They continued on through the city and out the gate, Deventh and Anna both preoccupied with silently pondering the implications of Aurelio’s story. After walking a short stretch along the road to the west, the group held a short meeting in a secluded area under the shade of pine trees. A flat rock, the snow brushed off its surface, served as a seat for Lydie while the rest stood.
“Tatsidi,” Anna said, “You mentioned you had something to discuss.”
“Ah, yes,” said Tatsidi, reaching into his bag. The decorated jewelry box he’d pilfered the day before gleamed as he brought it out into the open. "I found this after hearing some interesting dialogue between two men acting as Oath members. It seems not everyone there is who they say they are."
He held out the box, opening it to reveal the contents. "It also would appear that this box contains something important to whom I can only assume is their leader.”
“What—have ya been haulin’ around that box this whole time?” asked Lydie. “Didn’t wanna share with ol’ Lydie?”
Intrigued by the contents, Deventh stepped forward to take a closer look.
“There’s definitely something strange emanating from that necklace,” he said.
"Magic," Jessa chimed in. "It feels like magic, similar to the enchanted items people use at the University. It's hard to walk even ten paces without bumping into someone who has an enchanted piece, whether it be a ward to protect against Lus'rakian influence or an illusion to remove a wart or pimple.” She touched her ring as she mentioned the latter. "Though, I can't place what kind of spell this would be."
"Well, magic was implied by 'something strange.'" Deventh chuckled. “Though it is concerning that we’ve been in the vicinity of this thing since yesterday.”
“Yes, aside from stealing,” said Anna, “Have you thought about what trouble you might have brought us carrying around a piece of jewelry infused with magic we can’t identify?”
“Here, let me see,” said Jessa. “I can’t disenchant it, but I can suppress it for now.” She reached out and laid three fingers on the pendant. A small spark flashed from her fingertips, and although nothing appeared any different, those keen with magic could detect that the enchantment’s aura had disappeared, locked away by the spell.
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“At least it’s not cursed,” said Anna as Tatsidi tucked the box back into his bag. “That’s one problem solved. Good work, Jessa.”
“Oi,” said Lydie, “Is it time to head out yet? I’m still tryin’ to get paid here.”
“I believe so,” said Anna. “We do need to hurry so we can be back in the city walls before dusk.”
“We’re going to the caves first, right?” asked Jessa.
“No,” said Deventh, “We’re sticking to Anna’s original idea of going back to where the cart crashed. It seemed as though Rauleth was trying to deter us – I’ve a feeling we’ll find more answers this way.”
“It did seem strange that he suddenly remembered a cave,” said Jessa, nearing a whisper.
“Exactly.”
“And since we now have this interesting piece of jewelry,” Anna said, “That suspicion ought to be doubled. If there’s nothing else, let’s move on.”
Without any further delay, everyone moved out, but Deventh stayed back, his wandering eyes having landed on a creeping plant which hugged the trunk of a spruce tree. From his pocket, he produced a palm-sized, leather-bound notebook and his patchwork metal writing utensil.
By the time Anna turned around, having felt a missing presence nagging at her, he was already scribbling away, pausing between short intervals. It had been a while since he wasn't too busy to stop and collect an alchemy sample, but he dabbled when he could; she recognized this and approached him with a gentle disposition.
“Are you joining us?”
“Yes,” Deventh said, placing a few dots on the paper before he concluded his notetaking. He slid the notebook and pen back into his pocket. “I’ll catch up.”
“That seems unwise out here. We should stick together,” Anna insisted, watching with interest as the Dronvar reached for a small vial and a knife at his belt. “You have a strange presence today. Unfocused.”
"Perhaps you were right about the lack of sleep.” Hairy plant fibers dropped into the vial as Deventh scraped them from the vine.
“No, I know well enough what ‘just tired’ looks like on you. Wouldn’t care to stop you if that were the case. Something is worrying you.”
"I think," Deventh said, pressing in a cork with his thumb, "That there are better opportunities to discuss our personal worries. But I do appreciate your concern."
"Such opportunities as lying in bed with women you've just met?" Anna quipped. Caught off-guard, Deventh almost dropped his vial and knife while trying to place them back in his belt. He made a quick recovery, however, and quipped back.
“Were that truly what happened, you’d more likely be suspicious of an unusual spring in my step. Perhaps I should look into that in the near future.”
"I'm serious, Deventh. I can't tell you how many times I've seen men get hurt or worse because they were thinking of something other than the task at hand." She placed a hand on his shoulder and met his gaze with a reassuring smile. "In case I haven’t reminded you recently, I'm your friend. I’m not just here to nag you, I’m here to help. Now let’s go. We have work to do."
Hollow thumps echoed out as she patted him on the back of his shoulder, leading him out of the small copse. The two rejoined the others, and they all set out on the road.