though, once she was settled, Meri would return home. Khitti had Brand, Lionel and an entire crew to look after her, so once Meri determined she was as fine as she could be all things considered...Meri returned home to let Cal know she didn't die or anything dramatic like that.