To give Kal a little time to consider his options, Silthras asks "What do you know of Tel'n'avae? Is it possible that they might oppose the Unmade?"

Raising one hand to his side, Kaz says, "Unmade are evil, and destructive. But they're like forces of nature, acting according to some strange Abyssal compulsion." He raises his other now, "on the other hand, Tel'n'avae is much weaker. Unleashed, it would not destroy the world in a cataclysm...But what it lacks in power it makes up for in cunning. Whispering in the ears of powerful men and women, shaping history to its will."

"I suspect it seeks to use the Unmade for some purpose. But to know its mind and motivations..." He shakes his head. "Impossible."

"So on one end we have unfathomable destructive power, and on the other an immortal schemer. What wonderful odds." Kal lets out a long winded sigh, screwing his eyes shut and raising his own hand in the air. "I have Iven's spark, he passed it to me before he died."

For the first time you've met him, Kaz wears a genuinely surprised look on his face. You can the thoughts, calculations, and questions running behind his eyes, but for a moment he is simply quiet. "Well."

"That is quite a surprise." His gaze flicks up and down the knight, as if looking for proof. "You don't look very special." He pushes off the table now, standing up and crossing his arms. "But maybe that is the point."

The ridiculousness of it all seems to get to him, and he laughs. "How did you all even become involved in this?!"

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The ridiculousness of it all seems to get to him, and he laughs. "How did you all even become involved in this?!"

 Listening to the talk, Usul finally simply shrugs at this last question. Still in disbelieve half of the time to find himself embroiled in such a story when he had set off only a couple weeks before to help a small town at the behest of his mentor.

“For my part, I blame my mother.” Silthras says with an easy smile. “Though I suspect my father also had something to do with it.”

He shrugs and his smile disappears. “For generations, my mother’s family have served a patron. Occasionally they were called upon to perform tasks, and in return they were granted certain powers. My father..." his face looks troubled, but the expression is quickly masked. "...my father's line always had a sorcerous connection to the divine, which I inherited. Not the same kind of connections as Kal’s...” He frowns, pondering what he actually knows of his dead father.

“...at least I don't think so...” He looks off into the distance. Doors that only open to a watcher. He is quiet for a moment before his gaze returns to Kaz, and he resumes his tale.

“In the ruins I received a vision. My family patron’s name is Kor, but I now believe that they are in fact kor'Ahnvae, the spirit of the blade that struck down Iven. Isven was one of three knights that stood against the wielder of the blade, and it was Isven’s blade that sundered it – and the spirit – and drove the corruption out.”

“Kor...kor'Ahnvae...wishes to be made whole again, for me to find the broken shards. I believe that is why I was sent here.”

“Does the name kor'Ahnvae mean anything to you? Does any of this tale mean anything to you?”

"I was just answering a favor called in to my mother..." Sylnora says quietly. Mentioning it now, she realizes she should probably try and get word back home at some point. If someone came looking for her, they wouldn't find her in Silverfair anymore. Not that she particularly wanted to have that argument if they caught up with her.

Kaz shrugs, "as I said before, the name means nothing to me. The names of the spirits bound to the Watchers' weapons are closely held secrets to the say the least. We only found Emel'ohríw''s by a stroke of luck - or fate, I can never tell which."

"We know how the last Calamity ended yes, but we weren't aware that this...Kor, survived it, even splintered as it may be." He makes a face, "I would be careful with such things. The man who wielded that blade was a monster and traitor beyond comparison. Arguably worse than the magi who would become the Unmade."

Syl's comment makes a brow go up, and a smile reappears. "So it really is just by chance then? Fortune may yet be in our favor then."

"Now that we're being honest with each other...What is it you've been trying to do exactly?" He looks to Kal now, "and you: Vanial will want to speak to you when he returns."

"As Silthras said earlier, there seems to be a conspiracy among prominent circles to accelerate or aid the awakening of the Unmade." Kal says. "We were trying to find the depth of that conspiracy, and find allies in high places."

"Then when we came here we found you, and this past day became drawn to this corruption at the temple. We were going to investigate the tunnels again today."

