Phyrra looked around, the massive megalopolis stretching across the sky before them. "I...suppose we won't have trouble finding our way, at least?"
The shadar-kai shook her head, dusting herself off after the fall. "No, we won't. I can't even begin to fathom how the Shadowfell warped itself to take Empyria's formation into account. The bodies and resources he would have had to acquire in order to construct this in this timeframe...if I don't know better, I'd think it's impossible."
"Well...like you said, the planes are connected. The Feywild, the Shadowfell, and the Material plane between them. You were slightly misspoken earlier, though." Shavvir gave Wake a look of confusion before he continued. "All planes can cause ripples in all the others. It's possible that Empyria's formation was started here...that somehow, Strahd had been working on this...renovation since before we took Alvesari. It would explain the scale. That's not to say that he caused Empyria...moreso, he simply determined the scale of it. If we left Empyria untouched, this could be what it would look like in the future. One massive city, one where there can be no opposition. One where outsiders live in terror of the day they'll be tracked, hunted, and gutted." Wake met his brother's gaze as he finished speaking, Lance struggling to hide a scowl.
"Anyways…" Shavvir looked between the two brothers, recognizing and ignoring the situation. "Several days' journey, and that's assuming there's no interruptions. There's...no, nevermind. Time's of the essence, right? Best not waste any time." The shadar-kai turned around, heading off towards Strahd's domain.
Phyrra quickly chased after her, the others following suit behind the two of them. "I think everyone save perhaps Maul knows something's troubling you. Is it something you want to talk about?"
"My village is slightly to the west...it would add a half-day to our journey. I haven't seen it since this happened...Strahd, Empyria, any of it. People eventually repopulated it after the initial raid. I can only assume it's abandoned now...no need to waste everyone's time to sate one's curiosity."
"I would disagree." Shavvir immediately opened her mouth to respond, but Phyrra cut her off. "The mere fact that you thought about it means that you're curious, and in the grand scheme of it, a half day won't change much. Remember what we talked about earlier. Within that village is a place, a place where you and the Raven Queen formed something closer than a bond...a pact. What would she wish you to do? Return, or ignore it."
"Ignore it, save the time, and make sure we all survive this."
Phyrra raised an eyebrow in question. "And is that you speaking, or Her? I know little of the Raven Queen, but enough to know that that doesn't sound correct."
"She...yes, She would want me to go. To find the memories there, of those that were either slaughtered or forced to evacuate. To watch me be haunted by the flood of memories from walking through the now-desolate village. It's what She craves, Phyrra, but that doesn't mean it's the correct decision."
"Again, I would disagree if I was in your position. This choice I told you about...it's never easy. You'll never find a choice that's something-for-nothing. What is half a day worth to you, Shavvir? Is it worth finding what draws you to this place?"
Shavvir let out a sigh. "Why are you asking me this? This is detrimental to you, and we both know it. I've spent many, many moons concerned only for myself, and now that I'm trying to be beyond that I'm receiving nothing but backlash."
"Not backlash. Just differing opinions. Shavvir...this is a pact. You shouldn't run from it. Let me...let me put this in perspective." Phyrra took a quick glance at the rest of the group, seeing a decent bit of distance between them. "Everyone here's looking for a backup plan. Some of us have it...admittedly, myself included. Lolth is on the Material plane, Shavvir. That alone gives me the solace I need to know I can hide in the Underdark for as long as I need. Zaelynir can run whenever he wishes. Maul can join his people, and the Empyreans would be foolish to attack an army of warforged outside their walls. Wake and Lance...they're cunning. If I know Wake, he has five plans for where to go should this go south."
"In fairness, it seems you know less of Wake than you thought." Shavvir immediately bit her tongue, shaking her head. "I'm sorry...that was uncalled for. Still, are you saying I don't have a fallback? The Shadowfell is my home. This is a place of despair and dread...Empyria would lose the motivation to find me long before I was threatened. That's why I'm trying to be swift about this...I'm worried the same will happen to the rest of you."
Phyrra gently shook her head. "No...do what you must, Shavvir. Do what you know the Raven Queen wants you to do. You know it's the correct choice here. I won't think any differently of you if you chose not to take it...it's an equally admirable decision to look out for the rest of us."
