Isadora goes looking for Egani with grim purpose, bringing Okhfels along. She's frowning, although it's mostly because she's trying to decide how to explain honorable duels to Okhfels.

<Egani> The two eventually find Egani attending a Rhiani birthing, primarily as an observer. Egani has been spending much time in the Rhiani camp in the last few weeks.

<Egani> The birth has gone well and soon Egani is ready to be drawn away. "Oh, hello!" Egani can't stop grinning.

<Okhfels> Okhfels stands behind Isadora, with his arms crossed over his chest, in his classic "I'm not really pleased to be here but as long as I'm here I'm going to look tough" pose.

<Isadora> Isadora's stride momentarily slows as she realizes what they're approaching, then she squares her sights on Egani and tries to ignore the background process. She says quietly to him, "I need to ask for your assistance."

<Egani> Egani's grin falters and a look of weariness shines through. "What is it...is someone hurt?" He unconsciously glances at Isadora's sword.

<Isadora> "Nothing like that, but the spirit journey to reach the lake spirits must begin soon. Do you... would you be willing to accompany us?"

<Egani> "Tell me about it." Egani beckons the two to walk with him while they talk.

<Isadora> "Well, it started with the White Wood and the city that used to stand here..." Isadora briefly outlines the failure of the ritual to befriend the spirits. "I want to finish what the old priests started," she finishes, "so the colonies will have more of the spiritual protection they need."

<Egani> "And the spirits will antagonize the White Wood?"

<Isadora> "I don't know how directly they'll intervene," she says honestly. "But I recently declined an offer to be queen from the Wood, so I suspect matters will soon become more exciting."

<Okhfels> "It's time to make the move. We can't wait any longer."

<Egani> "What is my role to be? Why am I needed? How flexible is the quest?" Egani muses for a moment. "The queen that Archelaus brought back is keen to engage in some similar magical events. If your quest could be worked to coincide with her goals, would that suit you?"

<Okhfels> "Archelaus!"

<Isadora> "He brought back... what?" Egani raises his eyebrows. "The queen of Emer's head is a vessel for the soul of the voidal lord's daughter. Archelaus stole it while he battled the dark lord and came back here."

<Egani> "I thought you all knew. I have her in my workshop if you wish to consult her on the matter."

<Okhfels> "Ash and smoke."

<Isadora> Isadora's brow furrows as she tries to navigate Egani's explanation. "So the sorcerer's daughter... wants the same things we do? Forgive me for some skepticism."

<Egani> "...But you should be aware, before meeting her..." Egani considers Isadora's words. "No."

<Egani> "The sorcerer's daughter has stored her soul in the ancient queen -- using her as a vessel to promote her immortality. The two have quite different agendas."

<Okhfels> Okhfels' expression darkens. One hand drops down to his sword-hilt. Instinct? Reflex? Conscious intimidation? Probably not important which.

Isadora makes a little hand motion to Okhfels--hold on, let's figure out what's going on here.

<Egani> "The ancient queen is just a severed head at this point. But she is quite sadly awake and aware and very bored."

<Egani> "She is also a protective jar for the sorcerer's daughter."

<Isadora> "I'd like you to come along because the whole affair is mystically out of my depth, and sometimes Fahd doesn't make any damn sense. I'm hoping that if you're also there, you can translate and add your wisdom. Does that clarify at all?"

<Egani> "I see."

<Egani> "So...I have an agenda...I don't know how to say this." After a moment of obvious discomfort Egani continues. "See, I want something out of all this. There are some things that are negotiable and others that are not. But it feels exceedingly crass to talk about it like this."

<Okhfels> "Speak plainly. You might find it a nice change."

<Isadora> "Think of it as less 'crass,' and more 'delightfully refreshing'," Isadora suggests helpfully at the same time.

<Egani> "First, I think there's a reasonable chance of dying. If that happens to me, and not to either of you I want a vow that you will defend, protect, and provide for those to whom I am bound: My wife, my unborn daughter, my house and grounds, my pets and my students.”

