"Y-Yes s-sir," Taran says, having already gathered all of his supplies and thanked the Captain for the journey. He stands by the gangplank to escort Seipha.

You all head through the portals and come out at Kasshta (I'm never going to pick a spelling for that) Keep. You come out and are promptly taken to a debrief room, where Ranari has been joined by an unfamiliar woman with a shaved head and complicated tattoos across her arms.

Ranari gives Siepha a soft smile, then addresses all of you. "This is Riannoass, she's our local expert on the Storm Guardians. She's just here to listen. Your report? It sounded like you got up to quite the interesting series of activities up north."

“Interesting is putting it lightly.” Vishal says with a smile. “As you know our fight against the dragon didn’t end with us succeeding in the traditional sense. And then there was the Inspired who were trying to ambush and capture us.”

"B-But w-w-we d-d-d-did s-s-succeed, an-and w-w-we es-escaped, th-though it w-w-was only b-b-because of the y-yetis," Taran adds, eyes flicking between the Trailblazer and Riannoass, "Th-Then w-w-we en-encountered the Akiak, an-and a-a-aided th-them. I-In e-exchange f-f-for g-g-guidance g-g-getting t-to the r-r-rendezvous."

Akuma glances between everyone before nodding and speaking simply, arms crossed. "We also got caught within a Reality Storm that costed us some additional travel time..."

"Reality storm ... Very scary ... Big dragon." Kaori coos from the corner, looking between Riannoass and Siepha and cocking her head slightly before returning to standing like a statue, hidden within her armour.

Caelius signs,

Riannoass listens to the various reports with a focused and thoughtful expression, clearly easily picking up Caelius's sign language and asking no questions.

Ranari, on the other hand, looks a bit confused. "So, to put together a timeline of events. You traveled to the mountains. Fought Siepha and retreated. Were hunted by Inspired and ran into Liana while escaping the mountains. Made your way to the Tundra with Liana, discovering at some point that she was Siepha in disguise. Assisted the Akiak, traveled from their base to meet Murephan and Kelki and at some point on that journey ran into a...reality storm? And another dragon?"

“Yup that sums it up. Except the second dragon was in the reality storm so my guess is it was just a vision of the past or something.” Vishal says clearing that up hopefully 

Taran nods, "G-Going af-after S-Siepha w-was a tr-tr-trap. Th-they h-h-had a-a pl-platoon r-r-ready to t-t-teleport in af-after us. Nirdaya w-w-was th-there, a-again."

Ranari nods. "But you still managed to succeed. Quite impressive." She smiles. "You're dismissed. Rest, recover. You've done what very few have before. I expect we'll have something new for you within a few weeks, but for now, you have time for yourselves. You'll find funds waiting in your rooms. And Siepha, I believe Riannoass wanted a word in private."

Siepha looks down and nods silently.

"I-I-If y-y-you n-n-need an-anything," Taran says, putting an hand on Siepha's elbow, "J-Just a-a-ask, I-I'm u-u-usually w-working in th-the m-medical wings... or I-I m-might h-h-head h-h-h-home t-t-to Tashalatora. I-I h-h-have a pr-project t-t-to w-w-work on."

Bowing to the Trailblazer and Esteeemed Riannoass, then headed out and to his quarters.

You all split up for your varied forms of downtime. Two weeks later, you're called to a meeting room in Kaashta Keep, where Ranari is sitting with a young woman with a shaved head and the usual black shift of Riedran commoners. Between her clothes and obvious extreme nervousness, it is obvious that the woman is Riedran, and is keeping quiet for now. Ranari has a small box on the table in front of her, and she looks incredibly serious, though there's a spark of excitement in her gaze. "Have a seat. Miira, this is our team. Guides, this is Miira, a commoner from the town of Borutesh. She is here to ask for our help. Miira, I'll let you tell them what you need from us." She gives the young woman a reassuring nod.

Miira bites her lip and edges forward a bit before speaking softly. "I...I was a farmer in Borutesh. Our Inspired, Shiaali...she saw me. Like nobody else did. But we cannot pair in Riedra. So she sent me here to get help." She looks up, eyes wide with determination and cautious, desperate hope. "If you bring her here, she will tell you everything she knows. Her il-altas," Miira's voice falters briefly as she speaks the word, but pushes on, "is in charge of the military operations for all of Rhiavaar. Please," she adds softly.

