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“You’re right,” you decide with a nod, “We should make for the next layer of the Demesne as soon as possible. Though, I do want to look for Kalthos if we have the chance.”
Gratia tilts her head to the side like a curious bird. “You intend to make sure that chance arises,” she guesses.
“I’m not going to spend the rest of my life searching for the old fiend if he’s determined to hide from me, but yes. I still want to speak with him, even if I can’t spare the time to indulge him,” you admit, holding up the profane charm and dangling it in the air for a moment, “Besides, you might have things the other way around. He might be the one willing to pay a price for this little thing.”
She considers this, then shrugs. “As you wish, dear brother. I will follow your lead,” Gratia concludes, “You go ahead, I need to fetch something first – that fragment I mentioned.”
You go your separate ways, meeting up a short moment later at the edge of the forest. “Here, as promised,” Gratia says, holding out the broken fragment of stone, “Do you see this symbol? An eye, one of the ancient symbols of our family – a good omen for our journey.”
[Axis Mundi Fragment – Insight: +1 Insight Attunement]
“I’ll take any good omen I can get,” you remark, closing your grip around the stone for a moment. Gratia smiles, linking her arm with yours and allowing you to lead the way through the forest. After walking in silence for a moment, a strange question occurs to you. “Have you ever seen her?” you ask quietly, “The woman in this forest, I mean. The horned woman.”
“No, I’ve never seen her,” Gratia shakes her head, “But I know that she’s out there. She’s seen me, I’m sure of it, but she always stays well away.”
If she takes any offence from that unspoken rejection, she doesn’t show it. Keeping her thoughts to herself, she walks on by your side until you arrive at the great hollow tree. It’s only as you’re descending the stairs that she speaks up, her words nearly causing you to slip and fall on the damp stone. “You’ve been intimate with Miss Legrasse, have you not?” she asks quietly, her voice low and level.
“That’s…” you splutter for a moment, fumbling for the right words. It’s not that you’re ashamed to admit it, but the question came so suddenly that it caught you off guard. “That’s correct,” you manage eventually, your words sounding strained, “Do you… approve?”
“Dear brother,” Gratia murmurs, “We share the same soul, but your heart is your own. She obviously cares a great deal about you, and you must feel the same way. You have my support.”
You let out a sigh of relief before a thought occurs. “How did you know?” you ask.
“You carry her scent on you,” Gratia answers simply, “And she carries yours.”
You decide not to ask how she found that out.
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