Animal handling: 24

(OOC: Tristan is just blowing off some steam outside the estate.)

As Tristan sees T'bitha walk out of the doors, he struts over. "Hey there. Are you heading into town? If so, would you like some company? I need a walk." Tristan forces a smile, but he looks distracted. 

(OOC: Khessa too has plans for her spare time, of course, but let's first see how the thing with Malekith develops)

”Hey Tristan. Yes, I have some things I wanted to take care of. I’m glad you didn’t walk terribly far. I saw your look when Ozemon spoke to you. Something he said triggered you, but I don’t know what. Would you be willing to share what vexes you? You can talk to me while I get my hair changed up. I think it is time I changed my look up. I just learned from Ozemon that there are potential shadowhunters here in the city. I figure if I change my looks a little, it might throw them off some.”

T’bitha walks briskly down the streets to where she knows to receive the services she is seeking, listening to Tristan all the while.

You grew up in a small farming community, Khessa, so it make sense you're good with horses. You manage to move up to the horses, and completely unbuckle them without spooking them even in the slightest. You adjust the canvas cover on the carriage, peaking in. There are a handful of chests, a few paintings, and footlockers, no people nor babies, but there is a plant. What appears to be a dancing blueberry bush, which turns and locks eyes with you, with its big, buggy eyes. And it just stands there, staring at you, now un-moving.

Khessa is relieved that there is luggage in the carriage for a journey, rather than hostages or prisoners. Perhaps, after all, the young drow is a friend of Malekith and is helping him prepare for departure. Perhaps. Meanwhile, she wonders what kind of plant it was that seemed to look at her from inside the carriage (Nature: 16).

However, the blonde arcane warrior takes her position on the other side of the carriage from the direction the drow should return from and waits. As soon as the drow returns, she shows up and (even though she actually is alert and ready for anything) she greets him with a big smile: "Hi! I work for Ozemon and I'm looking for Malekith! He's here, right?"

Hadi followed along with T’bitha to help with the shopping. He's quite up on the latest fashions and styles and browses a bit himself though decides not to make any purchases quite yet, instead asking where he might be able to buy some arcane papers and inks instead. "No wonder my family had to invest so much. These damn studies are quite expensive..." he thinks to himself. Continuing along he asks, enjoying the sites of the town feeling rather carefree, "What are these shadowhunters? And why might they be following you?"

You study the plant for a moment and with a 16 arcana check (instead of nature), you realize this is an awakened shrub. Some powerful practitioners of natural magics are capable of providing intelligence to plants and beasts, and this plant is the outcome of this magic.

However, while hiding and waiting for this blue skinned elf to return, you hear in the back of your mind, in a familiar voice you've heard once before "I recognize you. So tell me, what are you doing hiding behind my carriage?"

Hadi, Ozemon tells you there is a small mages' outpost (think of it as a community college) within the city of walls of Whiteridge where you can easily pop in and purchase papers and inks required for copying spells. You can also purchase scrolls and new books if you'd like. It's located in the upper district where all of you currently are, so it's an easy trip over to it.

(OOC: I switched your check to an arcana check, Khessa. You know it's a blueberry bush, it was easy enough to tell without a check. Hadi, let me know how much you're spending on spell scribing materials.)

Where did Khessa hear the voice before? Does she recognize who is speaking? Or it's just an impression,  but she can't tell exactly?

Anyway, if she recognize the voice and it is of Malekith or of a friend of him, she replies that she only wished to speak with Malekith, but she hid as precaution, seeing an unfamiliar drow, because she knows there might be shadowhunters around.

If not... she asks who is talking to her, before replying.

"I have some business to take care of." Dimitri says to the others when their conversation is finished, then he limps away without further explanation.

He goes back to his hovel in the Quarter, and he looks for his crew on the day they did that botched breaking-and-entering, at places he knows drudges like them and himself like to frequent. Cheap taverns, gambling den, etc. He checks in to see if the guards are continuing giving them trouble, or if any of them has already gotten locked up. He also tries to figure out what went wrong on that evening. Who were responsible to do the scouting and make sure no one was there, who had slipped up. At the meantime he pokes around and asks about Ozemon, though he keeps it on the down low and only talks to people he trusts, see if anyone has worked for him before, and if there's any story about him. 

