Well, that was an unexpected night. The ladies asked if they could take us to a waterfall just outside the city, which sounded lovely. And it was. It was one of the most beautiful sights I think I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I’ll have dreams about that waterfall.
What was interesting about the conversation on the way was how threatened Ertez seemed by Elegant. He asked me questions I couldn’t fully answer, since I’m pretending to be Saanes’ sister and wouldn’t really know much about Elegant. It was curious.
But during that time, as we stared out at the waterfall, all of us got charmed. The ladies beat the crap out of some kind of shadow demon, and stored it in an amulet. Then came the truth: they actually were not there for romance. They were part of a mercenary group collecting bounties (which I’ll admit, had me panicked for a second), and the thing they had just captured typically only came out to attack women on dates at tourist attractions. Weirdly specific, but obviously they were right, so…? Then their boss, a fiend, showed up and explained their organization was in Geyt, the same place that Orthek is from. They all left with him, leaving us to walk back to the Inn a little shell shocked.
As we went to part ways from Ertez, Zun finally asked what all of us had been thinking - what had he whispered to Endry? Which he of course didn’t really answer, but it gave room for me to confirm what I’d been thinking - he and Naielle are dating. I asked if she knew just how charming he was to other women, to which he straight up lied and told me she was aware. When I gave him some private advice to be a little more careful if he wanted his relationship to continue, he told me that Elegant should also make sure he’s careful, then left.
Elegant then confirmed that he and Naielle used to be an item, but that they didn’t restart their relationship. Something I’m sure will relieve Ertez. He also said that both of them had been invited to play for Count Peyton, a noble who lives close to my mother’s house, which just might be the in we need to get to her. He was very excited to inform us that it meant we’d have to go to a tailor and get some fancy clothes for the party, so we didn’t stick out so badly. I couldn’t tell you the last time I owned fancy clothes. But it’ll be kind of nice to see everyone dressed up, I think.