Shavvir looked to the west...she couldn't tell if it was her imagination playing tricks on her, but she thought she could see the top of the clocktower that used to stand in the center of her village poking above the horizon. A flash popped in her head - one of her clutching Everlife with both hands, slashing at the wraith-like horrors around her. A moment later and it was gone, a chill running down her spine. Phyrra was right...she had to go. She had to find out.
Gently, she started walking more towards the west, slow enough that she hoped the change in bearing would be unnoticable to the others. Eventually she settled on her new direction, taking them towards her home village...for answers, and potentially even more.
After a half hour, Zaelynir felt a probing in his mind. The incubus let it in, knowing full well Wake was intent on having another secretive one-on-one. "Again? You are truly persistent, I'll give you that."
"There's been something I've been keeping to myself ever since we got back. I think Empyria knew we were coming to the Nine Hells...and now, to here. I think it had to have been one of us...I don't know how they'd get the message out, but there's no way they coincidentally arrive in the Nine Hells days before we do, not after being in Acheron for that long."
Zaelynir mentally nodded. "Can't say I disagree with you, but I think you'll need to explain a bit more, dear."
"We changed course a half hour ago. Not much, but it's definitely a different direction. I'm wondering if it's Shavvir. She was 'captured' by the Empyreans...entirely likely that that was the way they were going to rescue their informant."
"You think after what we've done, they'd let her live? Even after selling the rest of us out?"
"I think they'd keep her alive the longest out of all of us. I'm just saying it's suspicious...I don't have much in the way of proof."
Zaelynir couldn't hold back a chuckle, Lance giving him a look that the incubus simply waved off in passing. "Well, I suppose I should be flattered that you trust me enough to tell me about this. I'm quite surprised...we've really come around, haven't we?"
"Hardly. This mental link is private, which grants plenty of benefits. If I could do this with anyone, rest assured you would be low on my list of conversations to have. You've self admitted that you've got the easiest way out of any of us. Perfect cover for someone that wants to pass that they're not a spy. The only one I trust is Maul...and that's primarily because I think his construction would prevent him from selling the rest of us out. That, and his apparent ineptness towards magic."
"Yes, well…" Zaelynir glanced toward Maul, the warforged ever-quiet, ever-vigilant. "The rustbucket does seem loyal, I'll give you that. So what is it you intend to do? Drop Shavvir dead while we're in the midst of her domain? I don't suppose you know a convenient way out of the Shadowfell, do you?"
Wake shook his head. "This will be Shavvir's last warning. I'll see where this leads us, and if it's worth it. If she gets 'captured' again...I'll make sure it's the last time it happens."
"Oh my, so aggressive. Well, in any case I'll leave you to that. I'd hate to get in the way of whatever machinations you're planning." Zaelynir thought to himself for a few seconds before re-opening the mental connection. "And why should the rest of us believe you aren't this 'traitor' starting the witch hunt is often a successful way to safeguard yourself from being its culprit."
"Hmm...I suppose I don't have a good answer to that. Well played."
"I do like you, Wake dearest...these private little chats of ours keep all the travelling interesting. Before you start throwing out accusations, best to put together at least a passable defense for yourself."
"Noted. And with that in mind, I have thinking to do." Wake severed the link, planning his response to any questions that could be asked. Zaelynir was right...besides being the de-facto leader of the group, he had no real response as to why he wouldn't have sold the others out. In fact, being the leader made it that much easier...his 'plan' could simply be steering them exactly where he needed them to go. Proving his innocence would not be easy...but if his hunch was right in that there was a traitor, it would be something he'd need before delving any deeper. Due to that, he had to stay silent until he knew just why Shavvir had taken them on this detour...speaking too soon could backfire immediately.
Hours passed, the darkened sky bearing down on the entirety of the Syndicate. The Shadowfell's presence was making itself known...though the group rarely made idle chit-chat during their travels, it was deathly quiet as they walked forward, unending. The landscape around them was equally as inhospitable as the atmosphere - deadlands stretched in every direction around them, no sign of travel on the makeshift path they walked. Every so often, Lance thought that he could see someone off in the distance, a haunting figure that lurked amidst the dead and greyed ground...only to see nothing.
