Wiki of The Dungeoneering Crew

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
Session 22, Memories and Bloodletting

Paldegora 

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Session 22 – 2023-06-10

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

==== Summary ====

They discussed what to do. Eryn wanted to give chase to the escaping Xvart to retrieve the gem. She and Cal-El took off. He tracked the creature while she kept searching the horizon for any sign of life or movement. They eventually lost the tracks as the ground hardened and the terrain grew rocky and hilly. They returned. There was more searching of the camp but nothing else was found. They determined they had about 6 weeks before the deadline in the letter they'd found. Eryn suggested using Tinkle to get the message to Allistar but she wasn't sure what he would do, absent the gems. Symon didn't want to go to the Tinkle-well too many times for fear of using up their friendship with him. They discussed using a messenger, someone like Sergeant Harris to deliver the message to Allistar but Cassndra was insistent that there was no way around Frosthaven. He suggested that maybe the Freds could help deliver the message. Angelique was insistent that they get the boy back to his mother soon so they set out for the farm.

They discussed more the events that had happened to them since they became The Company Clandestine. One of the revelations was that the priest at Three Point's Inn was Mathias. Angelique remembered that during this meeting, Mathias touched her hand. She thought he used that moment to verify her identity. Angelique recounted the story of what happened to her father. She followed that up with the letter her Grandfather sent her. They again tried to determine if she had something that they might be looking for. They realized that what she carried was her bloodline. They need her blood to accomplish something. They have the ring they took from her father. Her blood must be a key part of this. They felt like they are being directed somewhere, directed to take her somewhere. They are being guided north. That must mean they are being led to Coldspire, Nordain's castle, Grimbog Vale, or the Valley of the Bones.

The discussion shifted to Xantha. She is at the Grimbog Vale. That's where she found the mummy that almost killed her. She discovered that there was something in the mud that long ago, infused it with magic. She captured one of the creatures and took mud back to her lab to test. She learned how to animate a creature like that one. The process was slow. SZhe went to Cyix to visit someone named Azgar. She came back with more information and materials. She eventually worked it all out and created Puppy and a pet for Zora as well. She is also able to create creatures like the one in her cage. She can create an army of them. The magic, they determined, might have come down to the world on an asteroid, which crashed in this northern area, coming to rest in Grimbog Vale. When they looked at their map, it seemed obvious that this was the case based on the valleys and the mountains to the north. Also during all of this discussion, they realized two things. That they had no way of knowing if Allistar would assist King Lundor if they managed to get the letter to him. The other thing was, how did King Lundor know that Allistar was alive and in the position within the guild that he occupies? They figured that the Dragon Vale was not as cut off from the rest of the world as they had thought. They debated how it was that Zara could see Morgan and Marlina. It must have something to do with the rings that Xantha had given them infused with her blood. 

They made their way back to the farmhouse. The mother was very happy to have her son back safe and sound. She offered rewards but Angelique told her to keep her money, they don't need it. The mother offered to feed and house them for as long as they liked. They took her up on the meal and lodging for the night. Symon asked Cassandra if she would put off killing Blackmore for a while and join them as they continued northward to deal with the Lundor situation. She said she would join them. 

The next day they set about identifying 4 more items. The Bastard Sword, which was a +1 magic sword. The Leather Armor was Leather Armor +2. One of the long swords was a +1 sword. The gloves were identified as Gloves of Missile Snaring. Eryn took the Gloves. Xor took the Bastard Sword. Cal-El took the armor and the long sword. Symon took a Ring of Protection +1. After that, they set out for the potion shop. They asked the Freds if they could send messages over great distances. Only by messenger. They had no special spell for that. They asked if the Freds could identify some items. They offered to for 100gps each. We had them identify the remaining items. A dagger +2, a shortsword +1, and the last long sword which was a +1 sword. Angelique asked about the ointments. They told us they were Keoghtom's Ointment. There were 5 doses per bottle, 2 bottles. It cured poisons, diseases, and healed wounds. If placed on the wound, or swallowed, it cured poison or disease. It also heals 1d4+8 points of damage. When wondering what to do next, they decided to head to the tavern to talk with Lucas. On their way to the tavern, they noticed the colder temperatures and stopped by a clothing store to pick up winter gear. Sadly for Eryn, there was nothing cute and stylish. It was all baggy stuff, but warm. 