Perception: 17 

(On mobile)

T’bitha is pleasantly surprised that Hadi is walking with her and Tristan. She winces a moment realizing nobody really knows much about her.

”They are specialized mercenaries who hunt down Drow who are unfaithful to Lloth, especially those who denounce their Goddess and represent Eilistraee instead. My worry is that who is out looking for me might be a specific Drow who I was betrothed to and try to convince him to follow me.  I managed to escape by Eilistraee’s will.  I am sure he would like nothing more than to bring me in for an inquisition by the priestesses of Lloth.”

"Betrothal at your age?! Bah!" Hadi says with a smile as he almost skips down the street with his friends. "We're far too young yet for that. You have to be able to enjoy yourself a bit more first! Also, those colors do look quite good on you, though you really should have splurged for the silks. They feel so much better on your skin." He then drags the others quickly into the mages outpost and puts on a good show of looking like he'll buy something, but instead says, "Actually, I'll be back a bit later. But it's good to know you're here!" deciding instead to save his money for when it's actually needed.

T’bitha slowly nods and considers Hadi’s words, “I agree with you. Unfortunately, it is the society that determines those rules.  While I was genuinely in love with D’gardron at the time, I also was slave to the societal norms and being betrothed is something I had no choice on.”

T’bitha thinks retrospectively, “But, now I am free to be my own person and woman. I will not be put under the thumb of society again.”

She goes into the mage shop and admires all the unique magical items displayed. “What about you, Hadi? You seem to have a flair for courting every woman we’ve met back in Wakefield. Are you a romancer?” 

"I...I shouldn't have acted as I did. I need to apologize to Ozemon." Tristan says as they walk. Closing his eyes briefly, he continues "You know that feeling when something bad happens. The feeling that whatever happened was just a dream, a hallucination. Well, I have been feeling like that...since I came out of the forest. Since Ozemon told me how long had passed. It felt like it was all a nightmare. That I would just wake up in my bed. Hear the sound of my fathers pen on parchment. Smell my mothers perfume. Anyway...when we stepped into the old city, saw the ruins of my home...It suddenly felt real. Everything I knew is gone." 

T’bitha cautiously reaches towards Tristan. She already knew how Dimitri felt about physical contact. She was unsure how Tristan would react. However, she did know that sometimes a gentle touch could be reassuring if an individual was not feeling guarded. She takes the chance and places her hand on Tristan’s shoulder.

”Tristan. I cannot comprehend the hurt and confusion you must be feeling right now. I honestly have nothing to relate to that experience. What I do know though, is that this experience and the feelings you have are affecting you, possibly to a traumatic level. I don’t think you need to apologize to Ozemon. I understand why you think that; however, this event is difficult for you.”

T’bitha thinks a moment and continues, “Sometimes, I think, if you contextualize moments of happiness, it may help you find peace and some closure. I am always available to you…to anyone, for that matter, to listen. I don’t know how you feel about this, but…”

She pauses, “If you ever feel the need to cry, I can be nearby. Tears are a wonderful way to help initiate the healing process.”

She gives Tristan’s shoulder a gentle squeeze with her small, lavender-colored hand. She gives his upper back a short circular rub to easy any stress and steps back to give him any space he might want.

Tristan doesn't seem to notice T'bitha's touch "Ozemon knew. He knew who built that city and he sent me regardless. He sent me to walk on their graves, and in doing so we released something that my people locked away for a reason. I have failed my duty, T'bitha, and who knows who will pay the price." 

He looks guilty as he meets her eyes, but for an entirely different reason. "I am sorry, this is not your burden to carry. You were saying something about shadowhunters? What exactly are those?"

“We all have our burdens, Tristan. Our friends and those we can trust make carrying them a little easier. Please don’t be sorry.” She looks up at Tristan with her purple-hued eyes.

”Maybe you haven’t failed your duty, but rather you have yet to fulfill your duty? Is it possible that the reason you were in such a long spell is because someone knew you were needed for this moment, eons later?”