Several more hours passed before Shavvir finally, confidently, could see the highest buildings of her old village up ahead. The spire of the clocktower was the first signal that she'd steered the group in the right direction, but minute-after-minute, another rooftop popped up on the horizon. It wouldn't be long now...half an hour at most, and then she'd finally -
Shavvir saw a flash of movement to her left - they were approaching the narrowest part of the path, two jagged cliffs rising up on either side. Before Strahd - before Empyria, this was a frequent for ambushes of all sorts, bandits setting up traps here day in and day out. She'd been part of a few of them - on both sides, in fact. It was easy money, clueless travellers or hapless lost souls from the Material plane made for an easy paycheck. "Be cautious. I sense an ambush up ahead." Shavvir unsheathed Everlife, the sword glimmering despite the darkness around it.
Behind her, Wake shook his head. This was where she planned it, why she moved this way...this was where Empyria would 'capture' her, and make sure that she escaped unscathed. He could only imagine what would come next...how Empyria planned on exterminating the rest of them. And yet, despite that...he found himself unable to raise a concern. Let her go...let the rest of them suffer...what difference was it to him?
Shavvir looked around at the rest of the group...Wake wasn't the only one experiencing such apathy. This was what she was worried about, the Shadowfell's tug on their morale draining the energy from all of them...except Maul. Perhaps due to the Warforged's construction, perhaps his sheer resiliency, or maybe Shavvir's inability to get a good read on him...but he seemed no different than normal. "Maul, I'm going to scout ahead. If I don't return in...five minutes, rally the others and go through. Shadar-kai like me used to set traps here all the time, often after the second crook in the trail. Send someone up both sides...you should be safe then. Everything clear?"
"Instructions processed. Directions understood."
"Good. In that case...I'm going to take a tip out of Wake's book and see if I can't get the jump on them." Shavvir knew the landscape around her well...but even then, Dimension Door had limitations. She'd learned a new method of traversal, one that she hadn't been able to put into use on the Outer planes, but one that worked quite well in the Shadowfell...the Ethereal Plane.
Shavvir began casting the spell, pulling from the Raven Queen's power that rested within her. This was for Her...this was to return to the place where it all began. As soon the spell completed she watched as a raven swooped out of the sky towards her. In a panic she shut her eyes...and when she opened them, nothing but a swirling void of grey surrounded her.
This was what it looked like...she could make out where she'd come from, but everything seemed...distant. Maul was still an arm's reach away from her, the others not much further, and despite that it felt like they were impossibly far away, out of reach. She held out her hand and watched as it harmlessly passed through Maul...or perhaps, didn't quite reach him.
She'd never been here before...and didn't know what exactly to expect. She stepped forward, now positive that she was close to Maul...no, her form was wholly consumed by the warforged's ethereal presence. Despite that, he still felt far away, unreachable. In fact, everything did...the ravine, the cliff faces...her town, less than an hour away, felt like it would take days to reach in her current position.
Shavvir shook her head...she had to focus, and spot the ambush...if there was one. She turned around and headed into the ravine, walking the familiar passageway. She didn't know if she was safe here...she knew that she could never see Wake when he made his short excursions into the Ethereal plane, but she'd also never tried to harm him or ask if he even could be harmed. Now wasn't the time to find out...if she died here, it was almost guaranteed that her body would remain her forever.
Again, she shook her head. Was the Shadowfell getting to her? No...this was her home, its power meant nothing to her. She continued deeper into the ravine, past the first bend. She started climbing the walls, finding that instead she could just...float. Gravity was nothing here, her body simply a point in space that could move freely and of her own volition. She even moved into the cliffside before ascending up, moving through impossible terrain before reaching the ambush spot.
To her surprise...nothing. Her vision was foggy at best but she was confident she'd see the bodies of her ambushers if they were present, just like she'd seen the bodies of her companions earlier. Perhaps they were further ahead...it wasn't unlikely that a new set of thugs had taken up residence here, using a different lookout point to sprint their trap. She continued forward, floating amidst the rocky walls around her...nothing.
Shavvir paused. She could almost see the end of the ravine they were in...perhaps her imagination had been playing tricks on her, she'd seen nothing to indicate that it wasn't safe. Still, she doubted herself...she didn't know the limitations of this realm. Perhaps there were adversaries right in front of her, she just couldn't see them...would it be better to potentially endanger herself finding that answer out, or reconvening with the rest of the group?"