<Egani> "I mean, for real."

<Okhfels> Okhfels looks down at Isadora.

<Isadora> "Of course," says Isadora, sounding a little offended at the question.

<Egani> "I also think it best that we dispose of the queen's head. It is a dangerous artifact. If she can find a way to work that into this quest, we should do so."

<Okhfels> "I'm all for getting rid of any of Archelaus's things."

<Isadora> "Fine, but that seems incompatible with enlisting the sorcerer's daughter's help."

<Egani> "You were going to enlist the sorcerer's daughter?"

<Isadora> "I thought that's what you were suggesting," says Isadora, looking confused.

<Egani> "No, not her, the queen."

<Okhfels> Okhfels shakes his head. He knows that if Isadora is confused, there's no hope for HIM.

<Egani> "The sorcerer and his forces will be very much opposed to this operation."

<Isadora> "Ah, so the queen doesn't mind her head being disposed, or would she be blissfully ignorant of this intention?" Isadora says, forging bravely ahead through the conversational waters.

<Egani> "The queen wants to be destroyed and set free. She's been trapped in that old hunk of meat for seven thousand years. It would simultaneously destroy the sorcerer's daughter."

<Egani> "I think"

<Isadora> "You think she wants to be destroyed, or that it would also kill the daughter?"

<Egani> "She wants to be destroyed. I think it would also kill the sorcerer's daughter -- more properly, destroy her soul."

<Egani> "But maybe she should have been more careful about where she stored it..."

<Okhfels> "How would the sorcerer feel about that?"

<Egani> "Who can say. He's crazy beyond any understanding."

<Egani> "A rational being in his position would probably enter a state of homicidal rage. He will have lost his beloved daughter and a substantial fraction of his power base."

<Isadora> "I expect the sorcerer to oppose us anyway, so it seems as if the only danger in bringing the head would come from itself. Could it... she... they stop us?"

<Egani> "That sounds bad, but it's probably not really. He's already our enemy and a rage would make him more likely to slip up. At least that's my best guess."

<Okhfels> "So why not just destroy it now?"

<Egani> "I don't have any evidence that she has any real power other than a vast store of knowledge. And the queen wouldn't want to stop us. I don't think the sorceress can operate through it or she'd have reclaimed it by now." Isadora waits for an answer to Okhfels' question, which sounds reasonable.

<Egani> "Okhfels, if we just hit it with a hammer, the souls and spirits and essence are just free -- to wreak havoc. If we can properly send them on, we're much safer. But they're powerfully bound, so such a sending on is a non-trivial task."

<Okhfels> "Sounds like it wouldn't make the quest any easier."

<Egani> "Maybe not. But maybe. And it is an important goal in and of itself. And actually, it's entirely possible that she knows things valuable to your tasks."

<Okhfels> "Then we'd be better off handling it after the quest."'

<Isadora> "Will it be easier if done on the quest?" Isadora asks on the heels of Okhfels' suggestion.

<Egani> But a trip to another world is at the very least required. These trips are not uncomplicated to arrange.

<Egani> "Yes, quite."

<Okhfels> Okhfels grunts skeptically. "Ask Fahd first."

<Egani> "That's a good idea. And anyway, I've predicated all of this on the requirement that she can find a way to make it work."

<Isadora> "We'll talk to Fahd," Isadora agrees. To Egani, she says, "Is this a necessary or just desirable condition for your help?"

<Egani> "Desirable. If there is some real reason not to, that's fine."

<Okhfels> "So let's hold off the 'might be nice' and make sure we have all the 'must haves"

<Egani> "Finally, there are two other issues. My position here in the colony is ambiguous. I occasionally feel valued but more often than not, feel marginalized and..." Egani looks toward Okhfels before going on "...and even threatened, though I try to ignore it. I'd like the security that comes from knowing that you won't be murdered capriciously. That kind of stress takes a toll. How can we resolve this?"

