Mid Evening - Late Fall : The Golden Lotus, Northern Market District (Valtivar)
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Quickly getting back up from the cushion, I ran over to Amara's room, where I saw her sitting up in bed with her hand on her head. "W..what? W..where am I?"
"We are at the inn. How are you feeling?" Having Ilios sit in the doorway to make sure Sigmond didn't peek her head in, I walked up and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Huh? Vasilias? Is that-Ah, sorry..." She looked incredibly troubled and confused, but after a short moment, she just looked back down at her bedsheets. "What.. happened?"
"Can you not remember anything?" Seeing her reluctantly shake her head, I tried to give a quick overview. "We were getting a bite to eat before we came to the inn, but then all of a sudden you leapt up and attacked the waitress. I managed to stop you, but you weren't acting like yourself and even attacked me a few times."
A look of guilt immediately washed across her face. "I.. actually attacked you?"
"Yeah, don't worry too much though. Things ended up working out alright. I do still want to know why you just went for her neck though..." I immediately thought back to the warp's voice from just a moment ago. -'People lost to their emotions are easier to control', huh? But what made her lose control in the first place?-
Amara just looked confused though. "I'm.. not really sure..."
I gave her another moment to think before deciding to pull in the catalyst itself. -I'm sure she'll remember when she sees Sigmond, right?- "Ilios, can you bring her in for me?"
Giving a confident nod, he quickly disappeared from the doorway.
Turning back to Amara, I put on a serious expression. "I have no idea what could have made you so upset that you'd want to kill her, but please don't lose yourself this time. I just want to understand what's wrong..."
"O..okay..." She didn't seem to really understand, but she nodded anyway.
We sat in silence for another moment until we could hear the pitter-patter of Ilios trotting back towards the room. *tip-tap-tip-tap*
As he got closer, I kept my eye on Amara and braced myself.
She gave me an odd look as she noticed how tense I was, but her confusion vanished as Ilios walked back through the door with Sigmond in tow.
Her pupils dilated and her body tensed up immediately, but thankfully she seemed to still be in control of it, even if just barely.
The instant Sigmond saw Amara's look, her face lost its color and she looked down towards the floor.
It was a look of surrender, but Amara didn't care for it. "Who are you?"
Although the question was simple, the tone of her voice made it sound like a threat. "M..y name is L..Liv Sigmond... The current C..Commander of Spiall's military forces."
But Amara's sharp glare didn't dull even after her answer. "Does the name Dion ring a bell?" Amara's anger looked like it was about to burst through the dam any second.
But her question just threw me a massive curveball. -Dion? What does he have to do with this?- Momentarily taking my eyes off Amara, I looked towards Sigmond just to see her not react at all.
"Hooh..." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before speaking with shocking clarity. "I do not know anyone with that name."
-She isn't lying...- Glancing back at Amara, I noticed her gaze had finally dulled just slightly.
"Then is this familiar?" Hastily reaching into her pocket, she pulled out and set a small bronze scale on the bed.
It was only a few seconds after she showed it that everything started to click. -That draconic part of her aura...- Turning to look at Sigmond again, I finally recognized it. -It's really similar to that half-breed kid's, isn't it...-
Now being on the receiving end of both of our gazes, Sigmond shriveled up further. "I do not."
"Oh really now?" Amara didn't believe her at all. "It looks similar to those scales on your neck, don't you think?"
Unable to continue to stand up straight, Sigmond fell into a deep bow. "I have no connection to the ingredients in the elixir that caused the scales to appear on my body." She glanced up at me as if looking for support, but I was already wrapped up in my thoughts.
-Wait a minute... If the secret ingredient in the elixir was a dragon scale, then the weird evolution would make sense, but...- Looking down at the scale on the bed, I struggled to believe that the child's scale could have been used in the elixir. -Where could the scale have even come from?- Almost immediately, a sickening feeling filled my stomach. -There's no way, right?- "Do you know the name, Yrsa Helvig?"
The instant I said the name, both Amara and Sigmond twitched, but Sigmond was the only one to talk. "She is the crippled daughter of Marquis Helvig. A well-known noble family here in Valtivar."
-She survived?!- For a split second, a mix of aura and bloodlust rushed forward, but I was quick to suppress it again, even if it was with delusions. -I need to calm down... I don't have any proof the ingredient was the kid's scale beside a vague resemblance...-
But unlike me, Amara couldn't trick herself anymore. "Are you implying that a child's scale was used to make a f*cking elixir?"
Sigmond broke out into a nervous sweat as she lowered her head even closer to the ground. "I was only ever told t..hat it was an ingredient supplied b..y the previous Commander, Commander Dolph!" She seemed desperate to get out of the situation.
"Vasilias." Amara's voice was cold but calm. "I think I need some.. fresh air..."
Hastily turning around, I noticed Amara's body was completely relaxed as if she had finally let go of her anger, but her eyes still had fire behind them. "What are you thinking of doing, Amara..." Her eyes gave me a bad feeling.
"I just want to confirm something..." As she swung her legs off the bed, she let out a deep breath. "I won't be long."
But as she hopped off the bed and tried to walk out, I stood up and stopped her. "I don't know what you're thinking of doing, but you need to take a minute and give it some more thought."
My words weren't taken kindly though. "More thought? What good is giving more thought to something that will always remain a theory?" She was clearly getting upset. "How will only thinking about an issue resolve it?"
Her words immediately struck a chord in my mind, making me unable to refute them. "So are you going to just waltz into a Marquis's estate?"
Her pupils dilated slightly as she finally looked me in the eyes. "You think they can stop me?"
I couldn't even respond. "Haah..." -She just can't continue to trick herself into believing the hunter did a good thing...- There was a short moment of silence as I contemplated whether to stop her or not before finally moving aside. "Just.. make sure you confirm your thoughts before you make a mess..."
When she saw me sit back down on the bed, the fire in her eyes dimmed slightly and she smiled gratefully. "I'll be back soon." But as she walked past Sigmond, the expression she showed me disappeared. "If I find out you're lying, you're dead." *tap-tap-tap* *Click*
As she left the room and closed the door behind her, silence encompassed us, but it didn't last long.
"Haah..." Glancing at Sigmond, I noticed she still looked excessively nervous, but some color had returned to her face. "I'll let you go back home in a bit, but I want to talk more about divinity first."
"O..okay..."
As we walked back out into the living area, I picked up and poured myself a cup of alcohol to sip on. -I'm sure she'll be fine, but...- I glanced down at Ilios who was looking up at me like he knew what I was about to say. "Hey Ilios, can you follow after her and make sure she doesn't get herself hurt?"
Almost immediately, he gave an exaggerated nod and started trotting towards the door.
"Make sure you're careful!"
"Woof!" He gave me a confident look as he nonchalantly opened the door with magic and left the room.
"Haah..." -I guess there's nothing to be worried about with him...-