Act 2: Upheaval V - The Red Sword

"I'm not sure where I'd even start," the white mage replies. "Just—do your thing. I'll keep my mouth shut."

Konrad:

Having no better ideas, May shrugs and agrees. Steve carefully lays her on the "ground" and she closes her eyes. Steve closes his eyes in real life at the same time, and then May fades away once more. Opening his own eyes, Steve looks at the others and says, "I think that's the weirdest experience I've ever had."

Mihai takes a knee so he'll be eye level. - "How are you feeling?"

The mage takes a moment to take stock and finally answers, "Like I usually do I guess."

Zeiss wrote:

"I'm not sure where I'd even start," the white mage replies. "Just—do your thing. I'll keep my mouth shut."

Konrad puts a hand on Zeno's shoulder.

In Myrzen: "Good man. Because otherwise, and this is just a fair warning, Edward would probably make you disappear," he warns. "The Enemy would probably want to eliminate you too, likely in a messy fashion. So be extra careful not to blab about any of this, masz to?"


* - "masz to". Not-Polish. It means "got it", "savvy(?)" "Comprende/s"

Zenobiusz is very much worried of what he's just gotten himself into. "I'll... just forget about everything that happened here," he says, nodding multiple times. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Take a minute and rest up. Fight's in 20 minutes now, give or take."

Then he gets up and addresses Zenobiusz. Or tries, seeing by how awkwardly he scratches his head.

"Where do i even start... the reason is we're in Myr in the first place is we're chasing down a man that..." - he searches for the right words - "...did something to us that's slowly turning our minds into other people. We have a friend who could easily break the condition, but he took her away too. That's the short version. The long one is... a mess. And it'll throw you into a world you'll never be able to look away from once you know it."

The white mage raises his hand to stop Mihai from saying anything else. "No, please. I really don't want to learn more than I need to. Unless Nadzieja wants me to, of course."

He's still shaken and is more than ready to move on from this.

Mihai nods - "Fair enough."

"You've got the right attitude, Zeno. You can relax now."

He walks over to the door where Nadia left and opens it up.

Meanwhile, Steve looks over at the tables where they ate before to see if there's anything to eat or drink.

There's a bowl of fruits left on the table, alongside a plate of pastries kept fresh by a glass cloche.

When Konrad opens the door, he is greeted by two of Nadzieja's clan members, who've been guarding this room since the party came to rest. As for Szef Zerva herself, she's leaning against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. Duma is standing a few feet away, right next to an Aspect of Life—a silhouette of multicolored light that pulses each time his summoner breathes. The Szef straightens himself up when the Red Mage makes eye contact with him. "I'm sorry for waking you up," he says with a disarming smile. "You've asked for my help?"

He's holding a small briefcase in his right hand.

The black mage gets up off his bed and heads for the table to eat some fruit and pastries. He looks around for a glass so he can at least make himself some water to drink.

Imaginary situations flash through Konrad's mind when he sees that smile. Containing them, he says, "Yes, we're ready for you now." He moves to one side of the door to give room for them to pass, and looks at monk. "Nadzieja?" Nadzieja. Such a lovely name. He wants to find more excuses to say it.

Zenon Duma and his Aspect saunter into the room, just as Steve is pouring himself some water after biting down on a chocolate éclair. "Hello there," the green mage says. "How are you?"

"...Mighty fine, sir," Zenobius replies.

As for the young monk, she nods at Konrad and walks back into the room.

"Zenobiusz, we're about to freak Szef Duma out. You're welcome to stay, but you just said you don't want to learn anymore, so..."

Konrad closes the door right behind them.

Nadzieja and Duma both raise their eyebrows at the exchange between Mihai and Zenobiusz, for completely different reasons. The white mage gives an inquisitive look at his Szef, to which she responds with, "They said you can stay..."

Zenobiusz sighs and shuffles towards his bed. "Here we go," he mutters to himself as he sits on it. "Don't forget we only have twenty minutes or so left."

"I... thought I was here to assist you in the next match," Duma says, perplexed. "Am I?"

Konrad joins them at the center of the room. "Yes, Duma, you are, and we're grateful that you've come. Any assistance you can provide, from yourself or your champions, would be of great help. I'd prefer not to leave any chance to...'Wanda'."

He does his best to appear confident and on Mihai's side, though he has some misgivings about allowing Duma, of all people, into the same circle of trust as Nadia. But having someone like Duma as an ally would be a great help in preparation for the war; he can't get around that fact.

Deception 15
Hide his jealousy and anxiety from Duma

Duma doesn't appear to notice Konrad's incertitude, and he answers with a merry tone, "I feel exactly the same! Myr will be better off under Nadzieja's guidance instead of that stern matron. She gives me the shivers."

Szef Zerva is slightly amused. "I'm glad to hear it," she says.

"And you need not be worried! I've brought just the things to help with your fight." He gestures at his briefcase and puts it on the table, right between the bowl of fruits and the plate of pastries. "Before we start however, you said something about ‘freaking me out’? Your friend over there doesn't seem none too happy about it."

Zenobius looks dejected by the whole affair, but a quick glance at his Szef seems enough to embolden his courage. He readies himself for whatever the mercenaries are about to reveal.

"First off, i'm sorry for revealing it like this. We were going to wait until it was opportune, but we've just gained some knowledge we need to act on immediately."

He braces himself and looks Duma in the eye - "Szef Duma. Until very recently, you were the target of a ploy to take control of your mind once you ascended to the rank of First. We've since taken steps to ensure you'd be free of this, but the entities who've done this to you are still watching, probably from the moment we step out of this room. The ones behind it are the Elementals that empowered you."

Steve watches the exchange carefully as he stuffs an entire angel wing pastry into his mouth. He's surprised by how good the pastry is, and gains a new appreciation for Myrzen desserts.

Konrad:

Szef Duma reacts by smiling incredulously and looks at Nadzieja for an explanation. "He's kidding, right?"

With her arms crossed, she shakes her head.

"Uh..."

He faces Mihai again in disbelief. As for Zenobiusz, he's shifting on his bed, even more uncomfortable than before.

"He's not kidding. We had this done for you so we wouldn't have to kill you. Some of us considered the option of handling that during the first fight."

He eyes the food for a moment.