All That Withers [M][Zombie]

[quaggan]

 While she listened to the interpreter, Hysminai also paid attention to the movements of Perendi's hands. She clearly was familiar with the sign language and either suspicious or wise enough not to rely overly on a translation. As the mercenaries discussed the assignments among each other, she divided her attention between their conversation and shuffling some of the papers on her desk.

She nodded at the conclusion they reached. Unlike what some might expect, she didn't complain about spreading their forces too think or question their ability to do so. Apparently either what she heard from the Zantaric branch was impressive enough to believe in their abilities, or she was content with letting her mercenaries learn otherwise.

"Quartz, keep them apprised" she commanded. The Kulshedra nodded and walked up to the Hounds.

"I will let you know the details once I find my book. Do you have any lodgings I should report to, or will you be taking advantage of some of the places the cartel has for employees?"

[Zombie]

The healer was visibly relieved to see that Hysminai was paying attention to Perendi's gesticulations; once she was certain that there would likely be no misinterpretations between either, she would move to lazily float a few feet away from her boss and their employer, giving them room to discuss things; while remaining near enough that she could intervene, if it became necessary to do so. Especially seeing how everyone else seemed to be discussing things with each other, just resting, or at that point, pointedly pretending to ignore what their boss and employer were conversing about. Sometimes, it was best to just be aware of what was going on, without getting involved.

"To hell with that," Came the quiet protest from within the crowd when the assignments had been decided upon; they weren't happy with knowing their vacation would be delayed by a considerable amount of time- and though they wouldn't admit it to anyone gathered, couldn't wait for the first opportunity to send a fist down their bitch of a leader's throat. They didn't understand why, but having been in her presence for well over a month had been souring their mood consistently- and they were getting close to handling all they could take. The protestor was silenced by the half-orc delivering a quick elbow jab to their gut.

Perendi was glad to see that Hysminai didn't seem to mind the rather unconventional way they were going to handle the assignments. Either she understood what they were capable of accomplishing even divided into groups of two or three skilled individuals (with a few newcomers in each group) or she wanted to see what would happen if they failed in any of their tasks.

"Can we start in the morning? I'm tired," The rogue yawned; a few murmurrs of agreement quickly followed.

"We'll be waiting to hear back from you," Perendi signed to Quartz, "I was thinking we could probably set up camp--"

"I'd rather not bother," Parezi interjected lazily.

"As I was trying to explain, we could probably set up camp, if there was no available lodgings- but if you've got room to spare, these guys would probably appreciate a real bed." Once she'd finished signing, she threw a glare in Parezi's direction that just dared her to try and undermine anything else tonight. Repercussions would be dealt in relative privacy, of course; once everyone figured out where they were supposed to go and got settled in.

[quaggan]

 Hysminai was content to work on her papers while the woman and Quartz kept an eye on the mercenaries as they discussed the share of labour. She used a small stylus, probably enchanted considering how clean the letters were. She drew it across the paper in sharp, confident strokes, crossing out some parts and underlining the others. She changed her handwriting at least twice, matching different styles to different documents.

She turned her attention back to the Hounds when the matter of lodging was brought up. "There are three places cooperating with the cartel that can take you on at the moment. Annah keeps a lodging house down the street - it's meant for people from the farms who came here to sell their extra produce and had to stay overnight. Therefore, it isn't very luxurious - hard beds and a few hammocks in rather crowded rooms, but if you're just looking for a roof over your head, it will serve."

"That's one" Kallias decided to take upon himself the burden of stating the obvious. "What about the other two?"

"I mentioned Annah first because our cartel supported her family, she also throws in a free breakfast" Hysminai pointed out. "Of course, the other two establishments also provide food, but our business arrangements with them do not cover that as well."

"So we'd have to pay."

"You would" she confirmed. "You're already familiar with the Crimson Plaid, and the third place we're working with is the best inn in town, Old Treant. I don't know if there are any actual rooms left, since it's rather popular among the travelers who visit the town, but they should keep some space left for the needs of our associates."

"So that makes four options, if we count the camp."

[Zombie]

The healer was rather relieved to just be able to hover and let herself briefly doze off; it seemed as though there would be few -if any- misunderstandings between the communicating parties; that was something she'd have thanked one of the deities for, had she believed in any. Though she wasn't stupid enough to allow herself to fall asleep, she was more than willing to take advantage of any opportunity that allowed for a few moments' rest.

Though the Hounds that were incapable of reading or writing wanted to ask what Hysminai was writing as they discussed labor, they had apparently been told multiple times not to embarrass themselves by asking needless, invasive questions; for a couple mouths opened and shut at different times, kind of like fish gasping for air, though they refrained from making a sound. Just what punishment they'd been warned about for making asses out of themselves would wait to be seen at a later time; no matter how difficult it was to exercize restraint sometimes.

