Caio taps both girls and points towards Clarissa across the room. He makes to walk over, but stops as Shiva is approached by a man wearing a similar bracelet as hers, and he quickly puts two and two together. "I suppose Nikolai did have a point after all. Don't be too long." he says with a roll of his eyes, though he does relinquish a little smile. Ghoul precedes him as he approaches with just Ling for the moment. The cormorant flies to the table and lands, wings outstretched, with a single obstinate squawk at Clarissa. Caio is there a moment later. "My friends and I would like to talk." 

Shiva looks up in surprise at the arrival of the mountainous yet timid half-orc, her gaze quickly darting between his eyes and his bracelet. She then turns to Caio, "I'll be there in a moment." She says with a tinge of embarrassment in her voice.

Turning back to the half-orc, she regards him curiously, "Hello, I'm guessing that you've been sent by our Mistress?"

Clarissa barely bothers to throw Caio a bored glance.

"Back for more already?"

The half-orc speaking with Shiva nods almost imperceptibly.

"Follow me please," he tells her, quietly leading the tiefling of towards the side of the hall.

Wordlessly, Shiva follows the half-orc.

The half-orc leads Shiva between writhing piles of intertwined limbs and bodies and into a darkened alcove where he opens a shadowy door. The passage on the other side appears to lead into a different part of the catacombs. He gestures to Shiva to pass through.

Shiva hesitates in the doorway, giving the half-orc a questioning look. Then, with a deep intake of breath, she steps through the door.

The half-orc waits impassively for Shiva to pass through, then closes the door behind them and leads her away through a labyrinth of winding tunnels. They walk for several minutes in relative silence.

"Couldn't resist." his voice drips with ire. "We've come for answers, Clarissa. Are you simply a stalker with a fetish for tieflings, or is there a purpose behind your intimate knowledge of my infernal friends?"

Clarissa snorts a laugh into her wine and saves a hand non-chalantly at her entourage, who rapidly scatter to other tables.

"Nothing so sordid, I'm afraid. Merely a gift. Does it bother you?"

Her emerald eyes sparkle as she holds Caio's gaze.

Eventually coming to find the silence oppressively heavy, Shiva speaks, "So, may I ask your name?"

Caio takes one of the seats, and Ghoul comes to roost on his shoulder protectively. "What bothers me is the idea that there is someone watching our little group, someone who claims to know things about us that we do not."

Clarissa continues to s****** to herself.

"Darling, watching would suggest that you hold my attention." She takes a bored sip of her drink before adding, "I just told you what I saw."

 "Mateusz, my lady," Shiva's guide tells her simply. They reach a low wrought iron gate in the stone walls, which he unlocks with a key from his belt, before gesturing to her to enter. 

"Ah, thank you Mateusz." With a small, playful bow, she enters.

     Astrid glances back and forth as everyone scatters to the wind after the uncomfortable conversation has left her standing there with Nikolai. "I will be more than happy to help you find our path. Let's go on back inside then?" As they walk back towards the entrance of The Black Sheep, she offers a bit of her observation "You all seem to run offly high on emotions around here. I hope we can reign that in so no one ends up getting hurt."

Nikolai does not respond to the first question, silently brooding as he is, but does let out a heavy sigh at the second statement. "Yes, we are a bit volatile at times. Moreso now I feel because of this..." he gestures vaguely. "Temporal disturbance? Psychic attack? I don't even know what to consider it. I feel like we are all very unbalanced. Normally, I am a bit more calm and collected, but since this ring appeared... I find myself feeling off-balanced and less in control sometimes. This is all the while this voice inside my head speaks to me saying that I need to learn more control."

     "Yes. All this seems a bit strange... The fact that I was drawn to you all the same evening you all started having your problems. Well, perhaps a little knowledge will help everyone's minds stay at ease." Astrid continues to guide them to the front door of the inn. She reaches for the handle and stops before pulling it open. "What did she mean 'going back home'," she nods in the direction Alaris was heading. "Is she from here?"

Once Shiva has passed through the gate, Mateuz closes it and locks it behind her. Ahead of the tiefling is a stone spiral staircase leading up. When she turns to look over her shoulder, Mateusz has left.

Caio remains stoic. "I suppose that's a relief. Attention is dangerous, I'm sure you understand my concern. I'd rather overestimate someone's knowledge than be surprised by it."

Hearing the gate lock, Shiva quickly reaches back and gives it a slight push. When it doesn't budge, she turns to face the spiral staircase, "...well shit."  she whispers. Taking a last look back to the gate, she begins her ascent.

Clarissa rolls her eyes.

"Are you always this serious? Are your people incapable of a little frivolity, or is just you?"

The stairs lead up for some way, before emerging through a section of a wooden panelled wall into a large dark hall of what looks like an old manor house. Doors and corridors lead off in several directions and an enormous grand staircase runs up the middle, before dividing at the back of the room. Art lines the walls and a huge chandelier hangs overhead.