“I want to kill you. I am an elf.” Theihdow announced calmly.

“A lie, and the truth.” Dovhran nodded as he felt the arcane tug that accompanied each response. “What about you, Farwysher, would you be willing to give me a baseline?”

“I want to kill you. I’m an elf.” Selian repeated the phrases that Theihdow had given. “And for the record. I don’t want to kill you now. But I would for very little reason.”

“Neutral, truth, truth, and truth.” Dovhran tilted to his head to side as he received the feedback from the spell. “Good to know. And I would like some confirmation outside of the spell from our friend in the hatch.”

“I want to kill you. I am an elf.” Flip called out from his hiding place just inside the hatch.

He wasn't entirely sure if his first statement was true, not that it mattered. The spell wouldn't reach him so he wouldn't have to think about the way the spell worked in regards to uncertainty.

“No response. Good.” Dovhran turned to Theihdow, now finally feeling confident. “Your turn. Your offer and your reasons for it. Any lies and the wizard rips your to shreds again.”

“There is no need to threaten me… I hesitate to call you idiot, considering our current situation. Would you be willing to provide me with a name to call you by? And the wizard as well?”

“Truth and truth. And for your compliance, you can have mine. You can call me Dovhran. The wizard can share his name if he wants, but it’s not mine to give to you.”

“I’ll tell you my name if you’ll answer a question of mine. But it can be the last question.”

“Very well, I will answer your question. And it will be a truthful answer, even if the spell wears off before it comes time for you.” Theihdow maintained his calm demeanor and straight posture as he sat and talked. It was extremely disconcerting for Dovhran, though his whole presentation of being seemed oddly calming to all three travelers.

“Truth again.” Dovhran hummed. “This might be a little boring if you don’t lie at all.”

“Perhaps you should pay attention closely then, so that you don’t miss anything I say, as I will say this only once.” Theihdow’s eyes narrowed, immediately ending the calm he had exuded up to that point. “I have lived in this range of mountains since long before they became a waste. I was here when the calamitous betrayal sheered these mountains and cast them up into the sea to form the steppes to the west and to the northeast. And I stayed here after. When the consequences of the betrayal were sent here to be sealed away, I spoke with the builders that came here to build the tomb you are looking for. I knew each builder by name. I knew the archmage that came to seal the tomb. I knew after it was sealed that I would remain. And I gave my word that I would prevent the contents of the tomb from leaving it and causing further destruction and calamity.”

“All truth so far.” Dovhran hummed as the elf paused in his explanation.

“I am glad that you are listening carefully.”

“Your first lie,” Dovhran smiled, “but I won’t hold it against you.”

“This brings me to my proposition. I would like to accompany you to the tomb. You seem capable enough that you might be able to either neutralize the danger inside or make it into enough danger that it would kill you for me. Clearly, I’m not an inhibitor for you. So, this is my last recourse. I would like to know what you intend to accomplish within the tomb so that I may better determine if this is in fact the best course of action for me to take, but I admit that I have no way of verifying whatever you tell me unless you willingly agree to a pact with me.”

“Interesting.” Dovhran hummed.

“What do you mean by neutralize the danger inside?” Selian asked, bewildered. It was in her nature to ask the most practical questions, the ones that made sense to ask instead of the ones that were more strategically motivated.

“The tomb has many safeguards protecting its contents. I know of three. The means by which the entrance is concealed, the presence of a certain plant placed to deter progress through the tomb, and of one particularly powerful and dangerous being that I believe should be neutralized. I pity it and I would like to end its suffering. It is a sad thing to be alone in a small space forever with nothing but your thoughts.”

Selian seemed displeased with the information she was given, and retrieved writing materials to record her thoughts quickly and in a more organized fashion than what her mind was presently capable of.

“He’s telling the truth, by the way.” Dovhran frowned. “But I’m realizing a weakness in the spell, it can only verify statements. Questions and certain other types of phrasing don’t register anything.”

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“I am doing my best to keep my phrasing in simple statements that you can verify clearly.” Theihdow nodded. “I did foresee this being a problem with any magic that you might choose to use.”

“Do you know much about magic?” Dovhran challenged the elf.

“I know enough.” Theihdow smiled. “I am very old Dovhran. Older than you by several centuries, I’m sure. My familiarity with magic stems from passive experience. And, before you ask, I do not practice it.”

“Fair enough.” The mercenary frowned again, clearly displeased that his question didn’t spur on any deeper information.

“What about the consequences of the betrayal?” Selian looked up from her writing and directly at Theihdow. “What did you mean by that?”

Theihdow looked uncomfortable when the question was posed to him. In fact, the subject seemed to be the only thing thus far that illicited a reaction worth noting. Nonetheless, the elf responded with his signature calmness. “The remains of the man for which the tomb was built.”