Perendi's signing had ceased for the time being, while she let the Hounds discuss matters among themselves for a few moments; raking a hand through her hair and shaking her head at a few of the comments that ended up being voiced. Even though she was trying to be a fair leader to all of them, the time they'd spent around her was clearly starting to wear on the group as a whole. It would only be a matter of time before someone or another was no longer able to keep their mouth shut, or possibly their blade sheathed. Thankfully, Hysminai's describing what lodgings were available and Kallias's snap decision to quite obnoxiously state the obvious had the gathered fighters in the midst of discussion again.

"It's been a long time since I've been in luxury; I say we go to the Old Treant," The typically level-headed spearman spoke up at last, trying to encourage the others to follow his lead.

"I'm with Parezi, I don't want to set up camp," One of the newcomers whined.
"Let's go to Annah's! I like the idea of free breakfast!" Was the half-orc's opinion.

"The Crimson Plaid will be perfect for us," Perendi signed, earning a grin from the rogue, "I'll cover everyone's rooms, but you're on your own for food and drink." It wasn't a lie; she'd set aside some funds from their previous campaigns in case something came up that the group couldn't, or wouldn't pay for on their own. Though they could all be regular bastards -and it was only showing more often- she still treated them like family, for the most part. Though a warning glower was shot in the direction of the rogue, with a signed warning:"If you fuck with the proprietress, I'll personally chop off your balls," followed by her attention turning toward the half-orc: "As for you... if you do anything that ass would dream up or worse, you'll regret ever thinking about touching anyone."

No one among the Hounds would be spared that warning glower, including Parezi and Kallias; though the corner of Perendi's lips would twitch in a barely-repressed smirk that she hid behind a feigned sigh as she signed at them as well, though it seemed to be more frustrated than anything else- like she was dealing with children she knew would get into trouble as soon as her back was turned: "You're just being asses, both of you. Don't do anything stupid."

[quaggan]

 The shitstorm happened a day after the Hounds returned.

Hysminai took note to hire someone to deal with the sentient element - she was, by no means, a people person. But for now, she had to listen to the mercenary's complaint. "First of all, why are you telling me this, rather than report it to your leader? I expect a good reason."

The mercenary made a face. "This 'leader' is why I'm here! I refuse to work like that any longer!"

Hysminai sighed. He didn't look like a new recruit, but appearances deceived her once again. "If you want to quit, tell it to your leader. I may be representing the cartel and therefore your employer, but your superior is still Perendi Kestra and therefore it's her to whom your resignation should be given."

"Oh, I don't mind working for the cartel" he was quick to assure her. "But I won't stand taking orders from HER any longer!"

"So it's an internal dispute" Hysminai succintly summed up. "This isn't a nursery. What do you want me to do, wag a finger at you two and threaten to take your toys away if you don't get along?"

"I- I can still work for you! The pay and benefits are good - just assign me somewhere else. Under anyone else." He spat on the floor to emphasize his disgust.

This was going on for over a minute now, and all the man has done was to reiterate his point rather than provide the information she needed. Perhaps she would be doing Perendi Kestra a favour by reassigning him. But she would not make a decision like this just because an idiot asked her to.

"What, exactly, is the problem with your leader?" The reports she received contained nothing she found indicated that something was amiss with Perendi Kestra's actions or conduct - and she had no reason to doubt the veracity of them.

"What- what isn't!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Everything is wrong with this disgusting, putrid, monstrous..." He seemed to be at a loss of appropriately insulting words, which didn't happen often with the mercenary kind.

Hysminai felt a headache coming. Was this idiot cursed with inability to reason properly? She felt like there was something missing, a piece that made her unable to recognize what was going on. Clearly, the mercenary really wanted to be transferred, but could neither articulate his true reasons nor even bother to make up a lie. If there was one thing she learned from this 'conversation', it was that no progress would be had by wasting time on that man.

"Go" she ordered. "I will investigate the matter." As much as she wanted to dismiss it as just some idiot's rambling, it would be unprofessional. And she couldn't just do the smart thing and have someone pull the truth from his mind or tortured him for information - if it turned out to be something trivial, that would make the cartel look like bad employers. As much as she'd prefer otherwise, she was still accountable for her actions.

She would have to search for the truth elsewhere. As the mercenary left her office, she called Quartz to her side. "Bring Perendi Kestra. With or without interpreter."

[Zombie]

"You go tell that vile, atrocious fiend that I'm done! I can't handle any more of her shit!" The healer's normally musical voice had become low and tempestuous as she finished packing her belongings away, slinging her knapsack across her shoulders and began soaring around her room in agitation, blatant hatred twisting her countenance into something that would have been threatening, had she been able to just get still.

"What are you talking about?" The rogue inquired incredulously, idly rubbing at his bandaged side.

"Exactly what I said! I can't work under these conditions!"
"...I just don't understand what you mean. We need you."

"Do you need me to kill that intolerable bitch for you?" It was the first time the sylphid had ever spoken about commiting violence against someone else- and her grave, seething tone made it abundantly clear that she was not teasing.

"I'm sure you'll be fine if you get some rest, maybe have a quick--" I'll have to let the boss know that she's been threatened. The rogue sighed in frustration and confusion as the healer interrupted him again, Might need to tell Kallias, too.