She looks to Hadi and Tristan together, “Shadowhunters. Well, that is the burden I carry. They are specialist drow who hunt to capture or kill those unfaithful to Lloth. I am such a target the High Priestess would love to bring in and hold an inquisition. That is why I hide within the walls of Ozemon’s estate.  That is the reason for this change.” 
T’bitha motions to her outfit and runs a lilac-colored hand thru her short, bobbed white hair.

”And thank you, Hadi. While silks would be comfortable, I fear it may attract too much attention to me.”

"Oh, Malekith!" Khessa exclaims pleasantly surprised "I was looking for you! But instead of seeing you or Khashana, I saw another drow... so I tried to be careful. I heard that there are drow shadowhunters around... and that they might be interested in T'bitha. Or me. Not seeing you, I thought that after all they might be interested in you too... But forget it" the blonde arcane warrior waves her hand (although she has no idea if the other can see her or not) "the important thing is that I found you. Can I talk to you for a moment, please? It would be very important to me".

After that, if the other accepts, the tall warrior-mage (while tying the horses back to the chariot) repeats what she has already told T'bitha and Ozemon, seeking advice on how best to start tracing her family.

Dimitri you look around in all your old locations, trying to get the lowdown on your last crew. After spending a good chunk of the day, you find three of them have been rounded up and imprisoned, and the other was killed by the guard attempting to escape the city. It was a five man crew, and it seems you're the only one alive and free. You didn't notice it until one of your contacts pointed it out, but on the bounty / information boards that are posted all over the city there are wanted posters. One poster for each of the people on your crew. All of which are amazingly detailed. It's been a few weeks now, and like all boards, these posters have been covered up with new posters, though you can tell within the last two days, someone has moved the wanted poster of you back to the top of board. They're most definitely still searching for you. You do run into two folks who have claimed to do work for Ozemon. One said he was offered 10 gold to pick three antique safes he purchased that didn't come with a key. The other was hired to attempt to break into the Ozemon Estate and successfully steal something of value, and point out any risks, so they could be fixed.

Khessa, you're almost certain it's Malekith's voice you're hearing in the back of your head and when you step out from behind the carriage, you catch a quick glimpse of his eyes changing from a strange glowing orange, back to the crimson color they naturally are, just like the first time you had met him. "What brings you to my place, but more importantly to peak into my wagon?" After hearing you reasoning to visit "Well, you should step inside. We can talk easier. For what it's worth though, shadowhunters only hunt other drow. They couldn't care less about anyone else, you're safe." As you begin walking inside the drow leans in closer to you "also, Malak is not a drow, but a sea elf." As you step inside you see a very empty house. Crates are stacked at the main door. Malekith, Malak, and a half-elf teen are all you see in the house. After better explaining the situation, Malekith retrieves a map from a backpack laying near the door. "Without knowing where this was, I can't much help. There are thousands of small drow villages in the underdark. Do you recall where the entrance was?" In front of you is a map containing the entire continent of Aelira and it appears still rolled up are maps of each territory on the continent. "If you can, that will at least help with narrowing it down. If you could lead T'bitha or I to the actual entrance, we may very well be able to tell you exactly what tribe."

Hadi, T'bitha, and Tristan, as the three of you walk, you come across a small ally and the three of you spot a small carving in a wooden door further in the ally. It's the elven symbol for peace, but more importantly, T'bitha, you know it to be the drow variation.

"I can not thank you enough for the help you offer me, Malekith" Khessa stares at the drow with grateful blue eyes. "After capturing the villagers of Twardens, they brought us to a nearby cavern. No villager had ever explore in depht there... why should we have? We were only interested in farming... Anyway, that was the entrance; near Twardens itself - two week walk from the Whiteridge, Rivenis territory borders. So must be..." the blonde arcane warrior looks intently at the maps, partly amazed by the concept of map, something as big as a country or even more, reduced to the size of a table "...here!" she finally points the location "Here is where Twarden was, before getting raided and destroyed. In the underground passages, other members of the raid joined with other prisoners, coming probably from other entry points, but still that should have been the zone" she draws excited a small circle on the map with her finger. "I'll be ready to bring you or T'bitha there at any time. I'll never forget that location. Whenever you have the time to come, just say and I'll guide you there. Even now, if you can. Or from the zone you can tell me something already?"