Inner Universe

[Ginrai]

"Same here."  Sitting on one of the chairs near them, he whispers, "So, do either of you know an Ashton Newleaf?"

[Brian]

Devin frowns, and shakes his head, glancing at Astryd.  Astryd looks around, sees that you're alone, but drops her voice anyway, and says, "I know him, somewhat, but I know more of him.  When he came to the colegate, he sought to learn the Path of Fire.  He even changed his name to represent that fact.  When he began to study, though, he was found to have aptitude for the Path of Water, instead.  So that is what he studies.  He's very calm, always pleasant to the other lorekeepers, and quite patient.  Do you think him a traitor?"

Devin rubs at the bridge of his nose, like he's experiencing a headache, and frowns at this.  "Anything is possible," he finally says.

[Ginrai]

Ginrai frowns.  "He's the only follower of the Path of Water here, right?  Well, I heard from the Bard that he's been acting strangely lately, talking to himself when he thinks no one is around, continuously checking something in his pocket.  That sort of stuff.  Of course this could all be a false alarm, but it's better to check on it."

Looking at Astryd, he asks, "Do you know what his original name was?"

[Brian]

"Not hardly," Astryd says, snorting.  "We've got a veritable proliferation of followers of the Path of Water at the keep.

"Even still ... that is behavior to keep an eye out for.  What do you propose we should do?"

Devin nods thoughtfully.  "Another confrontation, as with the other?"

[Ginrai]

Ginrai shakes his head.  "Unlike Serril, I'm quite sure that Ashton will know what an Oath of Blood really involves.  Also I want to first meet with Serril."

[Brian]

"Very well," Devin says, climbing to his feet.  "As always, I trust your judgement.  Lead the way."

Astryd looks at him questioningly for a moment, and then shrugs, and looks at you expectantly.

[Ginrai]

While walking to Serril's room, Ginrai says in a soft tone, "For this situation I want to confront Ashton alone for I fear that this might be extremely dangerous.  If I don't return after a certain period of time I would like you to get backup from either Nathan, Sir Bloom, Bjorn, Durant or Radagast."

[Brian]

"As you wish," Devin says, frowning.  "Is there anything we should be aware of before you confront him?"

[Ginrai]

"Hmm... at this point, nothing else in particular."  Ginrai checks if they've reached Serril's room.

[Brian]

You have, and Devin and Astryd both stop, and step back to let you knock on Serril's door first.

[Ginrai]

Ginrai knocks on the door.  "Hello, Serril?"

[Brian]

"Come in," he says, without actually answering the door.

[Ginrai]

Ginrai enters and, after Devin and Astryd does so as well, closes the door.

"So, how's everything going?  Find anything new?"

[Brian]

You, Astryd, and Devin see Serril sitting at his desk, working on a schematic for something.  At a glance it looks like a large jar.

"Not much," he says, glancing up, and putting his pen down.  He makes no move to try and conceal what he was working at, and Devin peers at it with interest, but apparently can't make it out, and gives up relatively quickly.  "I was able to meet with my allies, though.

"They explained a bit of what happened to the north, and what's out there.  Two of us are still missing, though."  He frowns at this.  "We're working on making some explosives to add to the trebuchets.  We haven't actually used them yet.  The first day, the field was mined.  Today, we would have been hitting the Storm-riders.  Tomorrow, we should see the first actual use of them.  I'm trying to develop masonary we can fill with pitch, or...."  He trails off, though Astryd and Devin both look interested.  "You meant about spies," he clarifies, though apparently only to himself.

Astryd shrugs, glancing at the sketches of jars, lids, and diagrams of wind flow.  "Though, it's nice to know we can continue to have new surprises to hurl at our enemies," she says.

Devin nods wordlessly.

Serril frowns, and rubs his chin.  "I'll admit, I haven't really seen much that would arouse my own suspicions," he says.  "But, I've also been distracted -- meeting my allies, working on these projects....  I'm sorry.  I haven't a clue who our spies might be."

[Ginrai]

Ginrai nods.  "Were you or your allies able to retrieve any more modern weapons for the battle?  Also, do you know anything about Ashton Newleaf?  Durant mentioned that he's been acting weird, and extremely suspicious, lately."