Session: Jan. 23, 2023

What a whirlwind of a day. Had an interesting talk with Zun. He said I enjoyed murder too much, and that it concerned him. That he thought I might be letting the darkness inside me grow a little too much. That may be true, I suppose. I do feel very consumed by vengeance as of late. But that's just because there are so many people we keep coming across that are absolutely terrible people who suffer no consequences for their actions! Someone has got to do something about it. And if they're all too squeamish or morally concerned, then it has to be me. I'm just trying to make the world a safer place for them to live in.
 
Nonetheless, I weirdly appreciated it? It's been a long time since someone has been close enough to me to call me out on something from a point of concern, and not just telling me what I'm doing wrong. I don't entirely agree with him, but I am still grateful. I told him to continue to check in with me as we went. I think I have a handle on things, but I would hate for my need for vengeance to come at the cost of pushing people away, now that I finally have people I like around me.
 
Speaking of Zun, I let him attempt a disguise for me again. Judging by peoples' reactions, I think it went about the same as last time. Enough to avoid curiosity at first glance, but not enough to stand up to scrutiny. So I shifted plans a little, and after a talk with Saanes, decided to use magic to disguise myself as his older sister Emaie. A military captain is not that hard for me to pull off anyway, and no one here would know anything about Elven military. Plus, it would make sense for her to be travelling with a guard, which gives a reason for Zun to be with her.
 
Before we were able to go to the party, Corin and Mud came back with a couple truth bombs though. LIKE THE FACT THAT THE CRYSTAL RODS DON'T CONTAIN SOULS, BUT THE LOCKS TO HELL. WHICH WE'VE BEEN BREAKING. Which. Is. Just. Great. Apparently there are only two unbroken rods left - the one we just gave to Garen and the High Priest, and the one MY MOTHER HAS. You have got to be kidding me. I'll hand it to her - she's great at holding onto things she shouldn't be holding onto. Rods, my father, Chompy's family...I shouldn't be surprised at this point. But that means now we have to go and get the rod, rescue my father, rescue Chompy's family, AND try to kill her at the end. This list keeps growing, and that concerns me. The more things we need to accomplish, the more things get left to chance.
 
It also means that Tarranvar lied to me, something I don't take kindly to. I cussed him out, but unsurprisingly he just laughed at me. Mortalis said we can cause him extra mental anguish if I can come up with something that'll bother him, so you better believe I'll be thinking on it.
 
After all that, we were just supposed to go to Naielle's performance like nothing happened - a tall order. However, the evening itself was surprisingly entertaining. Not just the performance, which was captivating (she is wildly talented), but our table companions. My gosh, what a flirtatious bunch. It was absolutely hilarious watching as the men slowly realized that our table companions were coming on to them. I've always known men were dense, but they certainly proved me correct tonight. Though once they realized, none of them particularly seemed to mind.
 
Now, who intrigues me more is Ertez. He's the fire genasi travelling with Naielle, and I'm pretty sure they're dating. I only have the fact that he kissed her cheek after their performance, and called her "My Dear" to go off of, but it seems like an easy bet. However. He not only kissed my hand when we met and turned the charm way up, he whispered something to Endry that certainly had her flushed. Not exactly the actions of a man who seems to be in a committed relationship? We're about to go out for a walk, all coupled up, so I am very curious to see where that goes. I want to get to the bottom of Ertez and Naielle's relationship, to see if there's room for Elegant to wheedle his way back in. I think he and Naielle used to be an item, and after all we've been through, even though he's such a curmudgeon, I want him to be happy.