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You look at your bag containing your belongings in the corner. Your room feels emptier without Ireena. It's kind of sad. It's a double bed room, still, but Ireena's is unoccupied. You really hope she has made the right decision, trusting that nobleman.
You are caught off guard by the efficiency with which Danika delivers on her promise. It's not even two hours later when there is a knock on the door of your room, startling you back to the present.
"Aranuel, it's me, Urwin. Lady Fiona Wachter is here," he says.
"Oh damn!" you say. You are not ready. "She really came here, to the inn?"
"Yes," he says. "Shall I bring her to you?"
"Sure, just... give me a moment."
You take the time to center yourself. You have your holy symbol ready, not that you think she would attack you, but this town is full of the unexpected, so it doesn't hurt to always be prepared. You somehow look even less presentable than you did when you arrived in Vallaki - your hair is a mess, and you are still caked in dirt from the floor of the prison, not fit to meet a noblewoman after having been in town this long - but you know she did not free you due to faith in your manners, so you are not too concerned.
...
When she arrives, she is wearing a red hood that conceals her form. She looks young in the way she carries herself, almost as if she is in her twenties. It's only when she takes off her hood that you can see the clear signs of aging in her face, the slight wrinkles and sunken eyes that reveal her old age, especially in the dim torchlight.
"Hello again," Fiona says.
"Kossuth's blessings," you reply meekly. You gesture for her to sit. She sits on the bed across from you, the one Ireena slept in.
"You have been quite busy since we first spoke."
"Yes," you reply. You are looking down, not making eye contact. "It was an accident."
"You killed the Baron of Vallaki - one of the more important noble titles in Barovia, on paper - by accident."
"Yes," you say. "I was... exploring his manor, waiting for a meeting. And I found... something I should not have found, I suppose. And I was defending myself."
She studies you. You look up at her face - you cannot read her, her stoic expression masking her judgement. "So it's time I ask. What did you want to meet me for?" you say. "And why did you break me out of jail?"
"I had hoped to invite you to my mansion and explain my proposal to you over dinner. That's no longer possible. Many things are no longer possible."
"Yes, it wouldn't be safe for me to leave," you say. "If what I did caused you any inconvenience..."
You watch as her stoic expression breaks and... she actually breaks out into a smile for a moment. "Oh my dear," she says, "you have given me great aid."
(cont.)
