Aster slowly opened his eyes, trying to carefully look around without bringing any notice to himself. He saw mostly stone and very slowly moved his head to the side to get a better idea of where he was at. More stone and then he spotted Donoma across from him, sitting on a stone bench while looking off to her left. She seemed to be waiting for something and he figured it was safe enough for him to let her know that he was awake as he whispered, “Don.” When her head snapped to look at him he gave a slight nod and asked, “Should I keep still?”

She shook her head and, while not quite a whisper, she replied softly, “No, they are expectin’ ya ta wake soon. We told ‘em that much so that they wouldn’t hurt ya accidentally.”

He nodded and carefully sat himself up. They were in what appeared to be a small prison cell with enough space for about four people to sit on the two benches opposite each other against the walls. The metal barred door was to his right and he ran a hand through his hair as he asked, “Where’s Saelak?”

“They took him for ‘questioning’ they said.” She glared angrily at the door, “That was an hour ago.”

He nodded grimly, “Is ‘they’ those Royal Rangers?”

She shook her head, “Those are who caught us on the mountain side, that was mayhaps 3 or 4 hours ago? We are in the ‘care’ of the Royal Guard now, who work directly under the Hand of the King.” She was nervously tugging on her braids as she explained.

“Do we know what they want?” he asked, trying to come up with a plan of action.

She gave a small shrug, “It seem like they know you and I have Wanted titles, but seein’ as those titles don’t apply here specifically, I’m not positive what they’re hopin’ ta gain from us.”

“I guess we’re stuck waiting then,” he said with a bit of frustration while crossing his arms and leaning against the cold stone wall.

“Speakin’ of waitin’,” Donoma said as she refocused all of her attention back on him, “Ya can’t do this ta Saelak anymore, Aster. Ya need ta either turn him down or accept him. This uncertain line ya’ve been walkin’ is doin’ more harm than either those options will.”

He gave a sigh and nodded, “I know. My moon cycle made that painfully obvious. That’s why I’ve decided to stop running. I’ve decided to be honest with him and myself. ”

“Moon cycle?” she asked in perplexion and he began catching her up on his new little side-effect of being Blood Blessed.

“Well that explains yer crazy episode,” she said with a huff as he finished going over it all, “We’re gonna have ta deal with that every 8th o’ the month?”

He gave a half shrug, “Hopefully not as bad? Drake was saying that if I’m completely honest with myself and others at all times then it will at least be more predictable.”

“Honest, huh?” she raised an eyebrow, “That can be hard ta do a lot o’ times.”

He nodded, “It’s for the best though, I’m tired of running and hiding and feeling guilty about it all the time. I’m going full honest mode from now on.”

“So…” the elf hesitated for a moment, “So, before I ask my question, I guess I should be honest with ya too and let ya know that I admitted ta Saelak that I loved him.”

He stared at her for a moment, processing, then smiled at her, “That’s great, Don. I’m glad you had the courage to do that. You’re a braver person than I was,” he said with a chuckle. “So what’s your question now that you got that off your chest?”

Her voice seemed to shake with nerves a bit as she asked, “The same one as before: how do ya feel ‘bout Saelak?”

He was able to meet her eyes this time and answered honestly, “I love him. I don’t want to leave his side. I thought my world was shattering when it looked like he might die. I never want to feel that way again.”

She gave a weak smile and nodded, “I’m glad-” her voice caught slightly and she wiped at an eye then stared at the ceiling, “He’ll be overjoyed ta know his love is requited.”

He had an inkling of what she might be feeling, thinking that any chance she might have had with the Winter Elf was gone now and Aster want to try and reassure her in some way, and reaffirming his new commitment of honesty, “Look, Don, I’m not sure how different the Summer Elves might be from the Winter variety but I had a talk long ago with Saelak about how I’m not monoamorous like the Winter Elves mostly are,” at her confused expression he elaborated, “Meaning I don’t like tying myself down to a single person as a romantic partner.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Couldn’t that be taken as just not interested in any romantic partner?”

He paused for a moment, contemplating and realized he might have misrepresented his position a bit, “Perhaps… it’s not how I intended though. I’m polyamorous, meaning I prefer being open to multiple partners,” he looked pointedly at her, “And I don’t mind sharing a partner with another person.”

The archer’s eyes widened at the implication, “Ya mean, ya wouldn’t mind if Saelak…”

“I wouldn’t mind if you and Saelak became romantically involved, if you don’t mind the same with me,” he clarified for her.

She smiled and blushed slightly as she confessed, “Honestly, part of the reason I feel so strongly about him is because of his love fer you. I have no desire ta come between ya both. I just… want ta be a part of it as well I suppose.”

He nodded, “Trust me when I say that I completely understand that feeling.”

She nodded, “So what do we do now?”

“Well, we wait for him to come back in one piece and I guess we let him know he’s got options,” he gave a wry smile and she chuckled at him.

“Resh those reshing dwarves right up their reshing arses!” Nyx yelled as she literally flipped a table over in her outrage.

