Talae Telena took time every night to walk in the woods near the Trebor Convent. The darkness didn't bother her. Indeed, it was soothing to eyes that had spent the vast majority of her life in total darkness. The starlight lit Talae's way just fine, and the quiet soothed her soul. She needed the quiet, given the bustle of the daylight hours. The planning meetings, the endless flinches from newcomers getting the first glance at her onyx skin, the idiocy of patriarchs who saw her figure and ignored the rest.

As Talae walked, she kept her eyes open for fallen wood to feed the campfires and hearths of the Convent. Today Talae was just looking for kindling, as she had already split enough logs to keep the fires burning for the next year as a means to work off her frustration. But Talae's mind wasn't on her task. Not really. It was on Aflia and Aris. Since that night in the Tavern, nothing more had happened between the two of them. It wasn't for lack of trying on Aflia part either, she had come to Talae for tips on more than one occasion. Nor was it a matter of a broken heart on either side. It was a matter of scarred hearts. Scars that ran deep enough to mar the soul.

Talae knew about scars like that because she had some of her own. She had fled her home when she was just sixty years old. Talae had stepped onto the surface and into the light when she was seventy-five. Of the fifteen years in between, Talae could only recall flashes of blood drenched arousal-fury. The ecstasy of seeing prey torn into small chunks to be shoved raw and bleeding into her mouth. The inability to stop, to rest or sleep, in case something came upon her while she was helpless. The missing years were a ragged hole in Talae's mind, one whose edges still bled from time to time.

Talae knew that Aflia needed a friend, perhaps even more than a friend, and that Aris was the sort of person who would not betray that friendship. But Aris was slow to reciprocate, weighed down by something in his past, above and beyond being killed and then brought back to life. Talae intended to take her time figuring it out, rather than rushing in and tearing Aris to pisces in the process. The hoot of two owls calling pulled her out of her trance. Before Talae had even begun to think, she found herself in a fighting stance, her warmaul already at the ready. One of the owls gave out a very un-owlish squawk of surprise, followed by the soft thump of a bird hitting the ground. Talae sighed and slug her warmaul. "You don't have to spy on me little druid, just come out and ask your questions."

Talae waited through the crackle-crunch of a druid changing shape, and then two druids came out from behind the trees. One was the wisp of a druid who had helped heal her before, the other was the one who had refused. Talae knew the second only in passing, as she had come to collect the wisp before Talae had returned to the capital. The wisp fidgeted, clearly not wanting to be the one to speak first. The other druid was just as skittish, but steeled her nerve and spoke. "I don't believe that we were ever introduced, drow. I would know your name, that I might thank you for not mistreating my apprentice."

Talae bit her lip. Another elf who expected the worst of her for her dark skin and pale hair. "My name is Talae Telenna, Berserkr, Acolyte of Kuko. And your names, druids?"

"Faena Greenleaf, Druid of the Woods. My apprentice, Ena Sumia. My thanks to you, Berserkr, for treating her well. Your mind is keen, for indeed I do come seeking answers. We of the Circle of Lands felt a disturbance. An oath of old, made outside the Circle. We thought you might have something to do with it."

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Talae's eyes narrowed. This felt all to much like the High Priestesses of her home seeking to squash a rival. "I witnessed such an oath occur, yes. What of it?"

Faena tipped her head to one side, like a hawk staring at a mouse, "witnessed, or made?"

Talae snorted in derision, "I do not play word games with you Druid. I was one of five who witnessed a sixth make her oath. If you will not tell me why you seek the oath-taker, then you will get no more from me. I had enough of high priestesses abusing their power before I ever walked on the surface."

Faena cocked her head the other way, "I seek the oathtaker to confirm her Oath before the gods of the Light. Would you stand in my way?"

Talae shook her head, "No, I will not. But that Oath was offered to and confirmed by three Heralds. it is already confirmed at the highest levels."

Ena's eyes had grown huge, "three Heralds? And they spoke with the voices of the Gods?"

"Hush apprentice." Faena snapped, "such has not happened since the Seminal War. It could not have happened as the drow says."

Talae unslung her warmaul and grounded the head, "It happened as I said, whether you believe it or not. I will give you nothing more, as you clearly intend to twist my words against me. So come ahead and fight or flee back to your circle."

Faena's eyes narrowed, but she took a step back, "power cannot be allowed to run wild. We will speak again drow. Come apprentice, we are leaving."

Faena stepped back into the trees, but Ena lingered a moment longer, looking back over her shoulder at Talae. Then she too vanished into the trees.

Talae hefted her warmaul over one shoulder. Tomorrow looked to be an interesting day.

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Status Report:

Treasury: 435

Income: +105 gold per day

Amount & Source

+5 Semi-retired Agent of Altheim

+100 Food sold from Ikin

Equipment: In good condition.

Estates:

* Ikin: Village: Fishing Docks, Farms Under Construction

* Trebor Convent: Under Construction

* Colubrinus: Village: Under Construction

* Three Empty Holdings (may be improved later)

* One Old Temple (occupied by undead, traps, and animated statues)

The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings

Total Deaths: 1