mooglenet_backup | [voice.]

To any and all travellers or merchants who wish or plan to journey by foot to or from the regions of Dali, Lake Bresha, Macalania woods or between them, you may find this of note. It is a warning.

Recently, a region has sprouted from between them named Caedarva Mire... or in the common tongue, Illusion Mire. It is from the continent I once called home. And it is a very dangerous place - filled with undead, fomor, imps, wild and savage creatures, parasitic insects and plantlife, and most importantly a species of cannibalistic creatures known as the Merrow and their sisters, the Lamiae.

I ask you to divert your operations around the Mire and not attempt to cross it- at least not
until initial observation and exploration has been conducted. I thank you, and I remind you this is for your own safety. The more accidents that happen there, the more numerous the Lamia's army of undead will become. I have no desire, nor wish, for somewhere like that to claim any more lives.

[Filtered to Vincent.]

I'm going. I need to visit Azouph Isle's staging point within the Mire. An Immortal should be there.. and I need to speak to her as soon as possible.

[Filtered to Rughadjeen.]

We need to reclaim imperial territory. We will be leaving tonight. With luck, we should reach the proximity of the Mire by sunrise tomorrow. That gives us chance to get to Azouph and avoid the Ephramadian fomor which infest the territory at nightfall. A survey of Nashmau is appropriate. Prepare yourself well and do not be late.

[Filtered to Eiko.]

...
I have to go somewhere. I will return eventually.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You warn others away, and yet you plan to go there yourself.

[He isn't irritated with Rishfee for it, but he is curious about the reasons.]

Your sister?

They won't have a knowledge of the area. Nor the fauna. The last thing I want to hear about is the Lamiae invading somewhere nearby with an army of undead and re-animated merchant idiots that just had to take a shortcut through the place to get where they wanted to go and got lost in the mist.

[Yes, guess what. His voice is short. He doesn't sound amused. And his voice is changed by this point substantially. All part of the evolution. There's a small pause before he answers.]

She's too high-ranked to be on staging points. It's Nareema, some girl that was brought in from the army about two years ago. She's highly unstable, and both insane and extremely irritating. Even before the proceedure.

[Vincent and Rishfee have been keeping in contact, of course, but it's been a long enough period of time since they've spoken that hearing that harsh tone from Rishfee, of all people, is concerning. Rishfee can't see it, but Vincent is frowning.]

...then it was good of you to warn them.

And if she was not brought to this world along with the location?

It's not for them. Probably even while undead and reanimated all they could manage would be to throw sundries at whatever their mistress deems an enemy.

[Trouble like that ends in one thing. Behests and do-gooders coming from all over the world to line their pockets, flatten everything that moves, and most likely find things they're not supposed to see in places like Hazhalm. In this completely bizarro personality shift, that's all he is concerned over.]

If she is not, the Mire will require a guard.

[The more he hears of this, the less it sounds like the Rishfee he's come to know. Something is definitely wrong here. Vincent gets the idea that perhaps this is something Rishfee was trying to hide from him. Why he's showing it now... it means he either doesn't care any more, or it's become too great an effort. Either way, Vincent wants to keep an eye on Rishfee, now.]

Hmm.

A guard, even after your warning.

... Yes. A guard, even after my warning. Because humans are fools. They don't listen to any sort of advice they well should.

[Yes, something was absurdly wrong there even though you've already noticed. He doesn't give half of a damn about maintaining any sort of appearance now. He's divided everything up, them the humans and him, not. ]

You can come and see what I mean if you want. I'm already dragging the General around with me, so one more won't be such a burden.

[It was just as well that Rishfee made an offer to let Vincent go with him. Otherwise, he would have asked to accompany him, or even might have followed, without consideration for whether Rishfee wanted the trip to be private or not. At least the offer, callous as it was, had been made. It meant that Rishfee at least thought something of Vincent.]

General... You mean Rughadjeen.

I'll join you.

Fine, we'll meet you there.
[A pause.]

If you're not outside the mire at sunrise, we'll go on without you. We can't waste any of the day getting to Azouph. Walking around the place at night is suicide.

[At least Rishfee's explanation for that makes sense, even if it still isn't quite like him.]

I'll be there.

[voice.]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]

[voice- filtered]