"I... I lost the gold you gave me." Susanna spoke, dipping her head in shame. 

"I don't care about the gold. Tell me who did that to you?" Orpheus cuts in, placing his right hand upon her scar.

In response to his question, she shrinks away and turns her gaze on him. He picks up the cloth with his free hand and begins wiping away the blood from her face. "I was attacked and he got away with your gold, I couldn't stop him." She added, spitting the distasteful words. 

His eyes widen and his jaw clenches, burning rage claws its way out of his prison of calmness. Calmly he places the damp cloth on the nightstand. Clenches his right fist before leaning back and resting upon the chair, releasing it moments later before. "Where did this happen?" He asks with a cold gaze, finally calm. 

"No... No, no don't retaliate, the attack was witnessed. If the culprit was found dead it would raise suspicion on you!" Susanna pleaded with him not to act rashly.

"Who says they'll find the body?" He chimes in with a nonchalant expression. 

"Please, don't." She continues to plead with him, holding his gaze expectantly.

Orpheus ponders for a moment, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Fine, I'll spare him, if you tell me what's really going on." Delivering ultimatum with a confident expression and piercing eyes. 

"I... I'm fine there is... Nothing." She stumbles over her words, her once-suppressed emotions emerging from the deep chasm she devised. 

"You are not I can see it in your eyes, tell me... Now!" His tone rises, and he lets slip his anger. 

"I... I... couldn't stop it... I don't know what to do. I should have done something more; I am so pathetic." Her face quickly morphs from her once cold expression to a fountain of raw untamed emotion. Her eyes swell as minor droplets of tears begin to pour. Quickly she lowers her gaze trying to hide her face.

"It's alright... I'm sorry I should have known." Apologising to her, they embrace for a moment before letting her go. She leans back to lie down on the bed, he moves his hands to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Eventually, a calm settles the room and the two gaze at each other, both do not say a word. Until Susanna interrupts the serene atmosphere with a question. “How can you do it?” She asked with a voice slightly above a whisper. In response he tilted his head confused, she noticed and spoke again. “How did you become so, ruthless and so powerful?” Ending her sentence, she gazed at him intently, directly into his eyes.

Nodding, he understood her query and so replied. “I see, well that’s a long story and not a particularly pleasant on.” He turned his gaze to the side, gazing at nothing. Instead of replying she waited patiently, expecting him to elaborate. For a moment he pondered whether or not to divulge and so decided to reveal a smidge of truth. Rising from his seat, he paced the room, trying to settle on the right words.

After a time, he finally came to a decision. Turning his gaze to her as she sat on the bed, he spoke. “Nobody starts out like this, in fact once upon a time you would have probably liked me.” His words were wistful and with a slight tinge of sadness. “I was one of those pathetic fop nobles with a privileged upbringing. Of course, life just so loves to stick a sword in everything.” He moved to the table and played idly with his newly acquired pyrite stones. “Those happy times were gone and what does a child do when they are left out in the cold. They freeze and sometimes die, but not me... I refused to both die and succumb, I had to much hate in me.” Picking up a stone, he inspected it, becoming enamoured with every facet.

While he was stuck in his little reverie, Susanna spoke up. “Is that it, hate is what makes you strong?” She asked with a high degree of curiosity, she truly wanted to know.

Shaking his head in the negative, he replied. “No Susie, hate doesn’t make you strong, but it does get you started.” He placed the stone down, walked over to her and sat down next to her. “You see hate kept me alive during the hard times, especially after I was taken as a child by some unsavoury fellows.” Turning his gaze away from her, he looked off and into the distance. “Those days were the hardest. They liked to play with your mind and they taught me so much. Not in the way of a teacher, but in the way of a torturer.” His face turned cold as he continued. “So much time, they got into my head, filling every facet with ideas and demands. Many times, I could barely even think my own thoughts. Alas, their attempts to smother the fire merely stoked it. For I learned so much, so very much. I threw myself at the barriers, placed in my mind. Barriers they built and I crushed.” Swallowing a gulp of saliva, his face turned away from the cold and towards the fire.

Looking back, her head dipped in contemplation. She pondered his words, trying to understand their significance. After a time, she spoke. “They messed with your head; they used those spell on you?” She asked, horrified yet strangely intrigued.

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He nodded, affirming his prior statement. “I have to give them credit, they made me a near master of the mind. I guess they hadn't expected that reaction.” His eyes went glassy, looking off into the distance, reminiscing on the past. Pulling himself out of his reverie, he turned to Susanna. Looking deeply into her eyes he spoke. “Power isn't something attained with ease, you tend to suffer for it.” Explaining himself, he eyes her carefully, wondering what she will say.

She thinks for a moment, not really sure how to proceed. Her thoughts churned with new desires, the recent events showed her the truth. “How can I become powerful?” She questioned with absolute conviction in her voice. She knew what she wanted and was willing to take whatever advantage. Make a deal with a devil, beseech a god or ask her ruthless saviour.

