Tyrrier Reven Hollow

[Phoenixsong]

"Couldn't've decided it was none of our business before we left. Cool," Blue huffed. "You've all spent, what, a year messin' around in some entire other universe instead of your own, and now you go 'what if it's not our business'? It bothered you enough to come out here and have a whole meeting about it, didn't it?"

He muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'can't believe I'm actually encouraging this', then sighed. "I didn't come here to get in trouble with a lord, like holy shit no. If there's no reason to harass the guy, I'll be first in line to fuck off and leave him alone. But I also didn't agree to stay on Forlas just to sit on a fence all day. Maybe I'm still missing some context, but if what Leaf told me about other people stealing or messing with relics really is that big a deal, why drop this one? Apparently you've already poked at a bunch of other ones."

He pointed a paw at Ralsen. "Look, where is it? The manor. Sneaking in before didn't work, but you wouldn't've come back if there wasn't something else you thought you could try. We go, we see what's what, we get enough information to actually decide whether we have to go all vigilante on this guy or something else, and whatever that thing is, we do it. I don't get why this is difficult."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura peered at Ralsen, remembering her last conversation with him. That bizarre, unsettling revelation that he didn't even always know why he did things. That some greater power was guiding his actions, puppeting him towards a goal. How much agency did he have? When could he choose to exercise it?

There was something she was missing...

 

[Chibi Pika]

'Besides, we don't actually trust him, right?'

Well, no, obviously Jade didn't, except...

'I've known him for a while and I'm pretty sure he actually believes that the relic is in the manor,' Jade replied. 'Besides, if he wanted to mislead us, why even bother calling us up here in the first place?' All he would've had to do was just say nothing and the Wayfarers probably would have been too busy with the Covenant and the Red Star to bother returning to Reven Hollow.

So then why...

Jade squinted at Ralsen. "Why did you call us up here?"

Ralsen met her gaze. "I made a deal with Laura to exchange mutually beneficial information," he said simply. "I wanted to fulfill my end of the deal."

"Yeah, but you could've just written what you'd learned in your letter, right?" Jade pressed. "Why meet us in person? Why here? Were you hoping we'd try to steal the relic?" That was his whole thing, right? Say just enough to get everyone else to do his dirty work for him?

Ralsen closed his eyes with an inscrutable smile. "That's an interesting idea. It undeniably would have been fortunate if you'd decided to go that route. But the simpler answer is that I wanted to say it in person because I'm going to steal the relic."

What.

"The lord and his nobles are away from the manor, so I had to make it back to Reven Hollow as soon as possible, or else risk losing the opportunity," Ralsen added helpfully, as if he were discussing the weather.

Jade blinked at him, momentarily speechless. "...What?"

Vesta let out a rumbling sigh. "There was no need to tell them that, either."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura pushed herself out of her seat.

"You can't—!" she blurted, then swallowed her panic. No point addressing him. Had to warn the party, efficiently. "He can't help it, it's a compulsion, it's up to us to stop him, and if we don't, he's gonna use the relic!"

Malachai swivelled his head, working out what had her so panicked. She couldn't wait for him to clock it.

"He needs the relic to punch a wormhole back to his home world – but the Red Star—!"

Malachai's eyes snapped wide. "Seize him!" he barked, with all the authority he could muster.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Vesta sat up abruptly in her seat in response to Malachai's shout. "Now you've done it," she grumbled.

And without wasting a second, the Charizard spewed out a thick Smokescreen from her jaws, enveloping the table and everyone seated around it.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Malachai's throat erupted in a chittering, clicking growl.

"He's gone!" he declared, in fury. "Chase him down!"

Laura coughed and spluttered and held her breath as she tried to dart on all fours towards the nearest exit. She could pay her tab later.