Lucas seemed surprised to see them as they entered the tavern. They let him know that Roger and his crew were dead and gone. He seemed good with that. He told us that they about tore apart his place after we left and that they took Sergeant Harris back to Frosthaven. He was in bad shape when they left. They asked if he had a way to get messages out of the area to other towns without using runners. He said that runners is the only way he knew of to do that. They discussed what was north of here with Lucus but he only knew some of the basic animals that they might run into going up that way, wolves and bears and such. The party took a couple of rooms that night and rested. They ain't the next morning, let Lucius know about the abundant supplies down by the dock. They headed out, north, towards the Xvart battlefield. They passed that and continued on till nightfall. Eryn and Xor took the watches. The night passed uneventfully but when they woke up, something was off. Xor and Eryn remembered starting the watch but remembered nothing after that. They found marks in each other indicating that someone had poisoned them to knock them out. Angelique was hard to wake up. Once she did wake, she recounted what she could remember from the night. She remembered a conversation she'd heard a while she slept. It went like this.

######

"She does not have it." You hear a female voice speaking as if in a dream.
 
"They must have hidden it somewhere or one of the others has it.. hmm. So be it. Let us proceed with this." Replies the voice of an unknown man.
 
“This will not work.” You hear a different man say calmly.
 
“Perhaps, but Mathias wants it tried. He is growing impatient with your apparent lack of progress,” the first man answers.
 
“My sister and I have filled graveyards with impatient adversaries.” 
 
"What about friends?" Quips the voice quickly with a touch of glibness but then continues. “Oh, I have no doubt, but her companions have proven to be much more resourceful than even you anticipated.”
 
“All the more reason to follow the plan!” This time it is the voice of the woman again dripping with venom, "Your interference has already jeopardized this mission!”
 
“Perhaps, but things are widening and threaten to spin out of control. It is not a risk we can afford to take. Plus, with the joker in the deck now you would both do well to watch yourselves. You know where the one is the other is not far behind and he is not someone any of us want to face. At least not now."
 
“You let us worry about those two,” replied the calm voice again.
 
“Hmm, unfortunately, that is not something we are willing to do being so close to our goal. Fear not, you shall both receive your pay even if this works.”
 
“How much even you underestimate us. Money is the smaller concern. This will fail and only make it more difficult, but the task will still be completed.” Replies the calm-sounding man.
 
"Your faith in your abilities reassures me,” came a response from the other somewhat sarcastically.
 
“You would do well to guard your tongue,” hissed the female voice again.
 
“Now now, there is no need to make threats. Hold her arm steady for me and let me proceed.”
 
You feel a sharp pain in your wrist with your arm stretched firmly outwards. After a few moments, a voice chants an incantation, and the pain in your arm slowly disappears.
 
“There now, that should suffice I think. Return her to her group and continue with your plan. If this is successful I shall notify you and you can eliminate them all and withdraw.”
 
“Very well. It will not be. We will see you again once it is completed.”
“Of that I have no doubt.”
 
Darkness takes you. You remember no more.

######

Angelique looked at her wrist and then told everyone what she remembered from her dream, or was it a dream?

Of the voices, she remembered that two were male and one was female. They decided that one of the males was Morgan and the female was Marlina. The other male voice was unknown.

That's where it ended!

==== Detail ====

This session was spent going over what they had seen and learned up till now. They spent a lot of time discussing what to do next. 

Eryn suggested that they give chase to the Xvart and get the stone back. After that, head down to Tinkle's wagon and get him to deliver the gem and the letter to Allistar Finch through one of the gateway portals he can create. Symon said, "We have a few weeks to accomplish this, right?". Eryn said, "About a month and a half. Not enough time to get to Allistar and then return to assist.". The DM spoke up with a depth of reverb that sent chills up and down the spines of our adventurers and said, "Remember, you don't know where the Dragon Vale is.". Eryn replied, "Yes we don't! The map is in Nordain's castle in Coldspire as I understand it. At least that's what the letter said. We would drop off the stone and letter to Tinkle for him to get to Allistar, make our way to Coldspire to retrieve the map, make a copy to leave to whoever Allistar sends, and then follow the map to the Dragon Vale.

Symon agreed that he thought Nordain Hold would be in Coldspire, but they don't know that for sure. It is a guess. Angelique felt returning the child to his mother was the priority here. Cal-El and Eryn took off after the Xvart. It had been some time since he started running. The rest waited. Cal-El picked up the trail quickly. While he watched the tracks, Eryn searched the horizon for any movement. They followed the tracks as they paralleled the north road. The terrain became rougher as the cold of winter was starting to set in. The ground was steadily rising as well. They followed the tracks as they veered west. The terrain became even rougher and the tracks became fewer and fewer. They finally had to give up and return to the rest of the party. 

