Demand a Favor

For most, it is distinctly miserable to camp during this time of year. The cold is bitter enough to drive most to the city or nearby settlements for shelter and wamrth. For Rune, who has always been more sensitive to the cold, it is an even worse experience. Yet, here she is, bundled up in a thick coat and fur-lined cloak, her nose somewhat reddened from the chill as he extends frost-touched fingers to the warmth of a fire.

The campsite is relatively mundane, a patched tent set against a rock formation to ward off any chill breeze. A couple of log seats form around a smaller campfire, a far cry from the large cooking fires of Mictlan, itself. There is a pot of something cooking off to one side of the flames, with her horse tied to one of the nearby trees, seeming far less impacted by the cold.

The spring was coming. Or so they said - what seemed to come was the gentle melting period of snow, rain and despair, all mingled into a freezy experience, even if the temperatures were not high. For some people, especially those that tended to walk barefoot, it was a miserable experience, as it was cold water spattered throughout.

From the edge of the campsite, a rider had approached, clad in a fur-lined leather cloak. Rapidly dismounting, the rider took hold of the reins and made his way across the camp, briefly pausing to talk to people, to ask directions, and then forcefully make his way across.

Holding a dark glaive, with a singular red ribbon, the ruddy sith-makar called out. "Twin," Aelwyn shouted, a tinge of frustration and urgency in his voice. "Twin!"

The sound of an arrival is enough to have Rune's head lift slightly, ears perking beneath her hood. However, at a distance, she can't quite spot who the figure is. The questioning and answering voices are muffled slightly, but the fact that there is no tone pitched up in alarm is reason enough for the half-sil to return to warming her hands, rubbing them against one another.

That is, until the sound of tromping footfalls comes through the trees in her direction. There is some measure of surprise to see Aelwyn stomping through the mud and melting snow, but more one of concern at the tone of voice being cast in her direction.

She chuffs once, a sound of greeting in Makari before shifting to the common tongue. "Hey Aelwyn. Long time no see." She doesn't really bother explaining her recent absence, at least for now. "Is something wrong?"

The horse was obviously not used to being handled so... carelessly, as Aelwyn made his way along. Rune probably would know that the draconian had not been riding for that long, and now he seemed completely disorientated. Breathing hard, his orange eyes look at her - taking her in. He was not wearing much of anything under the cloak, beyond the usual gear - meaning all the mud had climbed up his leg and stained his loincloth.

The draconian looked absolutely stained.

Hand moves up to pat the horse absently on the head, before he starts to step closer. "Twin," He rumbles, and then bows his head. "This one shall bear the ire and cost for the future, but this one must demand a favour." He takes in another deep breath, trying to calm himself. Perhaps from exhaustion. Or perhaps from the fire boiling inside him. He takes few steps closer. "Verna has been taken by some cruel fey creature." A low and long aggressive growl leaves his throat, rising in a slow crescendo. "... I do not know what to do."

If nothing else, the aggitated state of the Makari before her tells Rune that not everything is right in Alexandria, even after the fall of some of the more fierce of the threats that had loomed over her and her friends. It seems that, perhaps, it was a poor time to have taken weeks away.

Confusion is written across her features. "Since when do you have to demand anything of me?" She shakes her head, lips pressed together in a thin line for a moment. There had been a brief tone of hurt in her voice, but she seems to push whatever that feeling had been to the side for now.

That brow-furrowed puzzlement gives way to a widening of her eyes as he explains. "Verna?" She waves a hand in the air, "You're telling me that the most powerful cleric I'm aware of in the city, maybe even the country, has been taken by a fey?" She groans, reaching a hand up to rub against the bridge of her nose. "Why is it always the damn fey." Sigh. "Tell me the specifics of what happened." She deadpans.

Aelwyn noted the question, but he shook his head. "Because this one cannot afford to hear no." He replies, and then weakly grins at her. "And this one shall pay the price." His grin falls, along with his head. It was hard to reconcile his principles with the world around him. His hand slides across his mane of quills, before he straightens again and gives her a solemn nod.

"Never seen a being a like it before." The draconian then tells her, "A plain man approached her and put his hands around her neck." Another step is taken closer towards her, to impress her the urgency. "He took decades of _her life_. I watched her _grow old_ in front of my eyes, and he threatened to take the rest."

The ruddy sith-makar clearly was angry and frustrated. "Lava- Lava should be told," He suddenly pauses and turns his head, almost as if remembering it suddenly. "They were supposed to scry for the fiend."

"That's the problem with Fey. They can look like anything. A man, a woman, a butterfly, a horror from the depths of your worst nightmares..." Despite the very real threat of this being that Aelwyn speaks of, Rune has dealt with the Fey enough times not to immediately show her own concerns.

Her hand lifts to her throat, however, perhaps all too able to imagine what must have happened to Verna. "Did this being say who they were? Or why they were targeting Verna? What they wanted?" She asks. She knew the intentions of the Corpse Eater and other Fey beings she'd encountered before, but there were plenty where their goals were hazy and unknown.

"I haven't seen Harkashan yet. I was going to catch up with him when I got back to the city." There is some hint of sadness in that, the two have likely not seen each other in a while.

Aelwyn takes a moment to look at her, and then he moves towards the horse; strapping his glaive in place. It seems that he was in such a rush that he didn't even bother to do as much. The cold iron blade gleamed dully. The horse restlessly maneuvered, but he paid it little mind, as his attention fully returns to Rune now.

