Legend of Ransera

"I did say Ansel," he affirmed, giving her a bit of side-eye at her response. "Ansel Gerhard, sure."

She offered a bit of exposition and he just nodded. "That makes sense. He is, indeed, a wanker."

Further tales of his being a tough old wanker only made him smirk.

"The stories track, though some of them he might have embellished for effect. And don't worry... there's a chance he'll be back to normal. He seems stubborn enough to improve just to spite the healers. Anyway, I've had them add some sedatives... however they can get them into him. Just to keep him still long enough to recuperate. But if he's your mentor, I'll gladly shift responsibility for him over to you..."

She had long legs and he wasn't slow, so it didn't take them long to arrive at the Tranquil Gardens. He wasn't shy about sharing intelligence with her as she was a Sunsinger, and he made queries of his own. The covens had promised him news from abroad as well. He also knew where Ansel's room was, so he was able to lead her right there. At the door, he paused.

"I can ward it against intrusion and eavesdropping if you'd like. If you think it necessary. While you catch up on old times, I can talk to the healers about your connection with him so they will answer your questions directly if you have them." A part of him wanted to be in the room, eavesdropping himself, but he could afford them some privacy. He could be a decent person when he wanted to be. It was just rare he wanted to be.

By the time Imogen came to fetch him, he was actually flirting with the healers, but he had done as he had promised before that. At least one of them watched the human and the orkhan walk off with a speculative air. When they returned to Ansel's room, he didn't even have the good grace to look surprised at the strange manifestation in the window, but then his first tricks had been illusions and how to see through them. And he had fought alongside Ansel Gerhard and knew what he was capable of, magically and militarily. But he knew when to hold his tongue—not that he always did.

The door closed behind them and he leaned back against it. They were back to surnames apparently; this must be serious.

"You're welcome, of course—even if the covens hadn't taken me in, I'm not so self-serving I wouldn't have helped. And even if I was so self-serving, it wouldn't have been wise to leave a witch behind when they could be as much help getting me out as I was getting them out." He had no military background, but he understood tactics.

"As for the rest, I was in Zaichaer to reinstate the connection between the theaters that had been a reliable way to get people out of the Brass City. Went in bold as you please, told them I wanted to be a member of the covens, too..." He shrugged. "It'd help me do my job and it'd help you know I was good for it. Valencia made me sign a magically binding contract, anyway. Did a murder for the Myshalarai and they initiated me. Made good with the Railrunners since I'd be helping most specifically with their work. Was trying to prove I could keep people safe to the Sunsingers when shit went down. Interrupted talks with the other major covens and some of the minor ones too.

"I don't know what the future holds. Zaichaier is... crippled, at least. Not sure what that means for Kalzasi. The Shinsei is still gone. Things feel... off. I'm going to do what I've always done: collect information. Seems as though I'll be providing a safe place for witches passing through. Helping them pass through and get safely where they're going. And helping them settle here if that's what they want. I don't know if that's as definitive an answer as you'd hoped for, but that's what I've got."

There were some things he already knew about the Sunsingers and their organization, much of it garnered from his time with Ansel. He didn't know if past services coupled with Imogen's recommendation would be enough to move him from whatever status he held among them as a member of other covens into full membership, but ultimately it didn't matter. He was already one of the rare few with multiple connections to the covens, which he hoped would help him keep them together from where he maintained a sort of sanctuary of his own.

He nodded slowly, smirk slipping away as he gave all the things they said due consideration.

"Well," he said slowly, rubbing at the ginger bristle along his jaw, "you've found a Railrunner. Just not a very skilled one yet... All right. Whenever the healers give you a clean bill of health, I assume this means you're going back. I can't... blink you in, but my tricks work well enough for scouting, for distracting monsters, and defense if we get into a fight." He shrugged. "Shit Railrunner, but I have my uses. I'll get you where you need to be, rest up, and then get back to Kalzasi once I've spoken to your Warden."

Aurin had some idea what the other covens were up to, what kept them as major forces within the community of witches in Zaichaer. But he hadn't had the full education; things had been cut short. His mind was already thinking about how to get things covered at the theater while he was gone. If this sort of thing became regular, he was going to have to make his secretary his assistant, get both of them secretaries, and then he could delegate more to them and spend more time doing stupid adventurous things.

It didn't seem as though there was aught to be gained by poking the bear, so he just nodded to Ansel.

"I'll be by tomorrow to report," he said, despite the old man's grumbling. Aurin was still new to this and it seemed as though some of the cohesion of the covens had frayed, which was entirely understandable, although anathema to the military-esque discipline of the Sunsingers. Some witches had decided to settle here; others had sought other places. Few were as loyal as Imogen appeared to be and it seemed the least Aurin could do to visit and give him brief digests of the day's news. If the man started feeling irrelevant, his recovery might be in jeopardy. And Aurin found he liked the old curmudgeon and looked forward to sparring with him once he wasn't an invalid.

The fox-faced man followed Imogen out, shutting the door behind him and indicating the direction of the exit with a cock of his head. He only paused to warn one of the healers that Ansel might be in a mood. Otherwise, he was quiet until they hit the night air.

"So. Off to chase Carina, eh?"

He didn't know if the little addict was a key player in the covens, but even he could sense the dissolution of the covens, or the threat of it, and many of them saw it as an existential threat. And far be it from him to judge; he was half-considering getting to Solunarium to drag Arry back lest he succumb to the political machinations of the elf supremacists.

"Need help arranging travel or supplies?

"All right," he said, and left it mostly at that. He mused on what she said, wondering what wonders he might achieve when he mastered the mark of the Railrunners. So far, he was trying to understand how places connected, unaware that he might be able to lock onto a specific person without knowing exactly where they were. That would make fetching Arry easier if his ward ever got into trouble somewhere in Solunarium.

Perhaps he would even learn a thing or two from Carina if he ever saw her again.

"Wait... you swore an oath of extermination against the entire Gelerian Imperium?" he asked, only some of his incredulity showing through. She was certainly playing the part of the Ecithese barbarian, which he hadn't anticipated from her. But then, she was allowing him to know her better now that they were both members of the covens. "Well... good luck with that. Not sure I could do anything to aid you in genocide."

Aurin was certain she had her reasons, but she would either share them or not. There were plenty of things he wanted to know, but wasn't sure when his ration of secrets would be up.

"Do you feel as though your oath to the Sunsingers limits you more than it gives you freedom?" he asked. They had accepted him in a manner of speaking, but he wasn't sure he would do well in any organization that was military in structure. Aurin was not good with authority in general, and he didn't think they were going to make him their General, so he didn't know whether it would be a good idea to go all the way, as it were.