She didn't want to get them injured, not when there was a chance it could be prevented. Cautiously she stepped out of the Ethereal plane, her leg fading slipping into that shimmering veil. She dispersed the spell, now standing comfortably at the far end of the chasm.
Now to go back, and before Maul and the others started searching for her...she had no clue how long she'd been in the Ethereal plane, her only measure of time being that the others hadn't mobilized to look for her. She crept forward, finding slight purchase on the rocky walls as she scrambled back towards the entrance. Multiple times a handhold or foothold slipped, rocks tumbling to the ground as she flailed trying to catch her footing. So much for a subtle entrance...she could only hope that her fears of an ambush were unwarranted.
Shavvir made her way up to the top, the chasm walls levelling off slightly to make continued climbs easier. She had Everlife at the ready for whatever might be here, lurking in the shadows...just like her. She crept forward, almost getting to a point where she could signal her allies, let them know that -
"On the ridge!" She heard the elvish tongue to her left, but when she turned there was only empty chasm. A moment later and she heard Maul bark orders...it definitely wasn't the same voice, the warforged's dry, monotone expressions clearly coming from a different direction.
Shavvir watched as the entire opposing side of the chasm came to life, a half-dozen shadar-kai archers appearing from nowhere with bows drawn, unleashing a volley of arrows towards her. Shavvir threw herself to the ground, most of the arrows flying over her head while the rest stuck into the rock around her.
"Think fast, think fast…" Shavvir muttered to herself, her hands preparing to cast some spell...she would figure out which one along the way. An idea popped into her head and she unleashed the magic, an illusory duplicate of herself now lying directly beside her. From the ground she commanded it...she couldn't see where it was going, but she knew the terrain around her well enough that she didn't need to. It stood up, footfalls echoing from echoing from each step as it ran across the top of the ridge, throwing caution to the wind. She guided it to one of the major height differences, jumping into the air and rolling as it "hit" the ground.
It wasn't far from the entrance to the chasm, the illusory duplicate likely now out of sight of the archers...it was hard to tell the angles. Shavvir gave up on the perfect reenactment, simply translocating it down to the ground, hoping the others were there. She made it speak in hushed tones, making sure that her adversaries couldn't overhear it. "I'm up on the top of the left cliff face. I'm under fire, but I think this might have drawn their -
Shavvir felt a blunt object bash into her head. She'd been too focused on guiding the image to notice the lone shadar-kai climbing the cliffs right below her, the pommel of his blade bashing into her temple as she lost control over the spell. She grasped for Everlife and held it out in front of her as she blocked his next attack, only to see another shadar-kai climbing to her. She didn't have much time...she needed to escape.
In the blink of an eye she opened a Dimension Door right as another sword came swinging down, burning through the power granted to her by the Raven Queen. She appeared at the far end of the chasm, well outside the range of the archers. Here, she could hide and wait...and hope that the others would make it out safely.
Or would she wait...the others could take care of themselves. She looked over her shoulder, towards her village. It wasn't far, ten minutes at most. She'd come this far, hours passing by as she sat in thought of what could be waiting for her there...why she'd felt drawn to it ever since setting foot in this realm. The others would make it through just fine...there was no reason she couldn't get a bit of a head start on them.
She turned around, heading towards the village step after step. A slow rolling hill descended, dead forests surrounding the otherwise quiet town. Shavvir looked behind her one more time, any sounds of conflict either too muffled or nonexistent...they'd be fine without her.
After a few minutes she made it to the outskirts of her home, walking through the somewhat familiar streets. Despite how long it'd been since she'd been back, everything looked almost identical to how she remembered it...though that wasn't saying much. The last she'd been here she'd been in an adrenaline-fueled rage, fighting off the horde of ghouls that had swarmed her. Broken windows and shattered walls lined nearly every building, a sign of the conflict that had taken place here. It was impossible to tell whether or not a new group of denizens had taken root here only to pass with Strahd's growing influence, or if it had simply remained abandoned since then...no, it wasn't truly impossible. There was one place she knew perfectly well, a memory imprinted in her mind for eternity.
Shavvir traveled the streets, passing buildings she'd spent her childhood around. On her left, where her parents bought her her first dagger. On her right, a childhood friend's house. Up ahead, her mentor's home. It was all so familiar...but also, so painful.. Everything had changed since she'd been here. Everyone she knew from here was dead...everyone, except her. She'd managed to survive, only to see the destruction she'd wrought. As she drew closer to her house, it was more and more apparent. The slashes on the sides of the buildings were from Everlife, the sheer number of them a testament to how long she'd fought. The streets were piled with the bones of the long-dead people that used to live here...seemed it never got resettled.