Once together they began discussing what to do. Without the gem, it was unlikely that Allistar would send help. Any decision would be based solely on the strength of the words in the letter, and on his willingness to help. They should try and get the letter to him. Eryn mentioned Tinkle again. He could possibly get the letter to him in an instant. Symon felt we should not go to the Tinkle well too often. He said that maybe the Freds have a way to get a message out. They talked about sending someone as a runner, perhaps Sergeant Harris, but Cassandra reminded us that there is almost no way around Frosthaven. A runner might travel toward Winderbend but based on the supplies found at the docks, it's likely that the Blackmore has taken it as well.

Angelique grew concerned about having this discussion where others would be listening in, meaning Morgan and Marlina. There was a discussion about who sent them. Symon remembered that a letter they had found said that the Priest, Mathias, had engaged the twins, Morgan and Marlina. They were sent to keep up with Angelique. They are keeping her safe as they need her for something down the line. It was then that they remembered meeting Mathias back at Three Point's Inn. He was the supposed follower of Ahn outside the inn being bullied by some people. That's when Angelique remembered that at one point during that meeting, he reached out and took her hands. She thought that maybe that is when he verified that she was who he thought she was. It was around that time that the feeling Angelique had of being watched started. 

The gods had Angelique recount the story of what happened to her father. When she was 8 years old, her father died. He was traveling to another town to do some research, but on his way back, the story goes that his horse was spooked and he fell to his death. The only mark was a lump on his head. Could he have hit it falling or was he hit, she didn't know. In her heart, she wanted to believe that he just fell. Sometimes though, she doubted that. 

Her grandfather wrote her a note some time ago saying, "You will never truly know how proud I am of you and how much I love you, granddaughter. When you are young, it is hard to see the path forward and where the future will lead us. But my years have taught me that this is nothing else. These paths are guided by the choices we make, each and every day. Choose well! Sometimes, however, these paths can be overshadowed by the past, even if the past was not your own. Your father's death was hard on me. It was hard on your mother and especially you. So I must now ask for your forgiveness. Besides suffering the loss of my only son Sullavin, I feel I am also partially responsible for it. It's a burden I must bare every day. Your father was helping me research something vital to us all. You must forgive me again for I am not at liberty to reveal what that was, to you. Your mother also knew nothing of the true nature of it. He wrote to me saying he may have found what we are looking for and he was returning with it in all haste. I do not know what he found for he did not say in his message to me. When he was found on the road, he had nothing unusual on him. He was not robbed because his purse was full and all his gear was intact. His horse was even standing over him still wearing its bridle and saddle for the journey home. My colleagues and I scribed with all the magic at our disposal to try and find out what he had discovered and what exactly had happened to him. We would discover nothing, which is disturbing in itself. The official determination was that his horse threw him and caused the fatal head injury, I would have accepted this but for one important thing. His ring was missing. Whoever took what he was carrying must have taken his ring also. You would recognize it as it is the same as my very own ring that you played with as a little girl. I'm telling you this now because you deserve to know it. Your mother did not wish me to burden you with all this because it would change nothing for you and could only lead to nothing. Perhaps she was right. However, I feel that since you have come of age, and have struck out on your own, You have the right and the need to know. I tell you this little one, I have many friends in this wide world and many, many, enemies. The name Blazecaller is known to many. Always be on your guard. Be safe, be well, and be strong.".  

Angelique thought that maybe he found that book that people thought would help them read the map. Symon asked, "So how does that make you so important.". He asked again if she had a ring or if she had anything that he handed down to her. She didn't carry anything. Eryn said, "She has the bloodline.". Symon agreed, "She's not carrying a trinket, it's her!". Eryn asked, "If we go to this castle and find the map, aren't we going to need to book to figure out how to read it?". Symon answered, "We can get the book if we have to have it!". Angelique said, "All we need to say is four words!". They were reminded by the gods that the map that goes with the book is not the map to the Vale that we will find in Nordain's castle. The map that goes with the book is a different map. 