"Aye. All that, and find the ... temples, if that's the right term, of the other watchers. We had hoped to find some alive. But above all: Information. We are in the dark about so much of this. There are so many questions!"

"You said two unmade had awoken...how do you know this? Where are they? Do you know if the other watchers who stood with Isven yet live? They might know how their companion became corrupted and how that corruption was forced onto Kor, and..." he looks a little uncertain, "...where the pieces might be found."

He is quiet for a moment, "And...can we take the battle to them? We can travel to the place the wraiths come from, perhaps there's some means to gain the initiative rather than playing catch-up all the time."

"We do not know where they are, but the signs of their awakening are in the world. Chiefly the wraiths." Kaz moves his head from side to side, "we do not actually know for certain if two are, the cycle can be confusing...but it makes sense. Nashrem was not killed last time. His still being in the world would likely not keep the next from waking."

He shakes his head again. "Like I said, we suspect the one contacting us was one of Iven's fellows, but we don't know for certain if either of them are still alive."

"It's possible. It depends on where the wraiths are actually coming from. You may just be waltzing into a staging area of some kind."

"I think we're maybe starting to get a little excited and ahead of ourselves," Velyra remarks. "I'm glad you turned out to be reliable Kaz, and I'm sure we come with a plan going forward...But right now we need to deal with what's going on in this city." Recalling her vision, and what they had discovered over the past few days, she gestures to the ground beneath them. "The tunnels underneath the city are guarded, and I suspect we'll find they lead into the Crystal Sanctum somehow. You said you had someone who could help us?"

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Syl's comment makes a brow go up, and a smile reappears. "So it really is just by chance then? Fortune may yet be in our favor then."

"Now that we're being honest with each other...What is it you've been trying to do exactly?" He looks to Kal now, "and you: Vanial will want to speak to you when he returns."

 "One man's fortune..." Usul somewhat mumbles to himself before adding, "We're also trying to find that group with the symbol we showed you. Someone... close to us.... is missing and maybe joined in their ranks. Though... more... fortune?... has connected that with the mysteries of the Watchers."

Silthras nods to Usul, "I fear so. By my calculations, the centre of those tunnels should be under the area we are in now and, and it is quite possible that one of the spokes would lead to the temple area. I'd suggest exploring to the hub -- we may find your friend there -- then taking whichever seems to lead toward the temples."

"Just in the short term, it seems we now have quite a list, some of which may be converging." Silthras begins to count on his fingers, "One: Visit Kaz's friend; Two: Find Usul's missing friend; Three: investigate the tunnels; Four: Find Clayus; Five: Investigate the corruption at the temple; and Six: See if we can open some of those doors for Kaz."

"As you both say, two, three and five all point in the same direction -- and may address four, which otherwise has to wait until tomorrow." He turns to Kaz, "How far are these doors of yours and how long until your friend returns?"

Velyra's question seems to make Kaz realize something, "oh right. Nearly forgot I left him out there. Are we done interrogating each other then?" He moves towards the door, but doesn't quite open it yet, leaving the question open.

"Very far, and as your friend has pointed out a more immediate danger," he says with a gesture towards Velyra, "at the bottom of my priority list."

"Which friend do you speak of? Vanial, or the man I came with?" He nods towards the door. "Because the latter one never left us. As a matter of fact..." Kaz throws the door open, "Loghain, come in and introduce yourself."

While the wait for the door to open, Silthras answers Kaz: "Vanial."

"Speaking of..." he says, nodding toward the door, "...has your fellow been through all the tests you wanted us to go through?"

[ That's my cue! :o) ]

With his hood down now, you see stepping through the doorway is a tall young man in his mid-twenties. He has short black hair with a streak of gray running along his part, and dark brown eyes. Underneath a well-made, but old and worn, cloak lined with dark fur he wears pieces of studded leather armor. A blade hangs at his hip, about the length of a rapier but with a curved blade. "Hello." He says, taking a careful look at the people gathered in the room. A thick Ghorzadian accent hangs on his voice, marking him as a native of the conquered country's northwest region. "Loghain Nightsong, pleased to make your acquaintance." He continues, flourishing a bow. 

"I understand you are hunting down the meddlings of Tel'n'avae." He straightens, and his eyes harden. "I can assist you with that."