As she drew even closer, something else hit her...something unexpected. The smell...the smell of dried, baked flesh. She drew her weapon, cautious of what exactly was there...but when she turned the corner, she sheathed it. Bones were strewn everywhere, a massive pile of skeletons that could easily create twenty bodies, if not more. Flesh still clung to some of the bones, scraps that had managed to persist all this time...the smell was beyond horrendous. All around the pile, oddly enough, were marks of her blade...that couldn't be right. It must have been the wraiths' claws...that would make more sense. Just beyond the pile of bodies was her old house, the walls barely held together as if the entire structure was ready to collapse.
She'd come this far...no turning back. She walked in, seeing the destruction...everything was shattered. Pots, vases, furniture...it looked like savage beasts had attacked it. Two skeletons lied near the entryway...it was undeniable just who they belonged to. They'd died protecting her...and there was nothing she could do to save them. There was no time to reminisce now, however...not when she was so close. She continued on, finding the carpet pulled away exactly as she'd expected, the not-so-secret hatch to the basement now in plain sight. She climbed down, the dimly lit room no issue to her.
Oddly enough, this was the only place that didn't send chills up her spine. In fact, it made her calm...at peace. On the wall, the mount that once held Everlife was still empty, the remaining items down here of little note to her. Shavvir stood silently, looking around...and finally, let out a sigh.
"Why am I here?" It was a question directed at nothing in particular...she knew she was the only one around, her companions likely several minutes behind her. There was no revelation to be had here, only pain from seeing the ruins of her home...like she'd expected, there was no value to be had strolling across old memories.
She looked around at all the rubbage in the basement, most of it a decayed mess from years spent abandoned, untouched. The mount was the only thing intact...when Shavvir looked back up at it, she saw a raven sitting on one of the pegs that held the sword, staring intently at her.
"What? Here to deliver a message? What have I missed?" It fluttered over to her, moving to sit on the tip of her sword. She shook Everlife, the bird keeping an oddly secure grip on the blade.
"What?" Shavvir held up the weapon, staring at the creature...she knew a sign from the Raven Queen, and this was undeniable. However, like her deity...everything was unclear. She was sure there was something demanded of her at the moment, but no way to find out what it was. The bird fluttered back over to the mount, now standing on the opposite peg.
"Is that it? Fine." Shavvir held up the weapon, letting it rest on the old mount. As it did, both pegs snapped under the weight of her sword, equally deteriorated from decades of abandonment. The sword clattered to the ground, the raven flying near it.
Shavvir knelt down and picked up the blade, the bird cawing at her. She swiped at it as the raven hopped away. "What?" She swung again, the bird backing away just in time. "Speak, damnit. You dragged me all the way here just to stay silent? Why do I bother serving you anymore?" Shavvir swung again, two lighting-fast attacks that caught the raven off guard. She slashed it in two...rather than the expected result, the bird faded into a dark mist, one that began to swell in size, surrounding the shadar-kai until it was all that she could see.
Her mind was barraged with images...images that didn't make sense. She was younger, back when she'd lived her. She watched herself swinging...but instead of the wraiths, it was the townsfolk. She heard her parents cry out in pain as she cut them down, their bodies falling limp immediately. "Shavvir? Shavvir what are you doing? Stop!" She could hear their words, feeling every bit as real as when she was first here. She watched as her father threw her into the basement, slamming the hatch closed behind her.
The images kept playing in front of her more and more rapidly, all of them depicting Shavvir attacking her townsfolk. Over time, she realized this wasn't simply a dream...this was what had happened. The memories she had of the event perfectly matched with what she saw, the only discrepancy being who she'd been attacking. It hadn't been the wraiths that killed everyone...it had been her. Something had corrupted her, made her see phantasms instead of her townsfolk, made her think that they were a threat...made her kill them. She'd done this...she'd killed everyone.
Shavvir began to sob as the images continued...why had she done this? Clearly she wasn't in control of herself...she remembered the shadows, the wraiths...something had done this to her, but what? She looked down at Everlife...had it been that? She couldn't remember seeing a wraith before grabbing the sword, only being thrown in the basement. She threw the weapon on the ground, Everlife clattering as it skidded out of sight as the images flashed before her one after the other, more and more rapidly as the scenes of gratuitous violence continued.
