Growing Tensions

Talus Kahar's House - Living Room - Crown's Refuge


 * Built mostly by his own hands, this is the first structure built by the exiled Emperor of Fastheld, Talus Kahar XIV, as a project to learn self-sufficiency among the denizens of the Wildlands.


 * The main living room area is rather spacious, with room for a couch and several chairs. An L-shaped wooden counter divides this area from the kitchen and dining area. A door leads to his bedchamber.

Vhramis is in much the same spot he was the previous night upon his return, sitting in a chair in the house and staring at a spot on the floor, a deep set frown etched on his face.

The door doesn't open with a creak, instead it opens in much the way an actualy person would open it. Having come face to face with a Draake the previous night Wilesly doesn't seem to be afraid of what he was the previous day. Spotting Wolfsbane, he walks up to the man and is rather frank, "Master Wolfsbane...What are the chances of you telling me what in the Shades is going on?"

The door opens again, Dirk sticking his head into check the room cautiously.

Looking up at Wilesly, Vhramis stares at the man for a moment, before patiently asking, "Aside from what I told you already, what else did you want to know?"

"Birch. The Emperor. Nullifying deeds. A second one of those very elegant statuettes.", Wilesly replies in a somewhat annoyed tone. "How exactly that thing knew my name and ... what this all means to those of us who are out here." As Dirk pops his head in Wilesly sends him a look of pure venom.

Dirk slides into the room, closing the door behind him. He pointedly stands and waits, eyes turned to the ground, and his boots.

"The Drake knows everything. He knows my name. He knows my past. He knows my deepest thoughts. He can read my mind. And yours," Vhramis answers flatly, the man looking sharply over to Dirk. "And yours."

"And then why does it bother? If the thing is all-knowing why does he ask questions? Why does he simply not take?", Wilesly asks with a deep frown. "If it is all powerful as one might suppose what does he care about some orb of quartz...imbued with power of shadow or not? It made it go away simply enough. If it can do as it pleases like that why even bother to ask us the time of day? One does not make threats when they can very well do it at the drop of a hat unless they are simply toying with us or ... scared of something." The last words leave his thoughts as a very ominous musing as he thinks the matter over. He watches Vhramis for a moment longer and repeats, "And what of Birch?"

"I think somethings should remain private things." Dirk interrupts, still staring at his boots. "Maybe that is one thing that should remain sacred, and not shared. Mistress Birch, I mean."

"Perhaps you should ask him. I'm sure he'd tell you all you wanted to know. And more," Vhramis suggests to Wilesly, before his eyes narrow slightly. "And what of Birch, Master Sprigg?" The man glances to Dirk and nods his head.

"Things that involve the safety of Fastheld in its entirety have no more right to privacy than I to make conjecture about the vague allusions of a Drake." Wilesly responds back to Dirk, with an annoyed glance. He turns back to Vhramis, "You were worried that some harm should befall her no? For use of whatever Shadow power remained in the vessel here and the one supossedly kept at the Keep? Suppose in an effort to extinguish whatever transgression Mistres Birch made in the creatures eyes he decided to raze the entirety of the Keep much in the same way he threatened to do to the refuge? Perhaps he might raise Fastheld in its entirety? I cannot guess what is in the realm of the possible for that creature but whose hands should the blood be on?" He sighs lightly as he digresses lightly. "I need to know what is happening to the letter because there are, at least in my own mind, secondary reasons for me being here. All of this is going into a report back to the Imperial Council and with whatever information I can surmise. I would rather that information be correct and in its entirety..."

"And perhaps you're digging for information that doesn't concern you," Vhramis answers back, his voice growing tight. "You may get places throwing your weight about your expedition, Sprigg, but you have no authority in the slightest over me. Nor am I compelled to share things with you. You can rant and rave about potential catastrophes, but the Drake and I have an agreement, and he is to be trusted to his word."

"You have an agreement /this time/, Master Wolfsbane. What if there is another slip up? Some great misbalance on whatever scale the Drake decides to use? You are quite correct I have no authority over you and I never professed to have any. I need to know what is going on so that my benefactors, my friends, those who I would have be my family, don't go up in some puff of smoke all because of some stupid want of /privacy/.", Wilesly replies in a near shout, his fist coming down on the table. "I will find out /exactly/ what is going on Master Wolfsbane...with or without your cooperation. You have been most kind in offering us a place to stay and seeing to our wounds, showing us what you may want us to see, and all that...but now I cannot stand by idly while some threat to the very things I hold dear decides that it is just too much trouble dealing with them. What can I do to stop such a thing? Nothing. At the very least I can get back some sort of accurate picture of what it is that they should be cautious of."

"I don't think Ashylnn is that important." Dirk saids, still standing by his original words, even if most of the focus isn't directed at him minus a few venemous and annoyed glances. "That's just me though, I guess."

"The threat to you, Master Sprigg, is in the very thing you saw assaulting the gates of this settlement upon your arrival," Vhramis growls, rising to his feet and taking a step towards the man. "The Drake removes the reminents of the Archmage's influence. Should there be those in Fastheld who have made deals with the man, then it goes beyond my scope."

"It's not about me I am worried.", Wilesly replies darkly. "Well then it shall be up to me to make inquiries, pose conjecture, and write reports. I'm sure those on the Council who read the report will know what to do with them." He reaches to grab his cloak where he has left it and pull it about his person. "Again Master Wolfsbane I regret what little respect that I may have had in your eyes being lost but a man cannot be blamed for doing all he can...". He continues preparing to leave the house for some purpose.

"The threat to everything you hold dear is that which attacks Crown's Refuge," Vhramis grunts, crossing his arms at his chest. "Unless you think they'd be glad to stop after they killed and ate the lot of us here." He rolls his eyes at the last bit. "And don't be so dramatic, moaning over respect gained and lost or whatever it is. It's not the time for it."

Dirk steps out of Sly's way. "Light's Keep, Master Sprigg."

Wilesly stops at the door to cast a light smirk Vhramis' way. "I can't help myself sometimes. Force of habit from the past and it usually works quite well.", Wilesly quips, his mood changing rather suddenly as if he was just reciting the line from a play. "I'm going to check with the Pride of Darkwater and see when we can get out the first request for more reinforcements and when we can get the warning out so they won't be caught so much by surprise." He requistions his cap and tipping it lightly exits the house at a near sprint.

"Likely he's already been to, and left, Fastheld," Vhramis states to Wilesly flatly. "And save it for a place where there are theaters."