A Preliminary Meeting

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria planned on taking care of a little problem that the locals were having. There were rumors about a temple out in the wilderness that was problematic. Some of the villagers out there were going missing. People that had gone to investigate either went missing as well, or came back insane and screaming. That was enough for Allyria to want to go look in on the problem herself. A local strongman or soldier couldn't do much about it from what she gathered. There was some kind of magic involved there. A sorceress like herself was the best antidote to whatever rot was coming from that temple.

She had sent a letter to Jorkahn, it was time for him to pay her what he owed. He would make a good buffer for anything that would get in her way of fixing the problem. He was a strong fighter. One of the best she knew. Hence she waited for him on the main street at a tea shop. She was obvious sitting there. Her red cloak, and combat armor were on. Her scthe leaned up against her chair. On top of it, she was also the only grey person on the street.

Hopefully he'd find her easily. She did not like to wait that much. She had a cup of tea and some cookies though. Those would buy her some patience. Besides, it wasn't like she gave him a time table.

Though he did say immediately.

She waffled back and forth in her head.

[Jorkahn Wealddir]

When he said immediately he meant immediately. It wasn't long after the letter had been sent that he left for Morith. He personally wouldn't have been surprised if he had arrived before it. But, that wasn't the case. Allyria hadn't given him an exact location to meet, just the city. It shouldn't be too hard to find her, and it wouldn't be. The boy walked through the streets in his typical get-up, albeit a bit dirtier. He had washed everything since Ne'Ranmba Rul but not very well. The only addition to the cloak and heavy armor were the bandages on his hands. At least they were clean this time.

After just a bit of looking, he thought to go to a tea house. They had met there once before, it wouldn't be much of a leap in logic to assume she would be there again. Now the question was, were there multiple tea houses in the city? Fortunately, the Champion wouldn't have to ponder this question long. He spotted the duchess sitting at a table with cookies and tea from a distance. She was easily recognizable, at least to him.

Jorkahn walked up to her and stopped as he reached the table, his face was blank and his eyes still showed a bit of the coldness and emotional exhaustion from before.

"Good morning, my lady."

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Ah, good morning, Jorkahn. How was your trip?"

He had arrived. She offered him a cup of tea and some biscuits. It appeared the young man had come prepared for battle. That was good. There would be no further stops other than to make camp while on the way to the temple. Or do any foraging that would be necessary to feed themselves. She did plan on bringing enough supplies for the trip to and from. But it wouldn't hurt to keep an open mind. Anyway, her internal monologue was rambling. None of this was important at the moment, what was important was the contract and that he was up for the job.

"Are you up for a dangerous job? Have you heard of the quiet temple?"

She had, and it concerned her. The locals were having issues, and she wanted to take care of the temple before a larger problem arose. With villagers going missing, and others returning insane, she could think of only one cause. Dark Magic.

[Jorkahn Wealddir]

The boy's eyes glazed over for a few moments as he thought of his trip and the one before it. He still thought back on those days often, though the Champion was getting better at breaking himself away from the painful memories. He no longer had to harm himself. With a sigh and a shake of his head he slowly sat down and simply responded, "Better than the last one." And, in fact, this was true. For his trip had been uneventful this time around. Nothing of note, actually.

Though delayed Jorkahn took advantage of the tea and cookies offered to him, first nibbling on a cookie before taking some sips of tea to wash it down. They were surprisingly good. But that wasn't important either. Allyria's question was. The young warrior leaned forward ever so slightly to show he was listening and interested in what his Drokagr friend was saying. "I have not heard of this Quiet Temple. But I do feel the need to blow off some steam."

The latter was said with a touch of seriousness and detachment unlike him. Normally he would smile to defuse the situation and imply that he was joking. This time his face was blank and devoid of any telling signs of emotion. It wasn't a lie, after all. Just a simple statement based on how he was feeling.

"Would you like to leave now, My Lady? Or should we discuss the particulars further before setting out?"

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Before we leave I'd like to let you know what I know first. Make sure you're up for it. The quiet temple is rumored to be a maddening place. Those villagers that have taken it upon themselves to venture into the place have only ever returned babbling and mad, or not at all. Some people have been spotted going to and from there as well. Dark clad people. I think there's some kind of religious element to it. Religion is outlawed in Cruinthe, yes? I think we'd be doing the legal system a favor by checking it out."

That and looting the place bone dry before it was over. Allyria had a sense about these things. This place was going to be incredibly dangerous, and also at the same time, incredibly loaded with things she could find useful. Artifacts, books, coin. It was up to Jorkahn if he wanted to go though. She didn't feel it was right to just drag him along onto an expedition he didn't want to go on.

"Are you still willing?"

[Jorkahn Wealddir]

Jorkahn nodded and listened to what the Duchess had to say. It worried him. The building itself was maddening? Are potential cultists worshipping some dark god? From what it sounded like this could be the case, and they had cast some dark magic to keep intruders out it seemed. The boy let out a sigh and rubbed his temples as if in deep thought. His current mental state was not ideal, to put it lightly, for this excursion. But, he had promised this as payment, and the boy was not one to neglect his debts. After a moment of hesitation, "I would be repaying my debts and helping the people nearby? Though I care little for the current power structure I would loathe letting undesirables set up an even stronger foothold."

That was also putting it lightly.

"Should I know anything else before we depart?"

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria thought for a moment. Had she missed anything? That was all she knew about the place. Just its location and what had been posted on the notice. Which those boards are always vague. The simple folk could barely read and write, and their ability to describe what was going on out there was limited. She did not fault them for that, it was the poor education system, or lack there of, that was at fault. She stopped herself before she wound up deep in thought about this country and its problems and potential solutions.

"That's everything I know. We will have to keep our guard up the entire way, though I doubt we will have much trouble before we get there. A small party like ours should go unnoticed."

With that, Allyria began to pack up. She would have a cart, horses, and supplies waiting back at her house. They would disguise themselves as merchants heading towards the village that was besieged by this temple and its nightmares. Then they will cleanse it.