Session: Dec. 18, 2023

Well today really was a day full of information and conversations. I thought the revelations that Cor'nan gave us were going to be the most informative part of the day, but it turns out the entire day continued on that way.
 
Rayan showed up at Elegant's door to inform us that a body had been found murdered in the woods just outside of Ketter. I was immediately suspicious that it was the man Malzod had follow us, and sure enough, Rayan informed me I was suspect number one because I was the last one seen talking to him publicly. I asked Rayan if we could go somewhere private to chat, and he took us to the gardens following Cor'nan, and the watchful Mud. In a secluded area I told him all about Malzod - him threatening Galvid, asking us to kill Cor'nan, that the murdered man was most likely done in by Malzod, and I told him a small bit about Dan'or'avil. I knew it would be a lot, but I definitely short-circuited his brain a little. Poor guy. His main suggestions were to run away, and to not bring up Malzod's name when being interrogated, neither of which were particularly helpful. But he seemed genuine, and definitely concerned for my well-being. At the end of the conversation, when I apologized and said I'd do my best to protect him, he kissed me. I'm still reeling a little. It's been a very long time since I was somewhere long enough, with someone I trusted enough, for that to happen. And of course, now we have to leave.
 
Because while I was meeting with Rayan, Zun and Elegant were meeting with Count Peyton and Betan, my mother's Chamberlain. According to Zun, Betan explained that my mother still wants Elegant to come and play, to which Elegant agreed. After he left with Carlin and Cor'nan, Count Peyton apparently questioned them on my legitimacy. I guess it spooks the servants of the house that I don't sleep. There's also been rumours that I'm not who I say I am, which is interesting. The only person who knows that is the Inquisitor. Which means either someone was listening in or Carlin has been spreading rumours. Neither of which is a great option. Luckily Zun was able to dissuade Peyton that I was shady, but it still concerns me that people think that of me. They're not wrong, of course, but it doesn't help keep a low profile at all.
 
On my back with Mud, after talking with Rayan, we ran into Carlin and Cor'nan going to the rooms in front of us, and I swear to the gods I thought Carlin was going to kill Cor'nan right there. I came up with some lame excuse about needing to ask Carlin a question, which caused him to fall back and join me, where I proceeded to ask him what the hell he thought was doing. But he just acted like he had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, and told me he was treading carefully. Luckily he left, to which we all breathed a sigh of relief.
 
I ended up meeting separately with Betan to discuss details for our journey, all of which are strangely convoluted and shrouded in secrecy. Why, I have no idea. Neither did Betan. Whole journey should take 2.5 weeks, I think he said. I asked him how he liked working for her, but he made it sound as though she was a typical noble. A little shady occasionally, but otherwise tough and fair. So perhaps he is actually just a servant and not really knowledgeable of what she's capable of. Weirdly, he informed me that her daughter had been kidnapped years ago, and then more recently executed. I'm assuming he's referring to the execution that just happened with the Vorestheyra, but that leaves me with some questions. Has Dan'or'avil not told my mother that I'm still alive? He certainly made it sound as though he was going to spread the information. But then again, he said he was going to kill me regardless of what she wanted, so maybe he hasn't told her I'm still alive. That way he can kill me and she's none the wiser. A concerning thought.
 
The last information overload of the day was meeting with someone the Inquisitor had sent to chat after I requested it. Another Inquisitor, it seemed, though this one was part of the Kidon Order that Cor'nan is a part of. He informed me they would not pursuing Malzod further, as they still need him. Which makes sense with what Cor'nan said, about needing to use him to get into the Iglvdruum. It's infuriating though, as Malzod really needs to stand trial for everything he's done. It also means us killing Malzod would be very frowned upon, which is also annoying. The Inquisitor then told me that Ny'ell was going to be released, in part because Cor'nan apparently begged my mother to use her power to do so. I don't like that she's connected there. It worried me there's going to be some kind of favour owed, or something along those lines. I am grateful, but I absolutely hate that part of the success came because of Mother. The other interesting part was that The Inquisitor didn't think Malzod was the one who killed the body in the forest. Which is strange, because I was sure, since it was the man Malzod left to watch us, and we got him to lie, it would have been Malzod. It was certainly gruesome enough. The body apparently drained of blood, limbs everywhere. But if Malzod didn't do it, who did? Did Malzod get Carlin to do it for him, maybe? Or is there some third party I'm not thinking about at all? Sigh.
 
I told the Inquisitor a little about Mother financing the Cult, along with Dan'or'avil, and he said they had an agent over there who would try to look into it. He gave me their insignia, along with a code word to use if I met them. He also mentioned they might look a little into Ahzek, once I mentioned him. The Inquisitor asked if I knew anything about where Tarranvar had gone, which I could very safely answer, since Tarranvar's soul is in Mortalis. Obviously I wasn't going to tell him that, but I could at least confidently say that Ahzek killed him. I'll be curious to see where this goes. Just another secret organization that is supposedly our ally, working in the name of justice. Fingers crossed their idea of justice is akin to ours'.