“Hold on.” Dovhran grinned. “You phrased it in a way that conveys information neither true nor false and the spell isn’t quite sure what to do with the information. Please explain more.”

“The tomb was built to house the remains of Helbrin Velsaffe. The betrayal, which was caused by his death, made this location ideal to hold them. And the condition of the grand linker’s remains is a direct consequence of the betrayal.”

“And what condition are they in?” Dovhran pressed.

“I do not know what state the remains are in now, and, in fact, I never saw them. I suppose his body is nothing more than flaky skin and bone now.”

“And if I told you that we were going to the tomb to retrieve Velsaffe’s belongings, particularly his diary and research notes on the disease that killed him, what would your response be?” Dovhran put his finger to his chin as he thought through exactly which words would be the most advantageous to use.

“I suppose that would depend on why you wanted them.” Theihdow stood, seemingly for no reason, but his posture became immediately unfriendly.

“The disease has started to spread again in Isol. The Velsaffe estate hired me to retrieve his research to help aid in finding a cure of some sort, or at least find a method to contain the spread more easily.” Dovhran stood as well, though in a more defensive posture than Theihdow. “Is that a problem? Or you would like to be complicit in the spread of a fatal illness?”

A moment of tension followed Dovhran’s words. Selian could see the mercenary’s hand slowly gripping tight around the hilt of his shortsword, while Theihdow hardly moved an inch. For a moment, it seemed that the only thing changing in the area was the wind.

Then Theihdow sat back down.

“That is a relief to hear, Dovhran.” The elf sighed. “I was worried you would have ill intent… though you may still and I cannot be sure. But you were willing to fight me. And for now, that is enough to let me trust you. I have no objections, and I do believe that the organization that commissioned the tomb would approve of opening it for this endeavor. I would ask you to pact with me to reveal all trace of potential falsehood, but something tells me you would decline.”

“I would decline.” Dovhran nodded. “This is enough for me, at least for now. You seem like the sort of creature that obsesses over agreements, so here's one for you. Will you travel peaceably with us to the tomb and agree not to harm us?”

“I agree to those terms.” Theihdow smiled, though none of the three travelers that saw the smile could identify the reason for it. “You will not be harmed by me or anything I am aware of.”

“We have about a minute or so left of the spell.” Dovhran turned to the hatch. “What was your final question?”

Flip raised his head fully out of the hatch, mostly reassured by the agreement that had been reached. “What is your real name?”

There was no response. Theihdow did not speak. The elf’s body froze, going from a somewhat relaxed posture to one of uncomfortable and unnatural stillness, like carved stone.

“Something tells me that that’s a question you don’t want to answer, friend.” Dovhran whistled, impressed that Flip had effectively silenced their new traveling companion.

“His initial test of the spell was to state that he was an elf, but not his name or anything else about him. Only the most obvious parts of his appearance. Which strikes me as odd for an elf who has lived about as long as any elf I’ve heard of.” Flip grumbled as he crawled completely out of the hatch and went through the motions of releasing it from its position on the ground. “I would rather not travel with a man who hides his own name. I don’t feel I could trust them, even if they swore to be trustworthy.”

“I promised I would answer truthfully.” Theihdow finally interjected his thoughts, though his body remained uncomfortably rigid. “Though I would rather do so in confidence. As you said, I am old, and old elves are well known. So I live here to avoid being known. If you will promise me, the three of you, to keep my name to yourselves then I will give it to you. Otherwise, I would kindly request that you release me from my prior agreement so that you may continue on and feel safe. Though I would still follow you from a distance..."

“I agree.” Flip coughed out his agreement as he incidentally inhaled a mote of dust in the wind. The coughing distracted everyone somewhat from the ease and speed with which he made his decision.

“You know my names, I would like to know yours. Even if just for myself.” Selian shrugged, her writing material now put away. "I agree."

“I’m not the sort to leverage private information against you.” Dovhran nodded, though with a look from Flip he continued. “Public information, I will absolutely use against you. But I get the impression this isn’t that. So, I agree.”

“Very well.” Theihdow sighed deeply and tilted his head back in relaxation.

The elf looked as though he was gazing into the heavens for a moment, enjoying a last breath of relative anonymity. Without fully lowering his head again, he eyed each of his new companions one last time as if giving them a chance to rethink their decisions. But no such indication was given.

“My conditions have been met. So I will tell you.” Theihdow returned his gaze directly to Flip, almost ignoring the rest. “My name is Theirinder Meadowthorn.”

“Oh.” Flip blurted out rather loudly, but with dumbfounded surprise.

If there was any emotional context to be had, it was shock. And without anything else to say, he swore out loud. And he wasn't the only one.