"Stop!" Shavvir clutcher her head as tears stained her cheeks...but amazingly enough, the mist vanished. She fell to her knees, head flinging backwards. "Did you do this to me? Why? I...I trusted you!" She picked up Everlife again...as soon as she did, she could feel that it was different...that its power was gone. It was simply a normal sword now, rust quickly beginning to settle on it from years of not being taken care of. Within her, she felt a hollowness as well...the Raven Queen had revoked her power. Shavvir was nothing more than herself.
"Good." For the first time since she'd first set out on this journey as the Raven Queen's servant...no, puppet...she felt free. Free of the requirements she'd felt were forced upon her, as if she owed the Raven Queen something. In truth, she didn't...and never had. Her whole life, she'd lived thinking that the Raven Queen had given her the strength to save her hometown, or at least purge it of the corruption that had assaulted it. But no...she'd been given the strength to slaughter people, innocent people that deserved to be here in her stead. Shavvir looked down at Everli-no, at her family's heirloom sword. She didn't deserve to be here. Even if it wasn't her fault, she still murdered an entire town...and that was something she'd never be able to live down.
At the same time, she felt a hole welling up within her. Her sense of purpose was vanishing rapidly...even though the Raven Queen was cruel and sadistic, it gave her purpose nonetheless. Without that, she felt lost within herself...she knew that she had to serve the Syndicate's goals to the end, but beyond that...she didn't know what, if anything, could lie beyond that.
"Shavvir?"
The shadar-kai perked up, hearing her name. The rest of the Syndicate had finally made it here, Phyrra calling for her. She climbed out of the basement and into the streets, passing by the mountain of bodies beside her. Phyrra ran towards her, stopping a few paces away. "Shavvir...I thought we'd lost you." She looked around at the skeletons, the house, and finally circled back to Shavvir. "What happened? What did you learn?"
Tears were still drying in Shavvir's eyes, the beginnings of a story that she knew she had to tell...even if it hurt. "Let's talk...in private. Is that okay?"
Phyrra glanced back at the rest of the group, nodding. "Give us a moment...she appears unharmed."
Shavvir led the drow inside, through the ruins of her house and finally into the basement. There, she kicked her family's sword to the side, practically collapsing on the ground. It had taken every bit of her strength to stay composed for that long...and now that she was as alone as she could get, that composure was long gone.
"I did it, Phyrra...I saw visions. I wasn't fighting back wraiths and mists, I was slaughtering my townsfolk. The Raven Queen...she corrupted my mind, made me see the shadows that weren't there. She - she...she made me kill all of them."
Phyrra rushed over, holding the shadar-kai's heads as tears ran freely once again. "Shhh, shhh...slow down. Are you sure of what you saw? Are you sure it wasn't just a trick or a test?"
"I know it...the visions match my memory. The bodies outside...they match where I stood and fought. I did this, Phyrra...I did all of this."
"And what are you going to do next?"
That snapped Shavvir back to reality a bit, looking up towards the floor towards her ally - no, her friend. "What do you mean?"
"You have a decision to make, it seems. Is the Raven Queen someone you feel you should continue serving, knowing what you know now? Or not...in which case what will you do?"
"I think the answer has been made for me...She's revoked Her power." Shavvir gestured towards what was once Everlife, the sword now a rusty, unimpressive piece of metal. "My magic, my power, my blade...everything's been revoked. I hate her, Phyrra. I hate what she did to me, made me do, and likely has made others do. I didn't know that her pursuit of downtrodden memories would run so deeply that she would twist and corrupt the mind of a young girl just to scar her forever. I want nothing to do with her"
"You're...you're sure, Shavvir? You've served the Raven Queen for over a century now, are you - "
"Yes, Phyrra. I'm sure. This is the right path...this is what I was brought here for. To know the truth...to know what really happened, and to carve a path of my own. I'm still here. I'm still part of the Syndicate, and will serve our goals. However, I need to atone for what I've done...no matter what delusion made me swing the blade, it was my hand that held it. I can't forgive myself for that."
"Shavvir, you can't blame yourself. You were controlled and manipulated...I know you. You wouldn't do something like that. We both know that."