Ranari nods. "Needless to say, having a Chosen's information would be invaluable. And you five are the perfect team, especially given that Borutesh is nowhere near Nirdaya's sphere of influence. You have plenty of experience in Riedra, you're adaptable and suited to covert transportation, and you've succeeded on just about every mission we've sent you on so far. You'll do most of the travel through Syrkarn and only be in Rhiavaar for a little bit. You'll enter Syrkarn underwater, taking one of our experimental vessels from the Ruukosi port up the River Qitha until you're past the border forts. Then you'll go overland and slip across the northwestern border. The trip to Borutesh should be easy enough, which is good because the easy part will be over once you get there. Shiaali refuses to just fight her way out, because of what it'll mean for any of her subjects who raises a blade against a Chosen, even a deserting one. To sneak her out, you'll need to work with her once you get there, which will mean you need covers. The simplest explanation for your weapons and abilities are that you're Edgewalkers." She sets five iridescent crystals on the table. "These will identify you as Edgewalkers. However, Vishal and Kaori will also need these." She puts two rings on the table. The rings each hold a chunk of black crystal. "Kenku and kalashtar are far from welcome even in the Edgewalkers. These will allow you to alter your appearance to seem less...memorable, as an illusion. Vishal's yours will just make you look a little less otherworldly, get rid of the unusual eyes and such. Kaori, yours will change your appearance completely, make you look like a young human woman. They are still illusions, so try to avoid being touched, and if someone is using detect magic or truesight, they'll see through it. So be careful around Thousand Eyes. This will be your first time openly moving around a Riedran community long-term, so remember. They have no concept of privacy, you will likely be almost constantly monitored, both by the Thousand Eyes and more passively by the general populace. Do not draw attention to yourself. Most of Riedra's populace has been brainwashed into being content with their lot, no matter how bad it is. They won't take kindly to you trying to help them." She puts three scrolls on the table. "Finally, Shiaali is a Chosen, which means her quori can possess her at will. Should that happen, these will help, as will you preparing any of these spells. Questions?"

The scrolls are scrolls of magic circle, protection from evil and good, and dispel evil and good.

Kaori is standing near the door, in her full armour, practically bouncing with happy energy, until the ring and plan are brought up.

"What about crr Speaking?" Kaori asks softly, looking at the ring with a bit of sadness. "Talking crr Hard coo Not human."

"Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about that," Ranari says regretfully. "You'll need to stay quiet when possible. Or come up with a cover story. You're Edgewalkers after all, some pretty strange things can have happened to you."

 "Th-The r-r-ring," Taran says nodding towards it, "Kaori, y-y-you c-can s-say..." Taran stops, takes a deep breath and speaks slowly, "I lost my voice due to magic. This ring helps me speak by repeating what you say. M-Most m-m-magic, fr-from wh-what p-people h-have t-t-told m-me is g-g-general, th-they m-might f-figure o-out you h-have a r-ring with i-illusion m-magic, b-but r-repeating s-sounds w-w-with m-magic w-w-would b-be an il-ilusion."

Taran turns back to Miira, "M-M-Miss M-Miira, c-c-can y-you t-t-tell u-us about th-the people? Wh-Who w-w-we sh-should b-b-be c-c-cautious ab-about, b-because th-they m-might g-g-get s-suspicious? A-Any w-w-ways y-you f-f-found t-to sn-sneak i-in t-to s-s-see M-Miss Shiaali? D-Did y-you a-a-arrange a w-way f-for h-her t-t-to r-recognize us?"

Miira ducks her head the moment she's looked at, then replies quietly. "The people of Borutesh are typical Riedrans. We-they follow the Path of Inspiration, watch their neighbors for signs of corruption, and are content with their place. Shiaali has an oni bodyguard, Kalah, who will not want you to take her from the village. He goes with her everywhere, but Shiaali would paralyze him when we needed privacy. Shiaali would select me to be her servant as often as she could without raising suspicion. There is also the Thousand Eyes agent in the village, a changeling named Fali. She listens to all of the living quarters through a crystal." She takes a deep breath. "She knows you will be the Edgewalkers coming to Borutesh, she is the one who put in the request. She claimed that the wild zone nearby, the Tangled Verge, is growing out of control and she needs a team of Edgewalkers to deal with it."

"The Tangled Verge is also how you'll be getting out of there," Ranari adds. "Once you take Shiaali, getting past the border forts won't be as simple as it was to enter Riedra. So you'll head southeast through the Verge and cross the border that way."

Taran nods, "I-I-I sh-should b-be able t-t-to n-navigate it, d-d-dealing w-w-with tw-two sh-shapechangers c-c-could b-b-be tr-tricky, b-b-but w-we sh-should assume more agents. Th-The r-r-real d-difficulty c-c-comes w-with ad-adjusting t-to h-her pl-plan an-and d-d-dealing with c-complications. C-Can't d-d-do m-much ab-about those n-now." Taran fiddles with his straps, "Th-This al-almost s-s-sounds t-t-too e-easy, t-too t-tempting. And af-after our l-last m-mission was a tr-trap... I'm tr-trying to th-think of all th-the an-angles b-but w-w-we j-just n-need to be f-f-faster th-than them."

Ranari snorts. "Trust me, this is far from easy. You'll need to infiltrate a Riedran village, quietly extract a Chosen, make your way through a wild zone, and keep her quori from taking over and killing you all for two thousand miles of travel. And that's before those complications you mentioned come up. Be careful."

Caelius watches Miira carefully, and signs,

 He looks to Ranari,