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DARK
Well, this was gonna go some kind of way.
Mythal sat down at the table, practically dropping into the wooden chair. As he did, the waitress that had escorted him up to the balcony handed him a menu and laid out a few more on the table itself. “Can I start you with something to drink?” she asked sweetly.
“Whiskey, straight, thanks,” he ordered with a half-hearted smile as he briefly glanced at the menu before putting it down. The waitress finished writing down her note about the order and gave him a generous nod before heading back back to the bar.
It had been a long time since Mythal had been to the Oak Inn. It had actually taken him some time to remember what had brought him in the first place, before he recalled that he and Seri had acted as guards and then detectives for an impromptu murder. It had created quite the troubling situation between the two of them and it had only been solved by swallowing down his pride and going to see Serilda. What had followed had been… quite the rigorous love making that had finally allowed them to address where they were in their budding relationship. It had been a big step for Mythal at the time. How ironic then that he was back here for someone else’s big step.
Vriko had agreed to meet. At this point, she was painfully aware that her escape had been a sham excuse to let her go and have Gren tail her. In the end, the former Rune Knight had opted to tell her the truth from the beginning so as not to deceive her. She’d allowed him to stay around and over time, she had learned to trust him. He provided reports about her health and safety to Mythal and Serilda for a good portion of their time together. But in recent months, his reports hadn’t been coming as often -- mostly because he’d been actually training Vriko to harness the physical power she possessed. And to be fair, Mythal and Serilda had been otherwise engaged, what with their responsibilities with the Rune Knights being heightened due to the war. It had come as a shock when Vriko had popped up during the mission to O Palácio Flutuante, especially considering who she had partnered with. Gren had reached out first before they got the details, asking if Serilda and Mythal were available to meet not only himself but Vriko and Dorian.
Of course, Vriko wanted nothing to do with going anywhere near their home. So Gren had chosen a fairly neutral ground for the meeting to take place. How combative Vriko was going to be was still to be determined. Mythal leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. Unfortunately Serilda was going to be late; the twins had left a bit of a mess to clean up and she had insisted that he go ahead of her and that she would follow along shortly. He would have felt much better with her there. But perhaps a little liquid courage would help him feel more grounded.
The sound of footfalls on the stairs caught his attention and he turned, fully expecting to see the waitress with his drink. But instead he found Vriko ascending to his level, her crimson eyes falling upon his and narrowing slightly. She was dressed in her usual garb; the plated red and black armor and her sword canister strapped to her hip. She approached the table slowly, having paused at the top of the stairs to clearly reassess how committed she was to going through with her decision. She doubled down and came to a stop just before the edge of the table. “Mythal.”
“Vriko,” he replied coolly before he gestured at the chair across from him. “Have a seat. Or don’t, I ain’t gonna tell ya what to do.”
“Sure,” she replied, just as curtly. She took a step over and pulled the chair out, sliding down into it. She unhooked her canister and hung it over the corner of the chair before she leaned back. “Is your whor-..?” she started to say before closing her eyes and mentally lambasting herself. “Is your wife not coming?”
“Seri will be here. She just had to take care of something with the twins,” Mythal explained. “How ‘bout Gren and Dorian?”
“Gren had to go see someone named… Branwen. A friend of his, I think. And who the fuck cares where Dorian is,” Vriko stated, grumbling when it came to the former Souls member.
“Branwen, yeah, he’s a former Knight as well.”
A small bout of silence fell between the two of them, both averting their gazes and looking every which way. After a moment, Mythal cleared his throat. “So uh… you… look good?” he offered.
“You mean in comparison to squatting in squalor or in prison garb?” she shot back, turning her head to look at him.
“... yeah, I guess? Scourge was tellin’ me about seein’ you the other night. Apparently you got all gussied up.”
“I was not gussied up!” she protested, slamming her fist on the table. After a moment, she took in a deep breath. “Sorry. Everything about that night was… ridiculous. I thought it was going to go one way and instead it went all sorts of fucking sideways.”
“Yeah, I uh… heard. Being around Mercury and them can be a lot if you’re not prepared for it. She’s a good woman at heart; she just likes playin’ around.”
“Being a whore, you mean,” Vriko corrected him. Footsteps on the stairs caught both their attention but they both relaxed again when they saw it was the waitress.
She walked over and put Mythal’s glass down in front of him and then turned to Vriko. “Is there anything I can get for you?”
“Uh… whatever he has, I guess,” she said with a shrug. The waitress nodded and headed back down the stairs. “How are the twins? I guess, my uh… nieces.”
“Good. Almost a year old at this point. They’re quite the energetic pair,” he told her. “I’m sure they’d like to meet their aunt at some point.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why not?”
“Because we’re not really like that, are we? We’re related by circumstance but we didn’t grow up together. I was told you were nothing more than a target; a man I was to defeat and bring back so you could fulfill your purpose. And you only met me because Archimedes followed through with that plan and then tripped at the fucking finish line. Then I still tried to…” she drifted off before she scoffed and shook her head. “The chances of us being anything more is slim to nothing, Mythal. Best to make peace with that now.”
