4. Silvershield Estate

Aiwë blinks at him. "Do you... feel a blood pact is necessary? I mean, I'm here for frills and theatrics as much as the next bard, but I think we've got this." She pauses, eyes widening. "Wait, do you have actual blood pact magic now?"

Dieter stares at Aiwë for a millisecond "no, not like that.

Come on, I ate that spider for you and drank that dragon blood. You can indulge my culture for a bit too.

We are about to embark on a dangerous infiltration into a wizards stronghold. We should do so as brothers and sister" Dieter replies.

A muscle flares in Aiwë's jaw and her eyes harden. She pulls out her knife. "You don't cut your hand, we have weapons to hold. Cut here. " She slices her arm and holds it out to Dieter for him to grasp.

Koveras gives a firm nod. "Cut off the head, and the body will die." He slips out a hunting knife and slices his arm.

Aldous has to borrow a knife. "To ending Rieltar Anchev and the Iron Throne." He winces slightly, but does the deed with conviction.

Dieter slices his arm and grips Aiwë’s tightly united purpose.

The four grip each other's bloody hands, life essence mixing for a moment.

And then it's over.

Aldous nods grimly. "Blood pacts are all well and good. But what we need now is a plan." He looks at each of them. "Any ideas for how we pull this off?"

Aiwë wraps her cut. You dont magically heal blood pact wounds.

"You think maybe we could break for lunch first?" she asks apologetically. "We were supposed to get something in the shopping district but we... got sidetracked."

Koveras eyes Aiwe. "No wonder you're not feeling well. The servants brought me dinner an hour ago." He gestures to an empty plate on his desk. "But I could eat again, if you don't mind company."

Aiwë looks at the plate, then out the window to the setting sun. Her laugh is strained. "Yeah. Yeah!" She nods as she exits the room. "Yeah..."

She doesn't take in most of the manor as she walks to the kitchens, where she normally admires the art and fine details of the house. Once she arrives she stands still, looking around with a frown as she realizes her stomach has entirely abandoned her.

Dieter walks out of the room. He blinks to a side passage and punches a pillar before quickly blinking back.

"Thank you." Aiwë sits and starts on the potatoes, doing her best to experience the taste and texture.

"What have you been up to since Wyrm's Rock? I hope your pens and inks have kept you quiet company." The alliteration falls off her tongue in a way she finds comforting.

Koveras cuts himself a piece of venison and nods. "I've been putting on paper what I know of the compound. Basic layout, defenses, routines."

After chewing thoughtfully he swallows, then speaks, "I won't ask how you're doing right now. And we can talk or not talk about anything you want. But..." He meets her eyes. "I'm here. If there's any way I can help, any weight I can carry... Well. I am here."

He waves his hand dismissively. "Or we can talk about Wyrm's Rock, or something else. What did you think about the meeting?"

Dieter thanks the staff and follows them to the reading room, he unclasps his gorget and rests it on a cloth he pulled from one of his pockets.

He takes a few bites of the food and chews aimlessly Watching the two talk.

Aiwë's throat catches when Koveras meets her eyes and her grasp on her fork becomes an iron grip.

"I'm...sorry if I haven't been there for you."

"I'm here."

"I just hope you're not hurting yourself by trying to carry your own pack and everyone else's."

"If there's any way I can help, any weight I can carry... Well. I am here."

"How many times does someone need to apologize for not being there for you before you realize that they're not there for you?" she whispers when she can finally speak.

"I'm not mad at her. Not for leaving or for lying I'm—!" She cuts off before her sharply increasing volume can become a yell. She rubs her forehead, looking anywhere but at the men in the room.

"I feel like an idiot. I thought of us as family and—well... we don't even think of family the same way do we? Its my fault I'm upset. The only thing that's changed from this morning is me."

Koveras seems to be focused on his food as Aiwe speaks. When she's done, he wipes his mouth on a napkin. "You are mad at her. Anger needs time to burn; you should let it."

He sits back for a moment. "When Rieltar took in me, my mother, and Winski, I believed for the briefest of times that life would be better. I thought my family would have a father figure to provide for us and protect us. It didn't take long for Rieltar to strip that hope away. I wasn't mad at him. I hated him." He tosses the napkin onto his plate. "I feared him. I probably still do."

The half-orc shakes his head, trying to straighten out his thoughts. "What I mean to say is that when a person turns out to be someone other than we thought, other than we hoped, it's hard. Personally, I think Stella's merely immature. She doesn't know what she's been blessed with, the supports she's had her whole life. Maybe she just needs to figure out who she is without them, before she can truly appreciate them. Maybe after she's done some growing up she will be worthy of your love and trust, and reciprocate that."

Suddenly self-conscious, he winces. "How am I doing? This kind of talk isn't my specialty. Anything helpful?"

Dieter takes another bite of food.

Aiwë looks at the half-orc levelly. "I want to kick you across town for calling Stella immature and comparing her to Rieltar." She smirks, reassuring him. "I understand though. You're comparing our hurt, not the individuals. And you're right. These last couple months has been Stella's first time dealing with anything truly difficult." She looks up at the ceiling, toward the stars.

"I just hate how difficult it is. Assassins, looming war, and now this! It's not fair. I can't share details but... Duke Jannath and Xan were having a hard time with it too. I want to be there for her but I can't." Her voice breaks. "I can stand behind her and sing songs all day and none of it will matter if she doesn't trust me or believe in me. She's still worthy and I do love her, but if she doesn't trust me... Then I can't help her."

"He’s right though, also he was showing similar situations of misunderstanding not comparing the character of person." Dieter goes back to eating.