"We tried." The Dragoon finally says, gritting his teeth. "Reason. Threats. Bribery. Serpent even offered themselves in trade." He shook his head, gritting his teeth in anger at that memory. "It was both lucid and speaking nonsense, but never did it give us anything." A longer pause. "It knew us three but not Serpent and did not want him."

Seeing her expression again, the ruddy sith-makar pauses, and then lightly reaches out to touch her shoulders. "This one apologizes." He bows his head, and then offers her a weak grin. "The times this one saw him, he was doing well, even without his beloved armour." There's a bit of playfulness in his voice returning, but it fades away as the memories of that day return to him, as well.

"At least it looks like you're prepared if it comes to a fight with a Fey." Rune comments on the blade, recognizing the metal. During her preparations against the Corpse Eater, she had tried to track down that material to outfit her allies, so it is all too familiar. "A powerful enough magical weapon can also pierce their protections, just incase you weren't aware." Rune pats one of her two blades.

"I'm afraid I don't know all of your nicknames for your friends, Aelwyn." Rune raises a brow. "Who all was present at the time?" She asks, "Names if you can." If he doesn't remember what was said, it's possible she could reach out to one of the others for more specifics.

His appology draws a small wave of her hand, and the ghost of a smile, "Nothing to be sorry about. I'm not worried about Harkashan. His head is as hard as his armor and he knows that if anything happens to him, I have no problems going to the halls and dragging his sorry ass back here."

Then, dealing with the question of 'what to do', she asks, "Have you talked to Cor'lana or Telamon? They know more about the Fey than anyone else I know, and they're family to Verna."

Aelwyn bows his head towards Rune. "This one shall remember." There's a moment when he ponders about explaining the other trouble he was involved in, but shakes his head. Later, for this is now. "Ah, a recent arrival. Not... friend." There's a bit of grit teeth, but to the other question he shakes his head. "This one knows of, but is not intimate with either of the raven keepers." An apologetic grin appears on his snout again. "Which is the reason for this visit. Twin is the only one with experience I am aware of." His orange eyes look at her, and he attempts to touch her shoulder again. "I apologize I was not there for her fight. It pains me."

The Dragoon had an utterly lost look on his face, as he looks away, to answer her other questions. "Verna, her wife, him, me. And a dead, mummified corpse in an alley." A wry rumble leaves his lips. "And after Verna was taken, neither of us were speaking to each other."

So there is a new arrival to Alexandria which Aelwyn calls Serpent. His nicknames always were a source of curiousity, but Rune doesn't pry into it. Instead, she nods, her brows furrowed. "The only other Fey activity I'm aware of as of late, revolves around the Automaton known as Thoth. I wonder if the one you encountered and the one that claims to be his master are related somehow." She shifts her weight, then extends her hands again towards the fire.

"Did the one who attacked Verna happen to have eyes like blood?" She asks.

Rune isn't dismissive about his pain for missing the fight, but she just offers him another of those whispy smiles before shaking her head, "There will be plenty of other chances to fight at my side, you know that."

At the prospect of being the only one he knows well with Fey experience, Rune sighs to herself. "Well, the raven keepers are first ones I'd speak to, myself. Since this impacts their family, I'm sure they may already be involved."

There's a longer look given to Rune, but then he slowly splits his lips into a grin. "This one is certain. Yet... this one does not wish to receive, nor take, without anything in return." The eyes turn away for a moment, but then they return to Rune. "Besides, this one wished to see how thin slices Twin sliced that creature." Another flash of his teeth, quite macabre this time.

"Thoth is involved with fey? But it is a golem." Aelwyn replies, confused. No nickname for the poor golem. He then shakes his head. "No, they were... grey and then they were the color of rust." He explains. "To this one, it felt more like the man was inhabited, even Verna started speaking nonsense under his grasp."

The fire gets a longing look from him, and then he gestures. "Is there a warmer place in here? For this one has lost feeling in his toes, and this one longs for those embers."

"It was a team effort. Quite a few people were owed a pound of flesh from that one, and we all got it." Rune explains, though it seems to have brought her no great joy. There are shadows of sorrow behind those eyes, even at that triumph.

"There is a Fey being that claims to be Thoth's creator. He has a decaying smell he covers with perfume and eyes like blood, but that may not be his true form. He's been pushing Thoth to find these memory shards, all of which seem to be meant to convince the little golem that the Fey is important to them." Rune shakes her head, a few blue-tipped strands visible beneath the cloak, "I fear it is a ruse, but I haven't figured out what the Fey might want with Thoth."

That said, she looks to the Makari again, "Warm yourself by the fire, Aelwyn, then feel free to join me in the tent. We can head back to Alexandria at first light."

Aelwyn moves closer and then dares to reach out and wraps his arm across her shoulders. "But it is done." The Dragoon tells her. There was a lot else he wanted to talk about, but he held his tongue for now.

At her words, he turns towards the fire, then back at her. "There was other reason this one wanted to reach to you. Verna's wife is very upset at this one. And..." He grits his teeth. "... Sil seem very difficult. If she is family with the raven keepers, this one will need Twin to mediate."

At her offer, he pauses, then glances towards his lazily grazing horse and the rush he was in. "This one rode here the first thing after she disappeared." He tells her. A slow, grin slides on his face. "Tch, and now to be invited into her tent, with heavy clouds like this?" A long breath leaves him, and he lets out a long, low ruminating hiss. "What a fucking travesty, is it not?"