{-Myr-}

She, perhaps, thought about it much more than she would’ve wanted to. The headaches always randomly appeared, sometimes at the worst of times. Yet somehow she couldn’t help but wonder if that hadn’t been so random.

That brought its own set of implications she really didn’t want to think about.

If Llewel noticed—and she was certain he did—he didn’t mention it. Zetai and Reynneak were too busy trying to ask around to notice, though she was sure they’d figure it out too if they took a minute to look. Either way, it got pretty obvious that Myr wasn’t putting her full effort into looking for Tanavir when she stopped following them.

“Uh, Myr?” Zetai glanced at her before gesturing to where they were supposed to be going. “We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover and I’d like to get as much done as possible before we have to leave.”

“If you’re still not feeling well, we can bring you back to the inn,” Reynneak offered. “Maybe then you and Llewel can ask Kelfin and anyone else that comes by, too, while Zetai and I are still out here.”

Myr shook her head and motioned to a group of players.

“They’re really pulling out all the stops, huh..?”

“Makes sense, after all that weird stuff they did a couple of weeks ago.”

“This is a bunch of popular people. I wonder if they really had a say in it.”

“Come on, what do you mean by that?”

“Let’s be honest, they’ve got more important things to do than do a promotional event here. Unless there’s a lot of money involved I don’t see the point in it.”

“But they’ve all done something with this before, right? Those ones all played through the main story, at least. That guy did the whole what-secret-are-they-hiding theory they debunked last year, and that one makes videos messing around with the NPCs.”

“Yeah, and there’s a couple that are regular players with pretty prominent parties, too. But look—that one doesn’t have any connections here, does she?”

“Do you really not know or are you just that oblivious? There was all kinds of talk about it before the game came out. Her mom works for Nankohm.”

“She said that she didn’t want anything to do with it, though.”

“What I’m figuring out is that she, at least, didn’t have a say in it. Her choices were to do this or pay rent.”

“Please, she doesn’t live with her parents! I bet she has a fancy apartment in New York or something.”

“Don’t let me be the one to ruin your expectations, then…”

The murmuring continued on about the other people, the event, and plenty more about the specific person. Myr heard the name she was looking for a couple of times, though looking back she saw that the others must not have.

“It’s just players talking about some event,” Zetai pointed out. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Llewel sighed. “They’re mostly talking about someone named Erin. Myr heard some other players talking about her and she thinks it might be Tinath.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“They mentioned how she hasn’t done anything in a couple of years,” Myr explained. “Casrane mentioned her, too, when she talked with Rachel…”

“Then I guess we’ve got an even better reason to do everything in Kehnore as soon as possible,” Zetai remarked. “We’ve still got a lot to do, let’s get going. We’re pretty close to the inn, we can check in with Kelfin and see if he’s got that list ready.”

Myr gave one last glance at the players before following Zetai back to the inn. Kelfin’s greeting did nothing to pull her out of her thoughtfulness; that task was done by a voice she was still surprised to find familiar.

“Hey, it’s you two! Kelfin just finished telling me about how you wanted to talk.” He stepped past Zetai and Reynneak in order to just see the twins. “You remember me, right?”

“It’s nice to see you again, Kaerio,” Llewel said. Myr offered a nod and smile.

“I guess I probably shouldn’t be asking this, but do you remember what we did with Casrane, too?”

“Most of it.”

“That’s a relief,” Kaerio sighed. “From everything Kelfin told me, I was afraid you wouldn’t really remember any of it. It saves some awkward conversations—what with knowing you two when you have no recollection of me.” He paused. “But you’re probably all here for something specific, right?”

Zetai nodded. “We’re looking for a guy named Tanavir.”

“Him again? They usually switch members after a couple of times… I hope they’re not up to something…” Kaerio shook his head. “I’m guessing you’re looking for him for Gouzla, right?”

“Do you know where he is?” Reynneak asked.

Kaerio nodded. “If he’s not right by the docks, he’s at one of the shops nearby. But he’s also more vocal than some of the other guys—if he sees the twins, I don’t think he’ll hesitate to tell the others about them. I can’t stop you, but just be careful, alright?”

“We will,” Llewel promised. He glanced at Zetai and Reynneak and said, “You two can head to the docks and we’ll meet you there. I want to talk a little longer.”

Zetai shrugged and motioned for Reynneak to follow her. “I’m not going to stop you. Just be done in a couple of minutes—we’ll beat up the guy, get our reward from Gouzla, and then we’ve got to leave for the day.” They both waved and left.

“Couldn’t whatever you wanted to ask wait until later..?” Myr mumbled.

“Not when Zetai’s going to try to pretend like it never happened,” Llewel responded simply. He made sure no one else was bothering to listen. “Kaerio, how aware are the Rune Reactivation Project of us being here?”

“They’ve actually been mumbling about the Beithana twins the whole time—at least the more prominent guys were,” Kaerio remarked. “I can’t say for certain, but I think they know to keep an eye out for you. On their own and even with some help, they’re barely a threat… it’s when they start getting others involved that it becomes a problem. You won’t have to worry too much about that, though. We’ve more or less been preparing for this kind of thing for two years.”

“And what about Nankohm?”

“I’m not nearly as in touch with what they’re doing as some others, so all I know is that they haven’t come here yet. I heard you had a run-in with some of them earlier—they’re usually pretty easy to spot, but I’ll keep an eye out if you're looking for someone in particular.”

“Can you see if someone named Tinath is in Kehnore somewhere? She’s a blonde [Animal Whisperer] with a hawk. We think she may show up during the event all the players are talking about.”

“I promise, the two of you will be the first to know if any of us find something.”

Myr glanced between the two of them before daring to ask, “So, who exactly is ‘us?’”

“That isn’t something super important so I guess I’m not surprised that you don’t remember it yet.” Kaerio gestured to himself and Kelfin. “It’s everyone that’s helping me stand against the Rune Reactivation Project. The innkeepers, most of the shopkeepers, Vureta, Duuzlo… and that’s just the handful I know you’ll remember.”

Llewel was quiet for a moment. “Duuzlo’s a part of it?”

“Well, yeah. He’s the first NPC they made so he’s got a lot more connections than the rest of us.” Kaerio shrugged. “The rumors say he didn’t need Casrane to come in order to think on his own. Since he always seems one step ahead of the rest of us, I can’t say I doubt it.”

Myr definitely didn’t like the look Llewel had. “You’ve got that pensive look again. Do I want to know..?”

He shook his head and took a step towards the door. “Let’s go see if Zetai and Reynneak need any help.”

“Be careful,” Kaerio called as they left, “and good luck!”

Myr waved goodbye before following her brother. As much as she wanted to ask him about it, she had a feeling he wasn’t going to give her an answer now.

They got to the docks and found their friends just in time to see them finishing fighting a guy. Llewel motioned her to stop a bit away from them so they weren’t able to hear what they talked about—just Zetai and Reynneak coming back.

“We got all the information we needed,” Zetai announced. “Let’s head back and get our reward from Gouzla.”