"Why don't you pull your head out of her ass, idiot? I don't need rest, a drink, or a quick fuck! I need to leave!" Her voice quavered with unrepressed rage as she turned toward the door, fleeing as though she had been pursued by a legion of howling demons.

I was going to say meal, but alright, The hapless rogue rose from his seat with a perplexed groan, leaving the now-vacated room and heading in the direction of where he'd seen Kallias last. They had just lost their healer- which was something that had to be reported; he figured that the half-elf was his best option, given that he was one of the ones who had worked alongside Kallias to defend the casino.

-----

Perendi heaved a soundless sigh and dragged a hand through her hair, tapping a foot against the floor as she sat at the desk in her room at the Crimson Plaid. Everything had begun falling apart a day after the Hounds had returned; well, if she was to be honest with herself, everything had started turning to shit after everyone had been split into their separate groups to take on the side operations. While her group had infiltrated the smuggling ring and the initial disruption had been quite enjoyable, there had been ...issues... that had almost caused that mission to have been botched. The petty bullshit arguments and disagreements had been easy enough to handle; they'd been differences of opinions, for the most part.

However, those disagreements and squabbles had continued to intensify: it had come to blows between herself and the half-orc when the latter had tried to lay claim to an entire crate of smuggled goods, rather than the helmet that she'd needed. Perhaps it would have been allowed, had that crate not contained suspicious goods that Hysminai might have wanted. One of the new recruits had fallen seriously ill during the mission and was currently quarantined under suspicion of having contracted some manner of plague. Another newcomer had been dispatched after meeting with and deciding to betray not only his boss, but the cartel as well, by collaborating with one of the bolder smugglers. The fourth had wheedled, whined, bitched and lashed out, refusing to work at all.

She was currently unaware of the fourth idiot's location. For all she knew, he could have easily been compromising everything else; which was something she refused to tolerate. As soon as he made his presence known, if he'd done anything foolish or dangerous, he was going to be punished for his misdeeds.

When we separated, I should have gone alone, she thought in frustration, punching the desk. She tried her best to be a good and fair leader for them; had tried to understand everyones' complaints and treat her company like family rather than employees. But things just didn't work the way they were supposed to; which, no matter how many times it happened, never ceased to irritate her beyond all measure. She'd more than likely have to completely disband the Hounds before the situation became any more dire- which wasn't something she was looking forward to doing; start over, train another group of would-be fortune-seekers and do things differently this time around. Just what she might change though, she had yet to figure out.

"What's wrong?" She signed quickly, concern contorting her features when Quartz entered her room -she'd left her door open in case she was needed for anything- and quickly rose to her feet; grabbing the reports she'd been reading, stowing them away when she'd been informed about being summoned to Hysminai. "Fuck, that doesn't sound like it's anything good," She signed, stepping into the hall and locking her door behind both of them. Falling in step alongside him, she'd sign a third time: "Do you know why she needs me?" There would be no interpreter accompanying them this time around.

-----

The half-orc lounged at a table across from Parezi in the Crimson Plaid's common room, downing a glass of spiced rum and nursing a bruised, swollen cheek and jaw. Though a new, elegant and quite probably enchanted helmet rested atop her head, she seemed to be quite distraught over what had happened and difficult to calm down. "Do you know that stupid whore killed one of our new guys, just because he wanted to join up with the smugglers? Yeah, he threw one of those magical incin... cinder...diary things you gave him, right at ther gods-damned head, almost hit her in the face with it too, but that's no reason to kill him! Everything's her fault!" She snarled through clenched teeth, slapping the table for emphasis, "None of us did nothing wrong!" That last part was more of a pleading whine than anything else.

[quaggan]

 "Deliver a sample to Inclan. He might be able to identify it" Hysminai commanded. The smugglers were no longer a problem, but someone must have sent them - they had a boss who thought that intruding on the cartel's territory was a good idea, and some clients who needed their cargo. It was an avenue worth investigating.

Niss saluted her and left. The gnome wizard was a former knight, a once-time-patriot who used to be a part of Serenian military. His dedication was repaid with constant racially-fueled harassment that ended up eroding his national pride to the point of complete disillusionment. He ended up leaving the knights, but habits of training were hard to shake.

The gnome left the door open - someone else was probably coming. Hysminai rested her hand at the trigger of some of the traps, more out of habit than any suspicion. Perendi Kestra shuffled in. The dwarf gestured to a chair she recently had brought. "Take a seat."

"You're here because of the dissent in the ranks of your company" she stated. She didn't want to waste time explaining the situation if the mercenary was aware of what was going on, but would rather not make any assumptions. After all, the way the idiot was talking, it sounded like he didn't voice his feeble complaints to her. "How much do you know?"

[Zombie]

As they passed in the hall, Perendi inclined her head politely to the gnome; finally reaching Hysminai's office once more. The trek from her lodgings to the office had been quiet, for the post part; either the Kulshedra escort had been as uncertain about the goings-on as she was, might not have understood her gesticulation, or simply hadn't wanted to speak. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence that had fallen between the pair, but a simple one. Dropping onto one of the chests across from Hysminai, she was relieved that the dwarf didn't seem inclined to engage her in small-talk; though a measure of camaraderie between employer and employee was always a good thing to forge, sometimes, it was best to get straight to the matter at hand without exchanging trivial pleasantries or attempting to discuss things such as the weather.