The gods spoke again reminding us that the ring her grandfather has is a ring of their order. Angelique tells the rest that something she has never told them before is that her grandfather is a very powerful wizard. But her father was not a wizard. Symon suggested that maybe they need the ring and the bloodline for something. Right now they have the ring, they will eventually need her. Eryn asked, "Then why don't they take her? We can't see them, we can't fight them.". Symon said, "If they make a move that bold, her grandfather will find out what they are doing and they will fail. For now, they are guiding the actions around us in order to put her where they need her.". "So they need her in the Dragon's Vale?", asked Eryn. That brought up a discussion about Ahn and Sahn and the Ahn priests. The path they seem to wish us to take is north. What's north of them? Coldspire, Nordain’s castle, Grimbog Vale, and the Valley of the Bones. Xantha was going to Grimbog Vale. That's where she found the mummy that almost killed her. She discovered that it was something in the mud, something that long past infused it with the magic of a strange element. She took mud back with her and studied it and learned how the process occurs and the base magic involved. She captured one of those creatures. She learned how to take a corpse and animate it as one such creature. The process was very slow, too slow. She went to Cyix to visit someone named Azgar for assistance. She came back with more information and materials. She eventually worked it all out and was able to create Puppy and Zora's pet. She is also now able to create a creature like the one in her cage. She can create an army of them. This would make her very powerful.

Apparently, Xantha thinks there is a dragon or elements of a dragon sunken into the swamp. The magic came with the dragons. The question posed to them now was, where did the dragons come from? In remembering the tale of the second apocalypse, they reasoned that with the arrival of magic, also came the arrival of dragons. That made sense as the dragons were the magic. They arrived when Philogon arrived. They must have ridden it down to Paldegora. In examining the map of the area, around Grimbog Vale, it suddenly dawned on them that Philogon must have crashed into Philanaan, in the northern region, specifically, tearing across the land east of White Dragon Bay. The way the mountains are pushed up to the north, and the great valley cutting across the landscape beneath them, ending in the Greymist Mountains, this must be where it hit and Grimbog Vale is where it settled. 

Two more things came out of all of the conversation. One was, Allistar Finch may not care about the potential dragon attack coming from the north enough to assist King Lundor. The other thing was, how did King Lundor know that Allistar was still alive and in the place of power he now holds within the guild? The assumption would have to be that the Vale must not be as cut off from the rest of Philanaan as they'd assumed. He apparently has scouts or spies gathering information for him and keeping him up to date with the goings on. There was a debate about how Zara could see Morgan and Marlina. They debated that maybe it was something to do with her magic. Then they decided that it must have something to do with the ring she wears. It is infused with their mother's blood and some sort of magic. It allows her to control Puppy. There must be a component to that which acts as Ring of True Seeing. It must be on perpetually as she doesn't seem to do anything to activate it.

They continued back to the farm and returned the boy to his mother. Eryn let the boy know that they had already solved the mystery of the missing chickens. Goblins working in the area were taking them for food. The goblins in this immediate area appear to have been dealt with by the Xvarts. We took care of another group of goblins in Frosthaven on our way here. There are likely more. Symon explained to the boy that his mother needed him here and he shouldn't be out hunting them. She thanked us and offered us whatever we needed as a thank you for helping. Angelique told her that we need nothing from her. She should keep what she has. She offered to feed them which they accepted. She pulled together a meal and they ate and spent the evening resting. The party also discussed the supplies they‘d found and how to distribute them to the town. The only person they knew, and they really didn't know him very well, was Lucas. Or possibly create a council of Fred's to run this town. Symon asked Cassandra, knowing that she had every intention of killing Blackmore, if she would consider putting that off for a while and joining them as they continued northward to deal with the Lundor situation. They told her that they would make it back down to Blackmore and deal with him at some point. She told them that yes, she would stick with them. She damn well wasn't going to blacksmith for Blackmore. 

After getting a good night's sleep, they woke to a nice breakfast. They discussed identifying items. Angelique counted 8 items yet to be identified. Dagger, Bastard Sword, Leather Armor, Sword(Roger's), Gloves(Roger's), and 3 Long Swords. They decided to identify the Bastard Sword which was a +1. The Leather Armor was +2, the Long Sword is a Long Sword + 1, and the gloves were identified as gloves of missile snaring. Eryn took the gloves, Cal-El took the armor, Xor took the Bastard Sword, and Symon took the Ring of Protection +1. The party talked a little more about getting the letter to Allistar deciding to try the Fred's to see if they could get it to him. If they couldn't do it, Eryn suggested Tinkle as their fallback. Symon was really opposed to this fearing they would use up their friendship with him if they went to him with too many things that might be considered frivolous to him. Eryn thought that the dragoins swooping down from the north shouldn't be considered frivolous. Symon thought, Tinkle could escape that easily and what might be serious to us may not be considered serious to Tinkle. They decided that they should first see if the Freds can get this message to Allistar, so off to the potion shop they went. 

