Aris leaned back before remembering that he was seated on a bench with nothing to lean back against. "It may be worthwhile to start your people moving already Lady Ussi. I expect it would take them at least a few days to pack up and leave. In the meantime, I'll gather what few adventurers I can and we'll look into clearing this Old Temple together. Even If it doesn't turn out to be a viable place to live permanently, it is probably worth exploring at the very least."

Lady Ussi flicked her tongue, "A wisse idea. I'll ssee to getting my people moving, then meet you back here in... three dayss to lead you to the Old Temple."

Aris stood and offered his hand, "we are agreed then. To a better future, for your people and mine."

Lady Ussi took his hand tentatively, "Our purposse is united againsst any and all who dare to break it."

Aris turned to open the door and lead the way out, but Lady Ussi stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. "I do have one question. What wass that ssong in the Old Tongue you ssang a week ago just past ssundown?"

Aris smiled a sad smile, "The Islander."

Lord Wavethunder greeted Aris when he re-entered the main meeting area. "Well, I see you are still breathing, so it must have gone well."

Aris Shrugged, "Both better and worse. It's not just one defector, it’s a whole village. From the sound of things, lady Ussi thinks she can get them all out, which tells me she already cleared out the Branded representatives of the Overlords, including two of her own sons."

Lord Wavethunder held up a hand, "slow down man, you skipped over a few things there. A whole village of defectors? Overlords and Branded?"

Aris scratched the back of his head for a moment. "The Overlords are the heads of the 'core' network, and from the sound of things it's more of a cult than anything else. The Branded are the agents they send out, both as spies and to advise their 'dispersed' cells. Both the snakehead I killed in Chedal and many of the bodies that were examined here were indeed marked by a brand of some sort, acid-burned into their scales or scorched into their flesh, so that part of her story holds up. As for the whole village, I'd guess she was part of a rear-area cell, mostly civilians and artisans, supporting active operations. With at least lady Ussi being disillusioned, and having cleansed the Branded from the ranks of her cell, I think we can count on most of the rest following the same path in time."

Lord Wavethunder grimaced, "I can't argue with more people wanting out from under that kind of theocratic cult, but that is going to complicate things. We'll need to settle them someplace."

Aris flicked a hand, "for the short term, lady Ussi has agreed to move them into the woods here in Trebor. They should be self sufficient until we can settle them down permanently and start to integrate them into Altheim society as a whole. That last part will probably take one of your long elven lifetimes, but I can at least get them started. How did the negotiations go so far?"

Lord Wavethunder shrugged noncommittally, "ongoing, but looking decent. More work for the lawmasters than anything else. I expect the final form of the documents will be worked out by tonight and signed tomorrow. Why?"

"Because I'd like Aflia's help with a different matter in a few days. There's an Old Temple here in the forests of Trebor that, according to lady Ussi, is inhabited by a ‘witch.’ I intend to recon that temple with her assistance to see if I need to take further action or call in heavier support."

Lord Wavethunder shrugged, "It's your ass on the line. If you can wait two days, we can probably get Priestess Little Bird and Acolyte Telena out here as well."

Aris nodded, "That wouldn't be a bad idea."

Status Report:

Treasury: 10000 (after a year of living frugally)

Income: +5 gold per day (semi-retired Agent of Althiem)

Equipment: In good condition.

Estates:

Ikin: Village, Fishing Docks Trebor Convent: Under Construction Four Empty Holdings (may be improved later)

The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings

Total Deaths:1