Mythal listened silently, staring at her as she protested. Once she had finished, he was quiet for a few moments more. “If that’s how ya feel,” he finally spoke, giving her a shrug. Who was he to argue? He wasn’t one to force connections or relationships if they weren’t going to happen. Even with all the evolving and maturing he had done thanks to Serilda, he still believed every person made their choice and it wasn’t his business to push that. He didn’t fully believe her; her tone wasn’t as sharp or harsh as it had been before. Gren had softened her up, that much was sure.
Vriko glanced up at him and gave him a soft nod before she returned to waiting for her drink in silence. The waitress returned but alongside her was Gren and Dorian. Mythal rose to his feet to greet Gren, giving the large man a hug before shaking Dorian’s hand. “Everythin’ okay?”
“Fine, fine. Just hadn’t checked in with Branwen in a minute. Plus I wanted to pick up some files from him,” Gren said, sitting himself at the head chair while Dorian moved around to sit next to Vriko.
“You look lovely, linda,” Dorian addressed to Vriko.
“It’s Vriko, dumbass,” she snapped at him.
Gren chuckled. “Where’s Seri? Everything alright?”
His answer would come in the form of a portal opening near them and Serilda stepping through. Gren would once more stand up and move over to hug the woman. “Serilda. You are glowing. How are my lovely grandchildren?” he asked her pleasantly.
Dorian also stood and walked over to greet her. “It is a pleasure to see you again, my dear Field Marshall and in much pleasanter circumstances.”
Once Serilda had finished her greetings and took her seat, everyone else would set themselves down. Vriko couldn’t quite bring her eyes up to meet Serilda’s and she shifted slightly in her seat so that she was closer to Gren. “Thank you for meetin’ us, guys,” Gren said to Mythal and Serilda. “I know I’ve been a little secretive ‘bout all o’ this but I wanted to verify some things myself before bringin’ it to you.” He reached into his knapsack and withdrew the book that Vriko had taken from Genesis’ penthouse. “Some things have happened with Vriko -- things neither one of us can explain. I had a feelin’ it had somethin’ to do with Faera so I set out to try and find some clues. I reached out to Dorian to see if he had some ideas and he remembered somethin’ he’d heard Chishan mention before. Most of the information about the Prime Sins and Divines were kept by the Order and the Dread Masters but there was one thing that was taken from both of them centuries ago. This book is a set of tablets that were carved and etched by a man who had once been a vassal for one of the Divines. He served for a long time and as a reward for his time spent and dedication, he was gifted with the insight to perceive the Divines through the lens of absolute knowledge. He took down what he foresaw, wanting to provide details to humanity for their protection. But the other Divines forbid the knowledge be read. The man’s last acts was to lock the book with a special key and give it to the Order of Souls, asking that they protect the book. The key was given to the Dread Masters.”
“Of course, both sides wanted both book and key. Eventually someone swiped both and hid them away. We had to look through tomes upon tomes of legends and stories before we even found a basic image of the book but once we had, Dorian knew he had seen it somewhere before. Turns out, he’d been to O Palácio Flutuante before its ownership change and on one of his tours of the previous owner’s penthouse, he had seen the book. That’s how he knew it was there. I had planned on tryin’ to get to it myself but Vriko insisted upon hearing Dorian’s… explanation of its owner's interests.” He glanced over at Vriko briefly before continuing. “Luckily, it seems this… Genesis didn’t feel the need to lock it away. It’s enchanted to resist every type of magic, the only means of openin’ it through the key.”
“And you want us to help you find it?” Mythal asked.
“No. I have it,” he interjected. “You probably don’t remember but when I retired from the Rune Knights, I was given several going away presents. My official gift from the Knights themselves was a small golden octagonal box that we had recovered from the ritual site where you were born, Mythal. When I had touched it, it had opened up but hadn’t done much else. We never found anything to connect to it so Branwen had gifted it to me, under the assumption that I would keep lookin’ into it. I only recalled the shape once we had the book in hand and even then, it took me a couple of days. Luckily it hadn’t been destroyed in the fire that burned our house down and I had gathered it with the rest of the survivin’ stuff.”
“So… you’ve opened it then?” Mythal asked.
Gren nodded. “Once we opened it up, it was like the information just placed itself in our heads. The knowledge translated straight into our minds exactly the answer we were looking for.”
“And what, exactly, was the question you had?”
“A few months ago, the Sons of Faera found us. They attacked where we were and very nearly killed everyone. I tried to intervene but one of the Immortal Thirteen was there. Right when I was about to be killed, Vriko interrupted and…” he trailed off for a moment. “She diffused the attack, turned it into butterflies. And Astri, the Immortal Thirteen member, she had… changed. Faera’s corruption was completely gone.”
“What?” Mythal asked, leaning forward and looking completely surprised. “How?”
“Because,” Gren continued. “It seems Vriko is the vessel for Faera’s original power. The Blessing of Love.”
HP: x/y
MP: x/y
Spells Used: list them here
Abilities Active: list them and their effects here
Weapons Equipped: list/link them here
Monsters Killed: list here
Other Notes: reeeeeee this should scroll if you type too much
Last edited by Mythal Ragnos on 3rd October 2022, 1:59 pm; edited 1 time in total