The area around the potion shop hadn't changed since the day before. The bodies were still beyond the building, in the woods. They knocked on the door and one of the Freds answered and invited them in. Symon started by apologizing for the bloody mess near their shop. They told him, "That's okay, they deserved it!". Eryn asked if they had a method for sending messages over long distances. They didn't! They asked what the party needed to send. Eryn said they needed to get a message to Allistar Finch at the 3 Points Inn. They corrected Eryn by saying Allistar Finch isn't at Three Points. He is in Sea Spire. Eryn realized her confusion. The Freds began debating how they might send a message like that. They finally answered that they couldn't guarantee that the message would make it to Seaspire and then if the message would make it to Allistar, as he is not an easy man to get to. It would require setting up an appointment. The consensus was that they should find another more definite route. Eryn asked if they could identify some items. They said they could. They offered to do it for 100 gold each, they'll supply the material components.

Angelique started looking through the plethora of items we'd found and dug out an emerald, a ring with a white stone in it and a silver ring and they offered to do three items for that and 50 gold. She paid and they identified the dagger as a dagger +2. Then they identified the short sword as a short sword plus +1. The last long sword was a long sword +1. She also asked if they could tell us what the jars of ointments were. They identified them as keoghtom ointment. There were two jars with 5 applications in each jar. It is a healing ointment that draws poison, cures diseases, and heals wounds. A jar contains 5 portions. Placed upon a poisoned wound or swallowed, it detoxifies any poison or disease. Rubbed on the body, it will heal 1d4+8 points of damage. The conversation turned to what to do next. They decided to head to the tavern to talk to Lucas.

Heading to the tavern, they noticed the temperature had dropped quite a bit. They were reminded that they needed to look for appropriate clothing for the coming winter, especially knowing that they will likely be heading north into even colder regions. On their way to the tavern, they came upon a shop that sold clothing. They stopped in to shop. The little old guy running the shop offered an array of basic winter clothing, very functional but nothing very stylish. They picked up some fur-lined cloaks and coats and such. Eryn picked up tall fur-lined boots. When they got back to the tavern, Lucas seemed surprised to see them alive. Eryn told him that they'd taken care of the problem. He asked, what problem was that? She told him that Roger and his crew were gone. Surprised, he asked, "Gone?". She said, "Yes, they are dead!". She told him there was a pile of bodies back at the other end of town. He and his crew were dead. Cal-El put Roger's sword on the table. Lucas' response was, "I can't say I'm sorry to hear that! His bunch came in here and about tore this place apart not long after you guys left. I don't know what happened to your friend. They drug him out of here! It didn't look like he was in good shape!". Eryn suggested that they needed to search the house west of the livery, where the tunnel from the old hotel led to. Lucas said, "The last time I seen him, they were dragging him toward the bridge and south out of town!". Eryn asked how long ago that happened. Lucas told him a couple of days ago. Symon said, "So they took him back to Frosthaven!". Lucas said, "That's what I would assume, at least that's what they said they were going to do.".

Eryn asked if Lucas had any way to get messages out of town without using physical runners, he told her, "Nothing more than someone going down to one of the towns south of here.". When asking about previous mayors, they were told that they'd killed the former mayor a long time ago. She asked if there was someone here that could take on that role and she was told no. She suggested that someone needed to take control of this town again and start working to bring back the businesses again. Lucas said, "Right now, we'd just like to get back on our feet. With them gone, at least that gives us a fighting chance.". Symon asked Lucas if he'd ever traveled north of here. He told them that once when he was little, he went up there one time. He told them, "It was a great place, once upon a time.". He continued, "There used to be a lot of people coming down from up there. We were kind of the center of getting back and forth through here. I went with my parents once a long time ago. The spire was spectacular, especially to someone young seeing it. I don't know what you'd find up there now.". 

Eryn asked, "Nobody has come in with any tales about what might be found up there?". He told her, "Since the war, there hasn't been anybody come in from up there! As far as I know, there isn't anyone up there!". Symon asked about a road going north. Lucas told him that the road north of here leads to Coldspire. Symon asked, "If someone were to travel that way, would you happen to know what kind of wildlife they might run into up there, like wolves or...?". "Lucas said, "Yeah, and probably bears and the normal stuff you would find out in the north and the woods and stuff. Nowadays, with nobody up there, you are liable to run into all sorts of stuff. All that was kept at bay with the Wolves of the North and Coldspire. The wilderness was tame back then.". Symon asked if he knew of anything going on in Coldspire. Lucas said, "Not that I know of. No one's been up there, that I know of, in a long time!". He added, "In the past, I had known people to leave and go that way, but they never came back. I assume they died or found a better place to hide, who knows!".

