They get to Defiance Bay the morning of the hearing, everybody fully expecting the Leaden Key to interfere or entirely interrupt the proceedings altogether. As the hours pass by though, it almost gets boring being so tensed up and waiting for something. Except Cera seems incredibly on edge, like she's either remembered something more about Thaos that worries her even more than they already are - he's fully responsible for thinking up and starting the Legacy, along with ensuring it continues, that kind of dedication alone is worrisome - or she's worried about how the hearing will end.
Even when they testify what they saw and uncovered, everything to do with the Leaden Key's activities and the consequences of those activities, nothing happens to alert them to the Key's presence in the room. But it's when the Animancer, a man Pallegina recognizes as one of the Republics' best minds, steps up and starts talking that Cera's eyes suddenly widen and track something across the room.
Barrasc suddenly stiffens, his voice takes on new inflections, and then he says "Sorry, your grace, but we will accept no judgement but our own." He starts to take out a wand, but then suddenly freezes mid-attack.
The guards rush forward and seize his arms, but one of them suddenly stiffens and starts drawing his own sword - he to freezes halfway through the motion, Cera's eyes firmly fixed on him.
He's here! Possessing person after person!
She darts out the room after a moment, even as Duc Aevar tries to restore order in the now-chaotic room. They go to follow Cera when her voice suddenly screams into their heads, a million 'Twin Elms' banging around in their heads like she was attempting to brand the name into their minds.
They get outside the room, just in time to hear "Shall I end it for you?" and a familiar thump that can only be Cera's body hitting the ground in another collapse. They round the corner, and find a man with long gray hair and two knives standing maybe a foot from Cera's unconscious form.
Aloth immediately casts Minoletta's Concussive Bolts, which knock him across the floor and well away from her.
"Very well, I'm already late. And like as not, she only pulled some useless bit of info from my mind."
The only thing that stops Aloth from running after Thaos with Ninaguath's Killing Bolt on his lips is Cera's sudden gasp of breath - that immediately draws his complete attention and has the spell dying from his mind for now. When he kneels beside her as she regains her breath, she focuses on him…and then starts speaking fluent Engwithan, too rapid to understand and clearly frantic and scared. "What? Cera, slow down, start over in Aedyran."
Her expression turns first to confusion, then to panic and she lunges for her fallen crossbow. Clumsy, fumbling movements trying to set the first arrow where she'd have it ready and aimed in a mere moment all but confirm Aloth's worst fear since meeting Maerwald - this isn't the Cera he knows. Iselmyr's nervous and unusually sympathetic voice brings that set of memories to the front of his mind when she asks Ye remember Maerwald, right lad?
"Gods…" He's at a loss of words at the moment, but slowly puts a hand on the crossbow that still isn't nocked yet and points it towards the floor.
Sagani says "We should follow Thaos, he-!" She's cut off by another round of rapid Engwithan from Cera's past self, who still hasn't introduced herself yet, but they actually catch Thaos' name somewhere in the mix of rapid, scared-sounding Engwithan pouring from Cera's mouth.
Eder asks "Kana, hasn't Cera been teaching you Engwithan?"
"Yes, but learning a long dead language is hard at best - and Cera was 'at best' ever since Heritage Hill. And I can't translate or even make out most of what she's saying at this speed."
Not-Cera pauses and stares at each of them in turn, then around the room in confusion. She presses her hands to her ears, but it doesn't seem to drown out whatever she's hearing - likely the thoughts in the hearing, which almost immediately devolved into a near-riot when Thaos attempted to kill the Duc.
Pallegina looks to the admittedly loud room on the other side of the wall and says "We need to leave, one way or another."
Aloth kneels next to Cera and quietly says "I want to talk to Cera. If you can understand me, we need to leave here. Alright?"
She looks up at him, and he's immensely relieved when the look in those blue-green eyes turns to recognition - Cera's back then. "What happened? Where's Thaos?"
Aloth helps her to her feet, and asks "What's the last thing you remember?"
"In this life? I ran out here…saw Thaos. He said we've been hounding him for too long, mucking up their plans far too much. Asked…asked…'shall I end it for you?' Those were his exact words. And then…" She grips her head, stumbling forward and mumbling a line in Engwithan with her eyes squeezed shut.
Eder says "Twin Elms. You told us all something about Twin Elms."
"It was in his thoughts. He wasn't expecting me to be able to read them, I got that out of him before he clammed up." One of the guards hurries over, and Cera immediately says "I need you to do something for me. Go to Hadret House, tell them I sent you. Please. Tell Lady Webb, or tell whoever you meet to tell her, that he tried and failed to kill the Duc. And that we're off to Twin Elms to stop him. Those exact words."
The guard looks incredibly confused, but nods his head and doesn't question her.
They get out of Defiance Bay with enough ease; and then there's another attack on them, with Pallegina being another target now for saying there was a conspiracy against Animancy when there actually was one - seems the Leaden Key doesn't like anybody on their trail, no matter how much of a chance they have at finding them.
Cera is at her patience's end at the moment, between whatever she saw in her vision that she clearly doesn't want to talk about and now yet another attack by the Leaden Key, she's had enough for one day. In lieu of giving any kind of response, she has one of the other Leaden Key members suddenly stab the Wizard through the chest with his sword, shoots two more through the hearts, and then everyone else gets over their shocks and starts reacting.
Pallegina charges forward first, and then suddenly all the remaining enemies around her get knocked to the ground - another of Cera's abilities then. A rouge appears out of nowhere suddenly, having snuck up behind her, but this time she's more than ready for this trick - she sidesteps, whips out her knife and elongates it with her own powers, and then stabs the dwarven rouge through the heart with a knife that's mostly a physical knife but with a good inch of psychic power extended out into a very sharp tip.
When she pulls her knife out, the fight is all but over already - they must be really good at killing these people by now, after everything that's happened. And nobody is going to question why Cera would be on her last straw with the Leaden Key at least - she just passed out maybe two hours ago, was briefly overtaken by her previous life's identity, and more than likely has a splitting headache from the sheer panic that they could hear still going on in the Palace following the attempted murder of the Duc.
AN: Alright, next chapter! Yes, I kept Duc Aevar alive - both to keep the city from going completely feral like it did in the game and because Cera could reasonably keep it from happening. Plus, I just like messing with Thaos' plans. And as for Cera's Awakening getting worse, well, just wait. I've got a few scenes planned for it. Enjoy! More chapters are coming soon!