"Be that as it may, that can't suppress the guilt I feel. I did many terrible things while serving the Raven Queen...but this act here trumps all of them."
Phyrra sighed...Shavvir was deeply emotional right now. Trying to get her to see reason was something that she'd have to try later. "I understand, Shavvir. I do. Are you ready to go back to the others?"
Shavvir shook her head. "Not yet...I have to ask you something, Phyrra. Do you know if Lolth...if Lolth would accept me?"
Phyrra backed up, a look of mixed shock and confusion quickly taking over. "I - I'm not sure, Shavvir. What are you asking."
"Phyrra...I need to serve. I've spent my life serving...and now that I'm finally free, I don't know what I would do...what I'd want to do. The shadar-kai as a race have grown to serve the Raven Queen...but I can't do that anymore. I still need something to serve, some cause to champion greater than myself. Phyrra, you listened to me when I needed you to...you've taught me about Lolth, and it's a set of beliefs that I can follow. Do you think she'd...she'd let me serve her?"
"Shavvir, you're overreacting. You've had a lot happen to you in a short period of time. I...I can speak to Lolth, if you'd like." But for now, I think you need to give this time. Evaluate your options, please...for yourself. Don't enter into another contract so soon. Even if that is what you ultimately decide to do, rushing into something that serious can only bring pain."
There was a calmness between the two of them, before Shavvir uttered one final work. "Okay."
Phyrra smiled. "Good. Now, are you ready to see the others?"
Shavvir nodded. "Yes. Thank you again, Phyrra. You're a great ally and friend...and I won't forget that."
"We had our differences, but I think that's behind us now. Come on, let's go." The two women stood up, Phyrra noticing that Shavvir was ready to leave her sword behind. "Are you sure you want to leave unarmed? I know that that sword brings you a lot of pain...if it's too much to carry, I can offer this." Phyrra pulled out a simple and plain dagger, something she'd kept on her as a last line of defense. "It's not much, but it's all I have."
Shavvir looked back towards the blade she was more than willing to leave behind...despite the pain it brought her to look at it, it was hers. It had served her faithfully for the vast majority of her life. It wasn't Everlife, anymore...but it was her family's sword. Her sword. "No, that's alright...I can do it. I'll keep it as a reminder of what happened here...and that I can never let it happen again."
Phyrra cocked her head, climbing out of the basement. "What do you mean? We've killed far more than what happened here, and we did it knowingly. I understand your anger and frustration, Shavvir...what happened here was terrible and unforgivable. However, I caution you not to retaliate too strongly, in fear of pushing away those that you still need around you."
"Correct...I stand by my position that the Syndicate's actions were justified - we were slighted, and we retaliated accordingly. The Raven Queen, however, did not have cause for what happened here. This was an act of flippant aggression...and I will punish it whoever I can."
Phyrra ascended the ladder out of the basement quietly...the words Shavvir was spouting were troublesome, to say the least. The tenets she seemed to now believe in were not something that Lolth supported. Though she worshipped the Queen of Spiders fervently, she knew Lolth was a chaotic god...acts of flippant aggression weren't altogether uncommon. However, that might help Shavvir come to her senses...or at least reign in the retaliatory nature that had sprung forth. "I'll speak to Lolth at nightfall, Shavvir. I'm not sure how much you'll get out of it, unfortunately...I'm not sure if She'd be willing to speak in a dialect you know. If She does, however, you're welcome to listen...perhaps, even join. Does that sound good?"
"It does...thank you, again...for all you've done. Before we leave, I suppose it might go without saying...but do not speak of what was discussed here, understood? I'd...I'd rather keep this between the two of us. Now...let us not keep the others waiting."
"Indeed." The two women left the house, the end of a clearly awkward and forced conversation quickly coming to a close.
"Everything in order?" Wake looked upon both of them, doubt shared equally between the two.
Shavvir nodded. "Yes. I...apologize for the interruption. This is where I grew up...I would be beside myself if I didn't visit again since it wasn't far out of our way. I needed Phyrra for a matter of...religious import and obligation. I don't suppose you'd like to understand?"
Wake shook his head tersely. "No. I wouldn't. Now, unless there are any detours you intend to conveniently hide from the rest of us, do you have any objections for heading straight to Strahd's domain?"