Her eye narrowed in concern when the dwarf began to speak; a tenseness entering her posture- a tension born of frustration and embarrassment, rather than anger. Had she been back in her room, she probably would have hit something, or sought out someone in need of punishment to discipline. From this point onward, I'm working alone. She shook her head, heaving a silent sigh before she started to sign and stopped herself several times before finally settling on what she wanted to say. "I apologize if any of those chamberpot-licking, swill-sucking, stupid sons of whores and daughters of bastards have inconvenienced you. If it's bothered you immensely, you can deduct it from our pay." Having no idea how many of the Hounds had harassed the dwarf, it was the best that she could offer at the moment.

However, the other woman seemed to be quite astute and it would probably have not been beneficial to keep any information from her. A slow, resigned nod was given as she continued signing, this time a bit more slowly; as though she was carefully formulating what she wanted to communicate. "Enough to know that they're in the process of being disbanded; for their own safety and sanity, as well as my own." That was honest enough; she had been in the middle of terminating their employment contracts and preparing severance pay when Quartz had retrieved her. "This time, it's happened sooner than I'd expected; you have the right to be aware that I am entirely at fault. This has happened twice before, with other groups that I had to disband in the past-- they cannot be blamed, it is part of my curse."

She didn't know how Hysminai would react to the knowledge that she'd hired someone afflicted, but it was only fair to let her know. Even if it meant that there might have been no possibility to have found another repeat client, or if that knowledge may have infuriated the dwarf enough that the mercenaries would not be paid for the work they'd completed. It was the blighted one's responsibility and she was willing to accept that.

[quaggan]

 Perendi Kestra looked angry - and rightfully so. Disgruntled underlings were nothing to be underestimated. And while so far it looked like the Hounds had no real cause to oppose her leadership, Hysminai knew better than to assume that people would be stopped by lack of rational reasons. They had to nip this whole situation in a bud.

The proposed solution should be enough to satisfy all parties - and Hysminai was always too pragmatic to let things like fairness and justice get in the way of what was convenient. As much as she preferred the leader of the Hounds to an idiot who couldn't even explain his situation, she could not let personal sympathies command her mind. Perendi Kestra made an offer, and the dwarf would be a fool not to take it.

Of course, there was always a possibility that the leader of the Hounds did something so terrifying that the man couldn't spit it out in fear of retribution. But it was rather low - there was no evidence to support it, not really. Unless-

A curse? Well, it wouldn't be the first time Hysminai worked with a cursed person. One of her now deceased underlings was cursed to never be able to turn right - the poor woman had to make a full turn whenever she had to. Of course, she also heard a variety of excuses people had made up, and curses sometimes came up. There was only one thing to do: acquire more information.

"You are cursed?" she asked. Since Perendi Kestra was willing to be honest about it, further inquiry shouldn't be considered invasive. "How does it work? Does it lower people's opinion of you?"

[Zombie]

To say that Perendi was angry was an understatement; she was livid and more than prepared to start pummeling the first idiot who decided to look at her cross-eyed. Disgruntled underlings could easily sew the seeds of dissent and make their leader look incompetent, untrustworthy or far worse, depending on how long-lasting and far-reaching their slander could spread. Though the ashen human demanded the Hounds conduct themselves with professionalism, as much respect as they were capable of mustering,  refused to allow transgressions to go unpunished and her training methods could be on the unorthodox side, but that didn't give the Hounds logical reason to spread the seeds of dissent-  but the reason itself defied rationality and logic.

She was glad that the proposed solutions would satisfy everyone involved; there was no other restitution she thought could be offered, at least without broaching protocol and spreading even more terror within her own ranks, or painting Hysminai and the cartel as a whole in a disfavorable light. Perendi asked for no sympathy in the matter- it was a business transation, not a social blunder, after all. A wry smile twisted her lips as she signed her honesty; there was always the possibility that by doing so, she could have just terminated any potential repeat business that could have come her way.

Above all else, curses were... convenient. They made a wonderful excuse for absoulutely anything from having to sing and rhyme every word or not wanting to wear clothing, to perpetual drunkenness, even pointless, monstrous cruelty and anything in-between. A long, silent sigh preceded a nod at Hysminai's question. Closing her eye for a moment, she swallowed thickly and cleared her throat; the shadows beneath her skin already beginning to swirl and writhe as she opened her eye again- and her mouth.

"I am not a mute, I choose not to speak- talking makes it difficult to breathe." As she rasped those words, the fluid shadows stretched upward; surrounding her throat, constricting and twisting even higher- the visible darkness reaching, along her lower jaw as her breathing became somewhat labored; hands rising as she went back to silence. "It causes others to have an aversion toward me as well."

