Quoted By:
"Fine, I'm sorry," you say.
Vasili nods. Ireena relaxes.
"Thank you," Vasili says.
"Sure. I'm just looking out for Ireena. I shouldn't have tried casting a spell on you. I won't do it again."
You you know when it's time to fight and when it's time to be civil, and this is the time to be civil. You are working angles. A better opportunity will come. And you still don't trust Vasili, but maybe he isn't so bad - all you need to do is fulfill your promise to Ismark, and if that means passing Ireena along to somebody equally as capable of keeping her away from Strahd...
No. You will keep your eyes on him. But for now, civility. "We should settle on a way to contact each other in case things don't go according to plan," you say. "That way, the blame isn't on me if Ismark wonders where you went. He did entrust me to this, after all, not Vasili."
"Not a problem," Vasili says. He reaches into his coat and pulls out three rolled up pieces of parchment. He holds them out, gesturing for you to take them.
You inspect the paper. "What is this?" you ask as you grab it.
"A keepsake from my family," he says. "This is enchanted parchment. If you want to deliver a message, you must only hold one of the pages, then speak the name of someone you are familiar with. It will fold itself into a bird and fly directly to the intended recipient. It loses its enchantment after it arrives."
"Wow," you say. "This seems so valuable. What do you want for them?"
"Nothing," he says, with a coy smile. "I have hundreds of them back at home."
"Where, exactly, is home?" you ask.
"Ah, somewhere beyond the village," he says dismissively. "I am staying here, however... my family has old ties to Wachterhaus, you see."
Wachterhaus? Ohhh... that's right. Lady Fiona Wachter. You were supposed to meet with her today, weren't you? That was her condition for freeing you from the prison when you first entered the town of Vallaki. Yet, from what you've learned, Vallaki's government is under attack at this very moment, and you are a fugitive who just broke out of prison for <span class="mu-i">killing</span> the town's Baron. That you are even having this conversation in the safety of this room is a miracle. What is going to become of that meeting?
"Ireena," you say. "This is your last chance to change your mind. Are you coming with me? If not, I have... business."
"You can see to your business," she says. "I will contact you if anything goes wrong."
You nod at that.
