A lush, cushioned cliffside retreat.
Throughout the location, small dancing flames flicker and spark. Covered in patchwork gold-and-black fur, the Liar lingers here with a nervous smile on their face.
You see a single exit leading down.

You bow respectfully to the Liar.

You say, "Greetings, Beloved Liar."

The Liar smiles gently at you, looking out over the city. The smell of citrus hangs heavy in the air around them as they say, "Hello, Beloved sir Ixchilgal."

You say, "We are not keeping you from anything?"

The Liar says, "I am having some help writing letters, but that is all. I speak common, but I never learned to write or read it."

You nod your head sagely.

You say, "In that case, and we hate to upset you, but...we do need to learn about the Abyss. We thought perhaps to find some clues in Iklara, but alas, nothing there so far."

The Liar's expression darkens but they exhale softly instead of flinching or wincing away, "...one question, then. That will be our deal. One question, and then you answer one of mine. And each visit, we each get to ask one more."

You have emoted: Ixchilgal considers for a time, then slowly nods. "That seems fair."

The Liar exhales and grabs at the railing with their hands, "Okay then. You first, Beloved sir Ixchilgal."

You say, "Where can we learn more about the Abyss without imposing on you further?"

The Liar says, "...that does not seem fair, so maybe I will give you one more question. Because I...I don't know. I know my knowledge firsthand, but I don't know where else the Shofet might have put down information about it."

A wry smile spreads across your face.

You say, "Alright then. What is the Abyss?"

The Liar says, "(their voice tremulous and shaking slightly as they grip the railing carefully, "The...The Abyss is the end, sir Ixchilgal. It is the blackness from which nothing returns, a hunger that is never sated, the depths from which not even chaos could spark new life or change.""

You look about yourself, rubbing your chin thoughtfully.

You say, "We suppose that's our one question, so we'll have time to ponder follow up questions."

You say, "Which means...you get to ask us something."

You tilt your head and listen intently to the Liar.

The Liar pauses for a moment, as though choosing between questions, and then asks in a voice that is as sweet as honey and softer than silk, "What is love?"

You have emoted: Ixchilgal ponders that for a long time. His expression goes blank, staring not at you, but more through you.

You say, "We...aren't certain this will answer the question in a way that helps you, but...many, many years ago. Before They left us to go...well, to the Abyss we suppose. Before They left, our wife Zada was...stripped of an honour she had worked very hard for. She had quit Gaudiguch to return to her first home in Serenwilde, and the administrator of the Templars waited for a couple years...long enough for any records or proof to be long vanished...and accused Zada of stealing from the guild shop before she left."

You say, "She convinced the leadership of the Templars to strip Zada of her guild honours. And with Zada gone from the guild and city, there was nothing she could do about it. It...hurt her a great deal."

The Liar listens curiously to you, mismatched eyes wide as they follow the story.

You say, "We declared war on the Templars. A citizen of Gaudiguch, we gave the Templars one year to fix their mistakes, or we would cast them down into a pit so deep and dark, that even the Illithoid would pity them. Their Administrator, Enid...she tried to fight us. She forged evidence to prove her claim, she whispered lies and conspiracy to any who would listen that we were evil, and trying to harm her for no good reason."

You say, "She tried to turn our friends against us, and we did not care. We did not relent. Xypher initially believed her, he tried to speak to us and calm us down. We spoke to him the truth, that we had not acted against them yet, as we promised time to fix the mistake. But that even should their time frame elapse...we would not relent. It may cost us our position in the city, or even citizenship itself. It may make us an enemy in the eyes of all our most trusted friends and allies. We did not care. Our Zada was wronged, and we would fix it."

You say, "Their year passed. They could not return her honour to her...it simply wasn't possible. Most of the Templars vanished, almost over night in fear of what we would do. Ilthilior, their champion at the time, left the city in shame. Ran to Magangora for protection from us. Enid and Mahvek, administrator and guildmaster respectively, vanished from the realms completely. We never saw Mahvek again, though Enid sometimes pops her nose out to see if our wrath still follows her."

You say, "Other members of the guild, ones who had supported Enid, and tried to intimidate us into backing down...they too fled, either to other cities, or from the realms completely."

You say, "If ever we betrayed Gaudiguch, it was in that moment. It was for our Zada. We have never regretted it, and we would do it again in a heartbeat if we thought it would bring a smile to her lips for even a moment. That is our love."

Turning and gazing out across the Shifting City, the Liar says, "Love...sounds terrifying."

You say, "It can be, yes."

You say, "To the Templars, our love was terrible wrath and destruction, it took them years to recover."

You say, "But to our Zada? She watched us fight for her with everything we had. She watched us do anything we could think of to make her happy."

You say, "The fire that keeps you warm and cooks your meals is a terrifying concept to a forest."

The Liar says, "I am unsure if I ever want to love, if it would make me do that. I...I don't ever want something to make me do something I don't want to. Ever. Again."

You shake your head.

You say, "Beloved Liar...love did not make us do things we did not want to. It gave us the strength to do something we had to."

The Liar turns and shrugs, their eyes scrunched in confusion as they begin to walk towards thenearby stairs, "Well, maybe next time I can ask more about it. But I do have to go get some more people to write me some letters, so I will let you think in peace, Beloved sir Ixchilgal." Pausing on their way past, the young tae'dae offers you a wide smile, face briefly clearing of anything beyond joy as they say, "Thank you."

The world seems a little less pleasant as an enormous tae'dae with black and gold fur departs to the down.