<Okhfels> "For one thing, you can stop mucking about with dead bodies."

<Egani> "The other think is minor, but while my specialty is not spirits, this event is, I admit, quite exciting. I want some degree of latitude in the spirit world to interact with the substances and events that we will encounter."

<Isadora> "I would never murder you capriciously," Isadora says first, then waits to hear the rest.

Egani looks at Okhfels with honest curiosity "What does that have to do with anything?"

<Okhfels> "I don't know what they think is right or wrong where you come from, but it doesn't sit well with me."

<Egani> "So...I'm in danger because I don't adhere to your limited sense of aesthetic?"

<Okhfels> "Smart man."

<Okhfels> Okhfels crosses his arms again.

Egani looks to Isadora for mediation.

<Isadora> "Odd and unsettling things happen around you,"

Isadora says thoughtfully, "and I don't worry about them because at the end of the day you're not my problem. You don't seem to want much interference in your work, Egani, and I might do that if you had some official position."

Okhfels puzzles through that for a moment, then nods.

Egani nods.

<Egani> "Perhaps what I need is to know how much what I want is incompatible with what I can have.

<Egani> "You are right that I do not seek interference. But I thought we had an understanding about my work. When we last spoke on the matter, I agreed not to act in a way that would subvert your authority and you more or less gave your blessings to my pursuits. Have I got that wrong?"

<Isadora> "You're not wrong," Isadora says. "What I hear from you is that you want safety for yourself and your household. Have you ever been seriously threatened by me or one of my people?"

<Egani> "I don't know how to gauge the seriousness of the threats that your man" gesturing with a sideways nod of the head to Okhfels "makes as varyingly subtle vagaries."

<Okhfels> Okhfels just stands there.

<Isadora> "I suspect that if Okhfels wanted you dead, you'd know it by your loss of blood," Isadora says mildly.

<Egani> "Yes...that has occurred to me as well. But having an ostensibly cordial relationship with undertones of hostility and malevolence is a new and disagreeable experience for me. I was essentially a slave for some of my life. But my place was clear. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Isadora considers for a moment, then says, "I think so. I can assure you I would raise no hand against you without ample cause and warning, and I will vouch for the same for Okhfels. I can be abrupt, Egani, but I'm not capricious with the lives of the people in these camps."

<Egani> "Okhfels, will you please stop playing these silly intimidation games with me? If you need something, just say so. I am straight and honest with you and would appreciate reciprocation."

<Okhfels> "Iz, how many times have I asked if I could kill Egani?"

<Isadora> "A few." Isadora adds helpfully, "And he always respects my refusal."

<Okhfels> "There you go. I promise I won't hurt you until Isadora says I can."

Isadora discreetly moves one foot to lightly kick him.

<Okhfels> Okhfels looks down at her briefly.

Isadora shoots him a "what was I thinking, bringing you along?" look.

Egani holds the big man's gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head in disbelief and turning to leave.

<Isadora> "I'm saying you're safe," Isadora says quietly.

Egani attempts to draw Isadora away from Okhfels for a private word before leaving.

Isadora steps aside with him, shrugging at Okhfels as she goes.

<Okhfels> Okhfels looks down at her briefly.

<Okhfels> Okhfels shrugs back, and finds a place to wait and watch.

<Egani> "There's no point in him hearing this, as it is, I fear that you'll take it wrong, but he certainly would. I accept your offer of safety. But I don't trust it because I don't really believe that you control him. If and when I decide that he is a threat to my family he'll disappear. I think that would be bad for all of us and I hope more than you can know that it never comes to that."

<Isadora> Isadora's expression hardens. "I hope that you're never given cause to doubt my word," she says, "because I agree that it would end in tears for all of us."

<Egani> "I still don't doubt your word."

<Isadora> "If you don't think I can vouch for your safety from Okhfels, then yes, you do."

<Egani> "Your intent and your ability are not the same."

Isadora bites back an answer, bows to him briefly, and stalks away.

Egani wanders away, wondering about the future.