As Ashley looked back at Troe once more after finishing her talk with Xara, she caught Aleria splashing through the tide to catch up to her. [color=#ff39d6]"This can't be good,"[/color] she remarked out loud as she waited for her and Troe to catch up. Ashley lent Aleria her ear as she obviously had something to report that she didn't want overheard.

[color=fff79a]“You by chance wouldn’t know what exactly is causing this would you? I’m perplexed, it’s out of my depth.” [/color]

Ashley looked back at the snaking trail of blood that was steadily flowing in their direction. [color=#ff39d6]"Curious,"[/color] she remarked in a hushed tone. [color=#ff39d6]"I've had an uncomfortable gut feeling for some time now that something on the island was reaching out to him,"[/color] she told Aleria, but omitted the part where she more specifically thought it was thirsting for his blood. [color=#ff39d6]"It could of course, be nothing—but one of very few, unexplored benefits of having less turbulent emotions as a dark mage, is that you might just become so good at reading a room that you start feeling the lingering emotions of the dead,"[/color] she explained to Aleria as she waited for Troe to take the lead. [color=#ff39d6]"—but, further research must be done to back such claims. That is to say, it's out of my depth as well."[/color]

Ashley had no idea how literally true her hunch would be, even as they approached the shrine with the basin that should have given it away immediately. As the words "strange blood" escaped Aleria's lips, Ashley too felt a twinge of unease, which wasn't helped by the unnatural way Troe was approaching the altar.

[color=007236]“The blood of the last son of house Rev…”[/color] he uttered, causing Ashley to put two and two together.

[color=#ff39d6]"Troe! STOP!"[/color] Ashley blurted out suddenly, sounding genuinely distressed as she splashed over toward him.

The ground began to shake, and Ashley lost her balance and fell to her knees at the edge of the beach—but as soon as she was able, she scrambled again to her feet and ran up behind Troe, intent on removing his hand from the altar. If only she'd been slightly less of a coward, followed just a bit more closely behind him, she could have been there already—alas, she found herself arriving at his side too late. After seeing that his hand was more or less uninjured, she exhaled, shaking the wet sand from her own hands. [color=#ff39d6]"Are you alright?"[/color] she asked, just before he fell to one knee.

Quickly, she knelt down and lifted him up beneath his arms, throwing his left around her neck and supporting him with her own strength. She turned around to look at Aleria and made a motion with her hand as though she were mixing the contents of a flask. [color=#ff39d6]"Would you please stop mutilating yourself for science?"[/color] she grumbled at Troe while motioning to Aleria for the vulnerary. [color=#ff39d6]"This is how people get themselves cursed, you know? Don't be reckless just because I'm here, or you'll end up spending your share of the reward paying me to get rid of it for you,"[/color] she japed. She'd mentioned that her services were fairly cheap, so most of what she'd said was just banter. [color=#ff39d6]"Show me your hand. Give it here,"[/color] she said as she reached for Troe's wrist, taking his hand to inspect the wound, or lack thereof, for traces of malevolent magic.