Advancement

[Anastasia]

"...what? No. No!" Robeaux slams his hands down, "I haven't seen her in a week!"

"I'm sorry," Antenora meets his gaze, "But you know we wouldn't lie to you."

[Ebiris]

"You know what this means," Alicia says, some sympathy in her voice. "When Syala completes her divination we may know what you were, but you are not Robeaux."

[Anastasia]

"But I remember! I REMEMBER!" HE stands, hands on the table to support himself, then quietly, "...I remember."

"Do you remember a celestial ever lying to you," Antenora's pressure is gentle but persistent. At this he begins to laugh, laugh and laugh and laugh and la-

Syala's behind him, a hand on his shoulder. "You're another victim of the Abyss. You came to the right place: We help victims."

[Ebiris]

"We'll learn what we can from Syala's divination," Alicia reiterates while Syala sits him back down. "Anything more may have to come from Rosewater. Though of course we can't rely on anything we've been told today."

[Anastasia]

Silence. Robeaux holds his head in his hands as Syala finishes her magic. She quietly shakes her head, no words needed to communicate that.

[Ebiris]

Whatever he was, he wasn't powerful enough to justify any legends.

"For now I think it best if you stay in Sylica," Alicia says. "We can prepare a safe place, though it will be cut away from magic so no one can scry on you or attempt a sending. I don't want Violet or anyone else knowing that we're aware of her tricks. You'll be protected until we learn who you used to be, or at least made sure Rosewater is no longer a threat. After that you'll have to decide what your own place in Creation is."

[Anastasia]

There's no resistance to that, just a nod.

This atrocity can't be overlooked. Turning souls into disposable copies?

[Ebiris]

She goes too far. Unfortunately even after all of this we're no closer to Rosewater itself. The secret passage certainly leads to a prepared trap elsewhere.

Okay can handwave getting 'Robeaux' set up. We'll put him in a remote house in Sylica with severed magic around it and a low-key guard routine protecting him/making sure he causes no trouble.

[Anastasia]

Once that's done, the three of you have a moment alone.

"Violet - if we can't get Rosewater directly, can we get her?" Antenora asks. "I fear we won't find good information after this, or at least not information we can trust."

[Ebiris]

"We still have our own scouts and enquiries trying to find it, this was just one prong that didn't work out," Alicia says. "Violet's been keeping her head down though, I think probably she spends most of her time either in Rosewater or Shendilvari, so getting her elsewhere is going to be a trick."

[Anastasia]

Antenora paces as she says, "I don't see much value in talking to Malcanthet herself - if Violet's as productive as we fear she is, I can't imagine anything that would make her abandon that research. Let alone with her being angry over our ascensions. No, there's little logic in her listening to us. Unless you see something I don't, Alicia?"

[Ebiris]

Alicia shakes her head. "Anything Violet is doing, she's certainly doing with Malcanthet's full sanction and working directly against us. There's absolutely nothing to be gained by talking to her about this. No, we need to find Rosewater and put a stop to what's happening there ourselves - bearing in mind doing so will almost certainly pull Malcanthet into the fray herself. The one saving grace is that it's so valuable she likely wouldn't trust the location to any of her usual patsies to handle the violence in her stead."

[Anastasia]

"Then we have to keep on it," Syala concludes, "I'll cast a wider net. Someone has to be willing to talk or knows something."

Antenora's considering a time, "Alicia, what of the Adversary?"

[Ebiris]

"As far as evil powers go, he's one we're not on the worst of terms with," Alicia concedes. "But there will be a price to pay for such assistance. Can we bear to pay it?"

[Anastasia]

Antenora closes her eyes, and ultimately says, "I can at least hear the price," she finally decides, "This is a sick mockery of the normal procession of souls. To take a soul and take all it knows - and make it a disposable fake of another? No. I will not stand idle at this."