Lux glared at the dwarf that had come to inform them that the Royal Guard had taken custody over their current targets after discovering them on the mountainside. It would have actually been a boon to them under normal circumstances but the dwarf had also just informed them that the King was in no way interested in letting go of a Hexmagi and didn’t plan on extradition for the trio at this time.

“Calm down, Nyx, we’ll have to barter somehow,” Lux said, trying to both manage her and the situation they now found themselves in.

The dwarf gave a little scoff, “Yeah, not goin’ to happen. Unless you can find someone stronger. Us dwarves have more than enough riches, magic is its own currency here.”

Nyx pulled out both of her daggers and began striding purposely towards the informant, murder in her eyes, and Lux had to physically hold her back as he dismissed them, “We’ll figure it out, now get out before I let her kill you.”

The dwarf scrambled away and Nyx let out another scream of frustration. “Those greedy reshing dwarves!”

“Calm, sister. We’ll get him. If we can’t trade then we’ll just have to find other options,” Lux said in reassurance.

She paused her tirade and turned at his suggestion and a smile crossed her face, “Well, we are Shadows after all.”

“Looks like our guest of honor has finally finished melting!” A deep cheerful voice filled the small cell that made Donoma and Aster jump slightly, finding a burly dwarf with the largest beard Aster had seen yet peer at them through the bars of the door. He unlocked the door and gestured for them to come towards him, “Both of you follow me and I’ll take you to your friend who has been oh so helpful.”

Aster’s eyes narrowed not liking what the dwarf seemed to be implying but he wanted to find Saelak sooner to be able to confirm for himself that he was all right.

“Where is he?” Donoma almost yelled at the jailer before Aster could try and wave her down.

“Don’t worry yourself, lass. He’s bein’ taken plenty care of. Like I said, follow and you’ll see for yourselves,” he said with a grin. Aster stood and gestured to Donoma that they should follow.

They were led to a large room that Aster honestly couldn’t figure out the purpose for but it was lined with dozens of dwarves in armor that seemed actively on guard and in the center of the room were four chair, one on the far side from them and three on the side closest to them the right of which set Saelak. He turned to the sound of them entering and looked relieved at the sight of them.

“Take a seat you two, I just want to ask some more questions,” their escort said as he sat in the empty far chair.

Donoma nudged Aster to sit in the middle between her and Saelak and he obliged her, hoping he’d be able to react quicker if either of his companions were attacked. Saelak was the first to respond though, “More questions? Haven’t I answered enough of them?”

“Yes, you have been helpful but I would ask you to remain silent now as I collect their accounts as well,” the dwarf seemed to pull out a metal slate and tap on it and Aster realized it was illusion enchanted like the pocket watches but seemingly much more advanced like a tablet computer from his old world and he seriously wanted one. “Now, I am Radovan, the Hand of the King. Mr. Saelak here says you are travelers headin’ to the Airelian Federation, may I ask why?”

Aster glanced at Saelak and asked telepathically, ‘Did you lie?’

Saelak just shook his head in the negative and the dwarf spoke up, “None of that now, no secret signs or gestures, please.”

They both returned their gaze back to the jailer and Saelak managed to tell his other party members, ‘They have a high level Illusion Blessed in the room. They will be able to reveal our profiles. It’s probably safe to assume they also have a Covenant Blessed that can detect lies, no point in giving them cause to trust us less.’

“We were heading for the Grand Library in Arexia,” Aster responded honestly.

“That’s a long trip, might I ask why the effort?” Radovan continued questioning.

Aster paused wondering how much information to just hand over but he had promised himself, no more lies, “I had heard it is one of the largest collections of knowledge in the world, I am seeking answers to many questions I have about the world at large and my abilities in particular.”

The Hand raised an eyebrow and smiled warmly, “I can see that you are a rare Hexmagi with an exceptionally unusual Blessin’. Will you tell me what abilities you might be seeking more knowledge about?” Aster pursed his lips for a moment in hesitation and the dwarf raised his hands slightly in a defensive gesture, “I only wish to know if we might be able to offer our assistance in this matter. We Mountain Dwarves of Rudná Ríša have amassed quite a collection of knowledge in our own right.”

Donoma spoke up now, mistrust clearly evident in her voice, “Why would ya offer us help while also keepin’ us prisoner?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now, lass. I am merely collectin’ information for the King to make the best decision he can when it comes to your situation. He will be the one to make any actual offer or any other options,” he gave another smile then nodded towards Aster, “Now, will you help me in presentin’ the most accurate account for my liege?”

Aster stared at the dwarf a moment longer, trying to get his measure, but remembered what Saelak said and figured this was most likely something he wouldn’t be able to hide. “I have a Unique ability called Soul Bond that comes from my Spirit Blessing. It allows me to forge a pact with other creatures and share their power, including their Blessings.”

The entire room went still at this information. Radovan just stared at him long and hard but before the silence could become awkward he broke into a wide grin, “Well, that’ll be all for today then. Sir Oldrich will take you all to your new room and we’ll be bringin’ you some dinner shortly.”

Aster was confused by the abrupt end as all three of them stood, “Is that it?”

“Oh no, lad,” the Hand said with a slightly menacing smile, “We’re just gettin’ started.”