The wildcard empathy and how it ate holes in her memory were omitted; Perendi assumed those truths would probably have been taken the wrong way- or could have made her look like a damn fool trying to see just how far she could push the dwarf, "That is the worst of what it does; it's a pain in my ass, but I try not to let it get too out of hand."

She shrugged, "Disbanding the Hounds is the easiest answer; I'm not willing to force them to work in conditions they can't tolerate- too many mistakes could be made that way." Mistakes that could have had the possibility to be more dangerous or at least more compromising, than foolish; at least by her estimation.  There was little she could do other than wait for judgement to be handed down; though Hysminai did not seem to be exceptionally malicious or spiteful, if damage had already been done against the Cartel in any way, it would have been thoroughly justifiable for her to seek retribution in one form or another.

[quaggan]

 The dwarf steepled her fingers and watched. Risking her life to show the effects of the curse was quite a gesture, but Perendi Kestra didn't seem like the foolish type - she probably knew best how much she could say before it threatened her life. But it was still a satisfying enough demonstration. Perhaps that was the problem - she should keep an expert on magic on hand, especially considering that she was operating in Serendipity. Pity Jawahir was nonfunctional, and Ohain unproven.

She nodded, a solution already forming in her head. "I see. I gather that it would be best to give you solo assignments." It would prevent morale loss and infighting due to the curse effects. And since Perendi Kestra was willing to leave the Hounds, she probably wouldn't feel slighted or lonely because of it. Of course, there were other aspects of the situation to consider - that meant no interpreter, and while any sensible person could understand the sign language the mercenary was using, the dwarf would not make the mistake of assuming common sense.

"Do you have any plans regarding what to do with the curse?" she asked. So far, it looked like Perendi had a good handle on the problem - she was prepared to work alone, communicated well without the need for words, and didn't seem like the desperate sort. But if it was something she'd prefer to solve rather than cope with, Hysminai had contacts to offer.

[Zombie]

The mercenary had taken a gamble in speaking; though she wasn't willing to risk her life or consciousness just to show her employer that her claims weren't delusive; a bit of a demonstration simply caused her to swallow hard against the irritating pain that served as a warning, panting until her throat finally, slowly began to relax. Nevertheless, it was somewhat difficult to gague the dwarf's reaction, so she simply shifted to a more comfortable position while she awaited the verdict, whatever it might have been.

"That would be in everyone's best interests," She agreed simply; the situation they faced could potentially improve in her absence. As someone who had no problem with working alone for long periods of time, the chances of her becoming slighted or lonely were slim to none.

If there was something to do, there wouldn't be the time to allow thoughts of boredom, loneliness, or frustration to set in; unless she was doing something truly menial and irriating in and of itself. But even without the Hounds' presence, there were still a plethora of potential issues: having no interpreter was probably the most pressing concern, simply because there were many people who couldn't understand basic sign language- which meant she might have been forced into speaking more than what would have been safe. If she ran out of the mildly narcotic herbs that helped keep her wildcard empathy suppressed while on the job (and she only had enough knowledge of plants to understand what could and could not be safely eaten) without having someone with herbal knowledge around, that could have ended up either mildly interesting, or extremely disastrous.

She shook her head, followed up quite quickly by signing: "I'd like to do something about it, but I have no idea where to begin. Magic isn't my specialty though, so I've been doing what I can about it; spider-thistle helps a little with some of the shit it causes, but not everything," That thought was punctuated by a careless shrug. It would have been relieving to know that something worthwhile could have been done, but she wasn't the sort to delude herself with that notion. It wasn't as though her predicament was new any longer, or immediately life-threatening as long as she kept her wits about her, so she was not desperate enough to change the way she lived while pursuing a cure.

[quaggan]

 Sometimes it was hard to keep her mind on the task, with every little piece of information begging to be properly analyzed, to be fit into the grander scheme of things. But Hysminai kept her mind in check and did not allow herself to consider everything too deep. There would be time enough later.

"If you're after a more permanent solution rather than just another coping method, the cartel has contacts that could look into this" she offered. It wasn't just out of the goodness of her heart - it limited the options of how to use Perendi, and made her a threat to morale. And the cartel surely could use the good reputation of helping those it employed, rewarding their efficiency.

Of course, when thinking of contacts and magic, the one that came to mind first was the one who recommended Perendi in the first place. Renowned both for scholarly work in her own right, and for the patronage she extended to researchers who didn't have a disposable income the size of Adelan insecurity. Hysminai's information on the topic wasn't complete, and couldn't match hers, so she would have to make contact, but if there wasn't a single person Highmaster Whitechalk could suggest, there probably wasn't a single person in Serendipity who could help.

"Are there any factors I should take into consideration when looking for people?" she asked upon receiving confirmation. It was in the nature of scholars to want as much information as possible before beginning work - a trait most people would benefit from developing. "Methods already tried and failed? Any- actually, give me a moment. I'll give you a piece of paper to note anything important on. My memory is far from perfect."