Smiling wryly, he thought over the request. Rising from his seat, he crossed the room and withdrew a pyrite stone from his belt bag. Gazing intently at the tiny little stone, he mutters a few words under his breath. The stone shines dimly for only a moment. Satisfied he moves back to her, directing her to open her palm.

She does as instructed, wondering where he is going with this. With a soft plop, the stone falls into her palm. The moment it touches her skin, her hand jerks away, dropping the stone onto the bedding. The sensation was odd as it felt like every fibre of her being was screaming to let go. The stone was antithetical to everything she was and to touch it was the height of sin.

Looking back at him, she looks perplexed and waited for an explanation. “I put a spell on it, it sends an impulse to your brain to drop the stone.” He explains before leaning over and casually retrieving the stone. Holding it close to her she notices the slight twinge of discomfort. “It is an impressive little spell, it even affects someone as skilled as I.” Smiling at the stone, his gaze locked to it as if it was some great foe to overcome.

Susanna blinked a few times before asking. “I don’t understand?” She pleaded, not really getting his point.

He smiled in response, chuckling softly and twirling the stone within his fingers. “You see Susie, power was never really about skill, birth or talent... At least to someone like me, someone who was once a sheltered and weak little boy.” Creaking his neck at that last statement, Susanna could notice the sore subject. “Power had always been the result of stubborn perseverance. I did not unlock some great destiny nor find enlightenment.” Grasping the stone in his hand, he began to squeeze in earnest. “I simply raged against everything they did to me. Every thought planted, every command dictated and every single attempt to control me. I met with ruthless defiance and in the end I grew stronger.” Looking down at his clenched fist, he smiled a genuine smile. “In the end I was not the one to be controlled, I was the one who controlled others.” Releasing the stone, he placed it on the bed.

Inspecting it keenly, Susanna tried to absorb every word. Nodding a few times, she leaned forward and tried several unsuccessful attempts to pick up the stone. Each time she tried to maintain that cold indifference but the constant failure was degrading her sensibilities.

Watching from the side Orpheus speaks up. “If you can hold the stone without succumbing, then and only then can we begin.” His words echoed in her mind; many ideas flared to life. Before she can go deeper into those thoughts, he spoke again. "It's okay to feel helpless, none of us was born with the power to defeat every obstacle. But even at our lowest point, there's one thing that everyone misses." 

"What is that?" Susanna stares back at him with tired eyes as she makes her reply. 

"That even when we have fallen so far down that well of despair. We rise, rise and reclaim everything that was taken from us. We claw our way to the top until we can stand tall, with pride and lay waste to everyone that stands in our way." Orpheus begins to monologue with a powerful tone of voice and reverence that was once within his heart burst forth. His gaze eventually interlocks with hers as he places his right hand on the right side of her face, gently caressing it. "But enough of that, you need your rest." He states, her eyes becoming heavy which she resists for a moment. 

He puts the stone on her side table and gestures for her to sleep. She tries for a time but can barely manage it. “Let me help with that.” Interjecting, he raises his hand, waiting for her affirmation. She nods and so he begins his spell. "Imperium Sopor." He chants the spell with a soft tone of voice. Energy waves emerge from his right hand and spread across her eyes. The spell renders her asleep as he lightly brushes a hair from her eyes, with tender care. "Sleep Susie and dream of a better world, a better one than this." He comments before standing back up, turning around and making his way towards the door.

Just before he reaches for the handle his gaze turns to the wall near the couch. His eyes widen and his breathing becomes deeper at the sight. "What the, where is it!" He bellows loudly, rushing forward to see his staff no longer placed against the wall. With a feeling of fear and concern washing over him, he begins to panic. "Where has it gone!"  He continues to look around and swiftly moves to the couch to see if it has fallen, to no avail. His loud voice rings forth he hears Susanna's body thrashing behind him. Fearing he will wake her from peaceful slumber he calms down.

He closes his eyes for a moment, contemplating this unfortunate dilemma. "Who took it, and when was it taken. It was there when I left for the barracks and there when I returned so... The only individual it could be. The assassin, perhaps his mission was to kill me and retrieve the staff." His hand moves to his chin left arm cradling his right. His eyes become more pensive, thinking over the situation in depth. "So, the assassin must have been hired by someone who both wants me dead and understands the true power of the staff. I did slaughter an army of goblins with it so there's no shortage of witnesses. I guess I'll ask the assassin nicely before I dispatch him to the afterlife, but first." Finishing his thought, he drops his hands to his sides before moving towards the couch and seating himself.

With his torso curved forward, he moves his right hand to his belt bag. Opens it and pulls out a communication stone. Holding it in his palm, the stone began to glow as he attempts to communicate with another.