The party decided to take a couple of rooms for the night. They started making plans on where to go next. They discussed going to the Grimbog Vale which seemed like a bad idea. Or maybe go to Coldspire which seemed like a really bad idea. The Gods spoke out and said, "Well, you'd have to go through Coldspire to get to Grimbog.". Eryn said, "And even with that, we aren't getting the message to Allistar! It would just be us and King Lundor taking on the dragon.". Symon said, "He should understand that every path to Allistar was overrun with evil and that we might be the only good guys between here and Allistar.". The party stocked up on supplies and then rested at the tavern for the evening. Symon asked Cassandra, "And you are coming with us?". She told us that she would go with us, "It sounds like a great adventure and there is really nothing else left for me down here now.”.

The party rested and rose the next day, refreshed and ready to go. They told Lucas about the supplies that they'd liberated from at the docks. They should use that to help restock the town. He was very appreciative. They ate and then headed out, north, through the main gate. They eventually arrived at the Xvart devastation. The temperatures kept dropping and the air got colder and colder. They continue on and as it got late in the day and dark, it got really very cold, really quick. They looked for a place to camp off of the road. Angelique started working on building a fire. Symon invited the twins, Morgan and Marlina to join them but received no response. Angelique brewed some tea and shared it. Eryn and Xor took turns guarding the night. 

The night passed uneventfully but when they woke up, something seemed odd. Xor and Eryn remembered starting the watch, but they didn't remember anything after that, until they woke up the next morning.
They were both concerned with why they had fallen asleep. They thought that possibly the tea had something to do with it. They suggested that everyone check their stuff. Nothing seemed to be missing but Angelique wasn't responding. She hadn't woken up yet. Eryn tried to wake her, shaking her and calling to her to wake up. Angelique finally stirred but was very groggy. She was disoriented at first. As her head cleared, she said, "Something strange happened.".

Eryn checked Xor for needle pricks and found a mark on the back of his neck. He checked her and found the same thing. She spoke up and told everyone that they'd been darted. Symon said something about the freaken twins. Angelique started going over what she could remember of the night before.

======
"She does not have it." You hear a female voice speaking as if in a dream.

"They must have hidden it somewhere or one of the others has it.. hmm. So be it. Let us proceed with this." Replies the voice of an unknown man.

“This will not work.” You hear a different man say calmly.

“Perhaps, but Mathias wants it tried. He is growing impatient with your apparent lack of progress,” the first man answers.

“My sister and I have filled graveyards with impatient adversaries.” 

"What about friends?" Quips the voice quickly with a touch of glibness but then continues. “Oh, I have no doubt, but her companions have proven to be much more resourceful than even you anticipated.”

“All the more reason to follow the plan!” This time it is the voice of the woman again dripping with venom, "Your interference has already jeopardized this mission!”

“Perhaps, but things are widening and threaten to spin out of control. It is not a risk we can afford to take. Plus, with the joker in the deck now you would both do well to watch yourselves. You know where the one is the other is not far behind and he is not someone any of us want to face. At least not now."

“You let us worry about those two,” replied the calm voice again.

“Hmm, unfortunately, that is not something we are willing to do being so close to our goal. Fear not, you shall both receive your pay even if this works.”

“How much even you underestimate us. Money is the smaller concern. This will fail and only make it more difficult, but the task will still be completed.” Replies the calm-sounding man.

"Your faith in your abilities reassures me,” came a response from the other somewhat sarcastically.

“You would do well to guard your tongue,” hissed the female voice again.

“Now now, there is no need to make threats. Hold her arm steady for me and let me proceed.”

You feel a sharp pain in your wrist with your arm stretched firmly outwards. After a few moments, a voice chants an incantation, and the pain in your arm slowly disappears.

“There now, that should suffice I think. Return her to her group and continue with your plan. If this is successful I shall notify you and you can eliminate them all and withdraw.”

“Very well. It will not be. We will see you again once it is completed.”
“Of that I have no doubt.”

Darkness takes you. You remember no more.
 
======

She looked at her wrist.

She told everyone what happened in her dream, or was it a dream?

Of the voices, she determined that there were two male voices and one female voice. It was decided that one of the male voices was that of Morgan. The female voice was Marlina, The other male voice is unknown.

That's where they left it.