[Zombie]

A solution? Shit, that would make things much easier. Even a partially-irrational mistrust of magic could be swallowed, when one could consider the potential benefits. The mercenary didn't think Hysminai's offer stemmed from simple kindness- it was easy to see how a probable solution would benefit them both: not only would Perendi be able to finally put her own plans into motion, but even the smallest amount of assistance would make things easier for all parties involved. To begin with, a larger variety of missions could be completed for the cartel again- which would more than likely raise their reputation; but Perendi herself would no longer decrease others' morales by being within their presence, nor could she be considered a liability insted of an asset. It seemed as though only a complete fool would have turned down the offer.

"If there's any possibility of finding a permanent solution, I'll accept," She signed after a few moments' consideration. There was always the possibility that she might have just volunteered herself as a subject for magical experimentation and wasn't entirely certain what finding a cure of any sort might have entailed, it was worth the risk. It was difficult for her to ponder what might possibly end up going wrong- and she figured that the worst possible outcome might have simply been nothing working.

"Yes, there are," Perendi signed, relieved that Hysminai would be one of very few people who had asked anything of the sort. While she wasn't one who was known for scholarly pursuits by any stretch of the imagination, uncovering some measure of information in regard to potential work was usually quite important; even if a considerable amount of information was sometimes discovered while working- even in her line of work, the unprepared could be met by grevious injury or death, if pertinent information was not requested.

She would wait until Hysminai gave her a piece of paper and a quill before writing: ~I've tried a few things to suppress different aspects. Spider-thistle works well enough in volatile situations, but after a while, it makes me too tired to move and ravenous. The pink-ringed mushrooms from the Kishan Jungle are great. They'll wake you up just as quickly as coffee will, but they did nothing for my curse. Feldura flower tea tastes horrible, but  didn't do much of anything at all and dawnroot tincture gave me a stomach-ache. Other than that, the mage that told me he might have been willing to break my curse for the right price had ended up making stupid demands that included five red diamonds, some rare herbs and other weird shit, so I told him I'd look elsewhere; he was from Zantaric though, so he was probably a charlatain. I paid a researcher from Thanatos to see if she could find anything out a few months ago, but I haven't had the time to see if anything came from that.~

The results of her searches had been perfectly inconclusive, if not misguided and incomplete- but she wasn't someone well-versed in the arcane beyond what an old woman she once knew when she'd been very young had tried to teach her. The mages she did know and placed some measure of faith in were more versed in offensive spells than restorative, which had been of no use when it came to the realm of curse-breaking. Setting the qull down at last, she slid the paper back across the desk to Hysminai with an almost apologetic smirk- the warrior didn't know if her findings would be useful in any way, or not.

[quaggan]

 While Perendi worked on putting down whatever details she wanted, Hysminai took time to check on the set of conjoined quills in her drawer. None of them were active, which meant none of her contacts needed to converse with her. She glanced back at the mercenary, who was still writing diligently. Good - the more information she could give, the easier would the scholars' work be.

She finished reading two reports and was about to start a third when another piece of paper slid across her vision. "Thanks" she remarked, picking it up. She should probably read it later before passing it on - she was no expert on magic, but she should at least know what was going on. "I will have my scribe later copy and send them around. Is it acceptable?" It was better to waste a few seconds asking than later finding out that she accidentally released something supposed to be confidential.

"Most of the people I can contact usually expect to be paid" she continued. "I have at least one enthusiast who's willing to pay for every curse sample he hasn't encountered yet, but I can't say whether yours would meet those criteria. The cartel discount would apply, of course, but just in case, what's the upper limit of what you're willing to spend?"

[Zombie]

Once she had finished writing the details that she thought were pertinent, Perendi glanced around the office; as though expecting one irate Hound or another to burst through the doors and demand answers- if they could remember their way from the Crimson Plaid, that was. There was no telling just how much more pissed off everyone would be when they found severed contracts and small parcels of coin and gems waiting for them. Thankfully though, it appeared that either they weren't in a hurry to locate their leader or had forgotten where Hysminai was. The third and most likely answer was that most of them would have been drinking, starting brawls, or whoring; a few might have already packed up and left quietly, but that was questionable at best.

"You're welcome," She signed and nodded at Hysminai's request. The mercenary hadn't written anything that was particularly confidential; she'd learned over the years that it was better to leave certain details out when writing something, than to include everything in a single report- it was a way to save face and keep one's potential employer from questioning certain, unimportant details. "No, it's fine. There's nothing there that I'd be embarrassed about." As far as she was concerned, the information she'd provided had been the same things the other researchers she'd contacted in the past had known about, so none of it was worth keeping hidden.

It was of little surprise to hear that Hysminai's contacts would probably expect payment; "Understandable- I don't offer my services for free, so I wouldn't expect that from any of your people. I don't know enough about magic to be able to say if my situation is exactly special," She signed again; Perendi's ego wasn't inflated enough to believe her condition was special at all- or that her curse was exceptionally unique; hell, she didn't even put herself on a pedestal that high. Still, it was good to know that if she encountered anyone who seemed to have an exceptionally interesting affliction, the dwarf might have known who to send them to.

