[center][h1][b][color=00aeef]Chres Sansus[/color][/b][/h1][/center]

Interaction with [@Typical] [@HokumPocus]

[hr]
Chres looked from Malkev, to Svephraey, and then to the Kharu-Natjer. He didn’t like the atmosphere here one bit.

[color=00aeef]“You imply we are allies, due to a common enemy.”[/color] The Kharu-Natjer nodded with a smile. [color=00aeef]“I can’t speak for my comrades here, but I don’t-“[/color]

[color=f7976a]“Oh, for the love of-”[/color] Malkev interjected with his deep rich voice. [color=f7976a]“Are we just going to sit around here and voice our distrust for one another while tossing around ominous threats left and right?”[/color]

The Kharu-Natjer simply took another sip of his wine. [color=burlywood]“Peace Malkev.”[/color]

[color=f7976a]“Peace? Peace?! Lord of Senses take your ‘Peace’!”[/color] Malkev spat.

The Kharu-Natjer’s expression turned sour at the man’s curse. His ever present smile turning to displeasure. He quickly took a sip of wine, letting the glass cover his frown. Once again he turned to face the fire.

Out the corner of his eye, Chres caught the man’s familiar batting its wings excitedly as it crouched forward in its perch. Meanwhile, Svephraey’s gaze went from Malkev, to The Kharu-Natjer, and back again. Her eyebrow arched in amusement. It was the most expressive she had been since the start of the conversation.

Malkev seemed to have missed the change in atmosphere. Instead, he continued on. [color=f7976a]“The reason I’m here today is to put aside pettiness and address the issue that is plaguing this town.”[/color]

[color=f7976a]“You.”[/color] Malkev said, pointing a finger in Ferris’s direction. [color=f7976a]“I don’t like you or your kind… However-”[/color] He paused for half a second, his mouth twitching as if he were trying to cover a sneer. [color=f7976a]“If you've come here seeking to assist The Watch in ridding this town of the Cult... Then... Then I’ll...”[/color]

Malkev’s scrunched up his nose. His mouth seemed to struggle to form the words he sought. Finally, he sighed and bowed his head. [color=f7976a]“Then I’ll look the other way.”[/color] He said reluctantly in a quiet voice. [color=f7976a]“Yesterday’s massacre has left this town in shambles... The cult controls the walls, the food, and if I were to hazard a guess, the governance as well. I... I’ll take help wherever I can get it. Even if I do begrudge where such help may come from.”[/color]

Malkev raised his head. His eyes held hard defiant look. [color=f7976a]“I’m here to fight back against the people who seek to take away our way of life. Alone I don’t have the weapons, information or resources to fight against this… this siege on our culture. These people,-”[/color] Malkev eyed Svephraey and The Kharu-Natjer disdainfully. [color=f7976a]“-they do.”[/color]

Malkev tighten his blanket as he finished his speech. There was a proudness to his words. Perhaps a hint of nobility.

The Kharu-Natjer took another sip of wine before placing the unfinished glass on a small table near the sofa. Oddly, Malkev jumped from his seat the moment the glass touched table. Almost as if he’d been shocked. The man looked to his seat confused, and then eyed the Kharu-Natjer suspiciously. Cautiously, he returned to his seat.

[color=burlywood]“We each have our reasons for wanting the Cult gone."[/color] The Kharu-Natjer said. [color=burlywood]"Svephraey’s trade cannot flourish under the Cult’s influence.”[/color]

[color=00aeef]“And you?”[/color] Chres asked.

[color=burlywood]“Me?”[/color] The Kharu-Natjer said. He grabbed his glass from the table and raised it to his face. [color=burlywood]“I seek to end them. To send its kind back from whence it came."[/color] The strange man watched the black flames of the fire as the nearby slave tossed more wood into its distorted blaze. His gaze seemed distant as if his stare went beyond the flames and into a place unknown. 

There was a moment of silence. The only noise being the trickle from the chamber's steady stream of water, and the playful splashes of a certain fairy shaped familiar. She laughed happily in the background shouting, [color=a2d39c]"Puddle! Puddle! Puddle! Puddle! Puddle!"[/color] Most of the room ignored Sil's delight. Talon, however, did not. He eyed Sil with disgust. His own talons tightening on his perch.

Moments later, the Kharu-Natjer downed the rest of his wine. One of the female slaves immediately went to his side, allowing him to discard the glass upon her tray. [color=burlywood]"I've answered your questions."[/color] He said. [color=burlywood]"It is only fair you answer mine."[/color] He turned to face the group. [color=burlywood]"It seems to me that escaping the cult, the day prior, would have taken a certain level of sanity. How is it that you managed to avoid the madness that struck the rest of the town?"[/color]

Chres looked to the chamber filled with crystal jade candles. [color=00aeef]"The same way as you, I would imagine."[/color] He said.

The Kharu-Natjer merely smiled [color=burlywood]"Oooh no no no. You misunderstand. I was not speaking of the Crystal Jade candles, but rather how you came to know of them."[/color]

Chres narrowed his eyes. His mind darted to the mystery man who visited them the night before chaos struck. [color=00aeef]"The same way as you."[/color] Chres repeated more firmly.

The man's smile simply widened. [color=burlywood]"Your assumption speaks volumes."[/color] He said snidely. [color=burlywood]"No, my friend. The same it assuredly was not..."[/color] Chres's eyes narrowed further. 

The Kharu-Natjer clapped his hands together. [color=burlywood]"Friends!"[/color] He said to Malkev and Svephraey. [color=burlywood]"It seems we have found the missing piece of knowledge we needed to kill the seed."[/color] The two looked to the Kharu-Natjer curiously. [color=burlywood]"Tell us, then. What information did the Being of Many Names provide?"[/color]

[center]*****[/center]
Chres and the rest left the underground chamber some time later. The weapons returned the moment they left the premises. The Innkeeper was waiting for them outside. He said nothing as he joined the group. Whatever they did seemed to have freaked out him out.

"Never again..." The Innkeeper muttered.

The Being of Many Names. That was the name the Kharu-Natjer gave the mystery man. Other than that, he refuse to say more. He would reach out to them all again, he had said, to plan for an attack.
 
Chres wasn't sure how he felt about the people he met there. At the very least Malkev seemed to have some moral standing. The others though...

[color=a2d39c]"Did you see the size of that puddle?"[/color] Sil asked excitedly to Lynx. [color=a2d39c]"Next time we go, let's play in the puddle together! We can go splash that ugly chicken and show him who's boss!"[/color]

Chres looked to Sil and smiled. In all honesty, he felt her innocence was a relief after their encounter with the Kharu-Natjer. The encounter was unnerving to say the least.
 
[color=00aeef]"Tell me,-"[/color] Chres addressed the group. [color=00aeef]"-what did you all make of those three?"[/color]