ROLEPLAY

The Eclipse

"Cirrus" waited in the pouring rain. A strange grin twisted his face. Dripping, he blessed - who? Jena? He believed as much as a Yubo in Lutrukyn - for such a thankless time. All the conditions were right, and events were pushing him to it.

"We" had found out. It didn't matter to him who it was. His entire infiltration was in danger.
"Cirrus" had therefore taken the decision to disappear, he and his spy.

He patted his dagger beneath his water-soaked cloak. Then, as the wind blew a strong gust, the spy dashed forward. The Avalae guards did not see the shadow, as dark as the starless sky, stride alertly across the space between the edge of the alder grove and the city fence.



Staeflina smiled. It was good to sleep at home. The clammy, suffocating smell had left the apartment. Now it smelled of fragrant wood. She had taken some seeds, the ones Serae Liosta had recommended. The lack of hallucinogen tormented her a little, but - thanks to Jena - sleep was not disturbed. Sleep was not long in coming, covering her eyes with a restful veil. The embers in the fireplace were giving off their last glow. Then thoughts began to tangle, telling tangle-free stories. The head empties of worries. And you sink...



It was better not to warn her, not to wake her until the last moment. Everything had to be done quickly, very quickly. Nonetheless, he lit a candle and, spotting a parchment on a chest of drawers, set about aligning a few words. He knew Staeflina's handwriting better than anyone...

However, he couldn't have known that his spy had abandoned her Zoraic ways of expressing herself, which she had adopted to appear more naive.

So he wrote a vague letter of apology, borrowing words from the Taki zorai.

He turned to the woman he still believed to be his accomplice. He noticed the Karavan teleportation artifact Staeflina was using. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. However, it would have been foolish to leave it behind. So "Cirrus" threw it into the embers of the fireplace.

It was amazing, the calm waters of dreams, where sleepy homins usually drift ... had suddenly turned into a raging ocean! In Jena, the peaceful starry sky! Now it's a hurricane! The dreamer's boat is tossed in all directions...

Staeflina opened her eyes, awakening from sleep. She was surprised to find that the tossing was real and not the result of an illusion. She was placed on a mektoub, and behind her, seated on the saddle, a stout homin was guiding the animal. Glancing over her shoulder, Staeflina recognized... "Cirrus". Cirrus"

Far away, the embers cooled, leaving a strange object almost intact among the ashes, on which one could still make out a Karavan sign...
And on the threshold of the apartment a green badge, fallen from Staeflina's collar.

Duke had finally obtained the information he wanted from the herbalist about Cirrus's drug:
- It's just as we told you, transformed Gibbai flesh.
The dark-haired Matis, still impassive, added:
- But here, the process of making the substance is highly ingenious and difficult to reproduce. Who made this?
- The product seems to be circulating among marauding clans.
- hmm, sounds a bit too elaborate for non-Matis. Vaporization gives the drug more potency, and above all makes it much simpler to administer. It's a wonder they have such mastery...
He said nothing more, and Duke didn't insist, given the difficulty he'd already had meeting this discreet character.
After a long pause in the conversation, Duke bowed to his indecipherable interlocutor:
- Fila Ser...
The homin cut him off as he replaced his black helmet:
- Deles necat.
He soon disappeared into the forest as he had come.
Strange.

Duke hadn't been back to Avalae for quite some time. Between the Yrkanis market and excursions to the lakes, he had taken little time to rest. He wanted to talk to Liosta about Cirrus, but as he couldn't find her, he decided to pay a visit to Staeflina to check up on her.
Arriving at the foot of the tree house, he spoke to the janitor, who hadn't seen Staeflina for a long time and initially refused to let him up.
- I'm telling you she's suffering, I must speak to her without delay, and preventing a Noble Matis like Me from accomplishing His mission for His House and the Kingdom will only get you into trouble, believe me.
Despite his slightly overplayed threats, Duke did not spare himself a few dappers, but was still able to gain access to the upper floors...

Arriving at the threshold of the apartment, he gently picked up the Firm's badge from the floor and looked at it sadly, understanding what it meant. The dust on it suggested that it had already been there for several days. Unfortunately, he expected to find no one there, but went inside anyway to make sure.
Everything in the room was cold and dark. The room was empty and apparently in order. Staeflina seemed to have finally decided to leave without saying a word, despite any compassion Liosta might have shown her. She would be saddened, no doubt.
Duke, lost in thought, didn't immediately see the note left on the bed. As he read it, his fears about Staeflina's departure were confirmed. He even smiled at the very pitoresque style of the young Matisse, who seemed to have learned nothing of the good customs of the Kingdom.
He was about to leave when he noticed the remains of the Karavan artifact in the fireplace. He reached down and pulled it from the cold ashes. Holding it in his hand, he stood up, then looked around carefully... Then he looked at the note in his other hand... He thought for a moment... An idea sprang to mind... What a mektoub he was making!

Canillia storms into her home.

She has just arrived from Avendale, where she met them:

Filira DucocinnioFilira Frerini sound wife as well as Nilstilar's replacement.
They were conferring about Staeflina's disappearance.

She held back the vindictive remarks that came to mind.
She knew the girl had been kidnapped, but bound by her promise to Ducocinnio she couldn't reveal that nothing had changed.

So she weighed up each piece of information she gave them.

Copal, like a good civil servant, was concerned that she hadn't seen fit to warn the officers of Avalae's security flaws.
How can you expect a city without fortifications to be defensible?

He was surprised when Irkanis The old Fyros stormed his home and molested his family?

None of them cared any more about her "bad habits". The most they could do was pay lip service to her lack of efficiency that time.
Anyway, his Ch'tit frippos aren't fighters, just Eyes and Ears...

Lyssan enters Canillia's office:

_ "Lyssan!

Several things:

• Arrange a discreet meeting with the Ambassador of the Lakes.
• I want to be informed immediately of any new developments concerning the Firm's Gamine situation.
• Where are we with Aelyne?

Everything will be done, Cani.
For Aelyne, according to information from Serae Kyriann: A maid matching Aelyne's description has been located.
She's in and out of D'Ore Altae headquarters every day.
Is there anything we can do?
Nec for the moment.
Anything else, Cani?
_ Nec"

Cinabre placed a black leather purse on his desk, its only contents a little air. He'd lost quite a sum, in the hands of a convict...

Still, he had obtained information about this mysterious "Cirrus" and his accomplice - former accomplice? - member of the Firm.
Serae Liosta Frerini was grateful, because judging by her attitude, she was determined to find her protégé.

"Cirrus"... Cinabre now had an interesting picture of him. Authoritarian and, according to the Bagnard guard, not very talkative, he would report directly to the Tribe's leader, Rocho Anichio...
He laughed for a moment at the absurdity of the situation: he, a young guildmaster from a modest merchant house, was burdened with information that should have been gathered by far more powerful noble houses.

Besides, Cinabre had to find someone to deliver his "harvest" to...