When the question of available funds came up, she arched an eyebrow and shrugged as she began to consider her financial state. I paid the Hounds one hundred each; which was their share for their most recent work, our room fees added another thirty silver and six copper. Not touching the five hundred I got from selling all of Praggy's utensils and pans- and I'm trying to save that- , that leaves... The mercenary shook her head at what she thought would be an extremely paltry figure: "Three hundred fifty gold."

[quaggan]

 That wasn't the amount of money mercenaries usually had for daily spending. Perendi must have been saving for a while - or perhaps she simply was immune to the siren lure of the usual vices such as whores, alcohol and drugs. It begged the question - since she clearly had the desire to get rid of her curse, and the money to do so, why wasn't she seeking the cure out in a greater capacity?

Priorities. Gathering information was important, but at this point she had her work cut out for her. "Anything else?" she asked. She doubted that - Perendi has given her all the information she was willing to, and it looked like the Hounds situation was solved now.

She received a shake of head in return. Hysminai made a dismissing gesture and focused on her reports. Barely did the door shut closed when it swung open, another person entering. There was no end to work.


Almost a week passed when she received a response. She wasn't surprised - scholars and researchers had a way of getting lost in their work and foregoing all contact with the world. The first person called out of the lab by probably physical needs was Salvail Vahisar, an ambitious hexer working already twelve years on a progressive encyclopaedia of curses. Hysminai doubted that his work was feasible, but could see the value in making an easily accessible catalogue. Some of her more arcanely gifted colleagues said that it would just force the curse mages to get more creative, rendering his work obsolete. Why did people continue to fund his work nevertheless, she had no idea.

His gambling habit put him in quite a debt to the cartel, and Hysminai was willing to make some use of him in exchange for lessening the debt a little. She wasn't worried about potentially losing his services - considering the frequency of his visits to casinos and vice dens, he would sooner die of old age than every pay off what he owed.

Hysminai arranged a meeting next afternoon - he needed time to get to the location, and Perendi was on a job. She sent Eis to relay the message - the elemental didn't have any contact with the cursed mercenary before, it should be fine to give her the assignment. She had to give her a proper description - in most cases, Eis' psychic powers would be able to draw the image from her mind, the dwarf kept it shielded. And even if she was willing to give up an important security measure for a momentary convenience, it wasn't something she could just turn off and on.

Eis found Perendi enjoying a cards' game with some of the cartel employees. She was told not to scan the mercenary under any circumstances, and knew better than to let curiosity get in the way of possibly self-preservation. She didn't even have to sense out the other people - they were chatting, and Perendi was paying attention, which meant she understood the language. Well, that was one obstacle overcome. Eis poked her, forming letters on her forearm to explain the situation.

[Zombie]

Though she wasn't rich, she'd been saving for quite a while; the money she'd offered would almost deplete her personal funds for a good, long while- and she refused to go back into the Terrin Mountains, back to the tiny cave that the rest of the money she'd stashed to fund her dream was currently hidden. Things would be rough for a while and she wouldn't be getting much rest for a time, but that hardly mattered-- she'd make do one way or another, even if it meant she'd have to spend considerably less on drugs and cheap booze for a while, would have to stay away from casinos entirely and would be doing a lot of sleeping under the stars again. It wasn't anything worth complaining about; money was hard to save and easy to spend.

"That's all I can think of. I don't think anything else I could include would matter very much." Especially since her curse didn't really interfere with things such as the hallucinogenic mushrooms she was fond of- and while getting drunk sometimes made things far worse than they had to be, especially if she was surrounded by pissed-off drunkards, she didn't think any of Hysminai's associates would view drinking oneself into oblivion as a research method.

Perendi hadn't tried to more actively find a cure for her curse until now, for a few different reasons. It had taken several months to accumulate the funds that she currently had; she didn't have an endless supply of large amounts of money at her disposal, nor an unseen benefactor- and there were everyday expenses to factor into everything: lodgings, booze, drugs and food weren't always cheap, or easy to find. Then, there were her own priorities that played a role in the delay of finding a way to remove her curse: between accruing necessary funds to put her own plans into motion, trying to find an opportune location to actually get those plans underway from, gambling and slumming around, she hadn't had the time to do much else.

In the time that had passed while Perendi had been waiting to hear from one of Hysminai's messengers, the Hounds had been formally dismissed. It had been a relatively easy task, as everyone had left and all that had remained to do was to locate couriers to deliver notices of contract severance. Thankfully, she'd found that the cartel had been able to provide enough work to ensure that she hadn't ended up too bored or broke while she waited for Hysminai's messenger- though the last two days had seemed to be extremely slow-going.

The next afternoon had found Perendi in the middle of a card game with some of the cartel employees; she'd lost three hands and won four by the time that Eis located her; getting ready to deal another hand and signal the barmaid over to refill everyones' tankards. Thankfully, the game was only in its second hour and while the gamblers' tongues were wagging more freely now, ribald jokes being cracked at everyones' expenses when one of them hadn't been trying to out-bluff the next, no one was drunk yet, even if two of the gamblers might have been getting close to that point.

Though the relaxed, not-quite-drunk mercenary jerked in surprise at Eis's poking at her and creating letters along her forearm, Perendi shook her head at her gambling comrades' confused expressions, signing: Finish without me; I'll play whoever loses." It took a few seconds to make sense of what Eis had written; though she finally rose from her chair, following the elemental to the appointed meeting place, only staggering slightly as she walked. If Eis's writing was to believed, things were going to become even more interesting than they had been.

[quaggan]

 They walked in silence. The mercenary was cursed, and the elemental had no way of making sounds other than grinding of the ice. As she got slightly ahead, taking full advantage of non-flesh body that couldn't get tired or worn out, she formed some letters on the back of what visible skin were - just some information about the mage in question.

Hysminai called on him to come to Crimson Plaid and wait there. Even without Eis' description, it would be simple to notice him - he stuck out like a diamond in a coal mine. He was sitting there, in his hopelessly wet cloak, staring morosely at a cup full of water (!) as if expecting an aquatic beast to roar from under the surface and attack him with slimy tentacles.

A wider examination of the area would reveal a familiar figure - apparently Parezi decided to wait out the drama within the Hounds by convincing the halfling to take her on for the role of a mysterious stranger in the corner. Her face was obscured by the hood, but her hands kept darting from within the robe, to fix various aspects of the outfit. She looked like she was having fun.

Eis directed Perendi to the wizard with just a point of her arm. She briefly considered asking if they needed her to stay, but in the end decided to just leave. The people in the cartel never wanted her or anyone else to try and figure out what they had to do - the instructions were always clear. So, with one wave of farewell, she left.

Salvail Vahisar looked more Serenian than most of the inn patrons - at a closer glance, his fae ancestry manifested in constantly shifting colours. His skin tone changed so frequently, no one could blame the unreliable lighting, and his hair moved like it had a mind on its own. He jumped, startled, at Perendi's approach.

"Are you the- the one I'm supposed to meet with?" His voice was shaky and nervous, and he whipped his head around with a speed that should have snapped his neck. "You are, aren't you? Do we talk here or- somewhere else?"

[Zombie]

The quiet that fell between them was born of necessity; neither comfortable nor uncomfortable, but simply there, interrupted from becoming true silence only due to the mercenary's footfalls and the sound of the elemental's ice grinding. As Eis passed her due to the elemental's non-tiring state, Perendi fell a few steps behind, so she could read the information that appeared on Eis's back. It wasn't exceptionally detailed information, but that was easy to accept due to the simple fact that the elemental was using a completely unorthodox canvas for her ghostwriting- and not a very expansive one at that. Though the accursed one had attempted to sign to her once or twice, she didn't think the ice-lady had understood sign language-- or if she did understand, perhaps it was too difficult to form the answers to those questions.

When they finally returned to the Crimson Plaid, though there were numerous vocal patrons and the establishment was alight with swirling colors, smoke and clinking glasses, it would have been almost impossible to mistake the mage they'd been sent to meet. Not only did the mage appear to be drenched, but unless she was mistaken, that had to be water he was staring into- for reasons that were far and removed from anything the warrior could have hoped to imagine. Interesting, She thought, smirking as she peered about; that smirk quickly becoming an amused, although rather curious smile. There was no denying that the dark-robed woman sitting in the far corner was a "mysterious stranger" whose mannerisms were very familiar.

If it wasn't for Eis pointing at the wizard, she would have done more than tried to meet Parezi's gaze, shrug and thrust her chin upward briefly, as though inquiring: "We should talk later, don't you agree?" before lifting her own hand to wish Eis a pleasant departure and turning her attention to the peculiar mage. Salvail was one of the more interesting-looking people she'd encountered that night; though she could tell he was Serenian, his ever-shifting colors were interesting to watch; as though he were a chameleon that couldn't figure how to blend in with his surroundings.

She simply narrowed her eye at his seeming nervousness and dropped gracelessly into the chair across from him. Damn, you're terrified, aren't you? She thought with a bit of amusement, breathing a silent snort. "I am," She rasped in that strange, almost hollow-sounding alto growl, the shadows beneath her skin slithering toward her neck as she spoke, "Here is fine, for now- until things get interesting, at least. I've got a room, if and when we need to go somewhere more private. Can you read signs?" As she spoke, her voice became lower and more rough; terminating on a gutteral sound as she swallowed thickly, her intangible collar tightening a bit- not enough to cause pain just yet, but serve as an annoyance.

While she waited for his answer, she motioned one of the barmaids over- the young blonde was accustomed to taking her orders and had learned to carry quill and vellum. ~It'll be coffee for me this time: strong and as dark as you can make it; no milk or honey. If this guy wants anything, go ahead and add it to my tab, as long as it isn't anything expensive- and if you could, unless it's her~ She paused in her writing, tilting her head toward the "mysterious stranger," ~Or the lady that runs the place, we'd prefer it if no one tries to bother us.~  The last, hastily-scrawled addition to her note was an afterthought: one could never be too cautious when discussing business in a tavern.