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It is the next morning after the sales. Engir wakes up, well before anybody else in the party, owing to his early bedtime. It is still very early, the sun only barely beginning to rise.

Engir draws out a decently sized page of paper from his bag, and stands the wand on its point on the sheet.
The quill balances precariously, as if about to fall over at any moment.
Engir frowns slightly, and lays a finger at the feathered end, holding it in place.
Engir: "Hmm, fortune telling... divinations..."
Engir hears a voice from the other room. "Divinations?"
Engir: "...are you awake, Ara?"
Arastalia: "I am. Just watching over these two."
She gets up, and moves over to Engir's section of beds.
Engir: "I am always trying to listen, learn and try new things... between this treasure, and my magical knack, I managed to find a way to summon allies, not entirely unlike our companion, Astrid. ...After meeting you, I feel I need to try my own hand at piercing the veil... telling the future."
Arastalia: "You need not copy those around you to be useful, you know. You are more valuable than you think."
Engir: "It is not because I doubt myself, miss. It is because I wish to learn and improve, find the limits of what I can do, the reach of my magic."
Arastalia: "I see. Exploring the extents of the mysterious power granted to you, then?"
She giggles "Perhaps we're not so different."
Engir: "Precisely. There are many things one can read about in books. You and I, though, what we have are unique to ourselves."
Arastalia: "So you were hoping to use this quill as a divining tool?"
Engir: "Indeed. It already corrects words I intend to write. Perhaps if I imbue it with my own power, and my focus, it can finish sentences, or write answers. Perhaps I can grip it, and move my hands without intent, and write a divination."
Arastalia: "I don't think the answer to that is making it write on its own, though."
"May I see the quill for a moment?"
Engir: "I suppose not. It is already a living lantern archon spirit; not a being known for divining the future."
"Hmm, it is something that struggles to leave my personage, but perhaps if I focus on it, you can hold it."
Engir offers the quill to Ara, keeping his eyes and mind on it.
Arastalia takes the quill gently, running a finger across it.
Arastalia: "You've had quite the history, haven't you...?
"Mmm, I see. That's how it is."
"Mmm... I agree."
"Don't worry, I'm holding to my end of the covenant."
"Alright."
Arastalia hands the quill back to Engir.
Engir takes it, raising an eyebrow to Arastalia.
Arastalia: "I think if you meditate on it, you will be able to achieve what you seek."
"You need merely ask and your friend will do its best to answer."
"Do try not to overexert it, though. It is a living creature, just as you and I."
Engir: "Indeed. I feel your display just now has reminded me quite well."
Arastalia: "Indeed. Although it looks like a quill now, it is as you said; a living lantern archon."
Engir: "And I shall remember to treat them as such. Thank you, Ara. You are truly are a helpful soul."
Arastalia: "I am happy to receive such praise from you, Lord Engir."
"All I ask is that you treat it with love and respect. Like you would your own family."
Engir: "Family..."
Arastalia: "...Ah, let me rephrase. As you would your own family if they were any different."
Engir: "Heh. Well, that makes two things I should meditate on."
"I believe I did what was right, back then, but I am not without guilt."
Arastalia: "You need not follow a path just because people tell you to. Even if they're your family."
"Everybody has a path that's right for them."
"Indeed, everybody in your group has broken away from their so-called destiny to follow their own path."
Engir: "This is true. I hope yours serves you well."
Arastalia: "...Yeah."
"Perhaps you should come to my tent? An atmosphere designed to facilitate divinations may help your latent talents spring forth."
Engir: "Ah, now that's a good idea. Right you are."
Arastalia: "Then, shall we?"
Engir nods, and follows.
Arastalia gets up, and begins to leave the inn.
Arastalia prepares some incenses as she arrives in the tent.
Arastalia: "Do you have a question in mind you desire to ask the archon?"
"You don't need to tell it to me.
"Just keep it in your heart, and concentrate on it."
Engir: "Mmmm... of the questions in my heart... perhaps the most pressing one..."
Arastalia pulls out a sheet of paper, guiding Engir's quill hand towards it.
Arastalia: "Meditate. Think about your archon. Think about where it came from what it means, its nature."
"Think about what it's helped you with, how long you two have been together."
"Think on how it's been a friend. On how it's been an ally. On how it's been an extension of your body itself."
"Just close your eyes and think, and the rest will come naturally."
In Engir's mind, he envisions the City of Rissada, with gates, and military patrols. He asks himself, 'how will we get in?'
As Ara continues, he thinks about light. A guidance, a beacon, a pillar, whether physical or not, he can rest against when he needs to think about what is right.
He thinks of the mines, and the complex within. The archon as a guiding light, and a source of purity against the engulfing darkness, piercing through and reaching the truth.
Astral Entity: "..... ... ...... .... .... ....... ..."
".... ..... ... ..... ..."
"........ ..... .... . .... ..."
Arastalia holds her hand over Engir's quill, meditating over it as he is in a trance.
An hour passes, as a multitude of visions pass through Engir's mind. Eventually he snaps out of it, waking up to Ara's smiling face and a page of writing before him.
Arastalia: "How do you feel?"
Engir: "Nnn, like I've just been hit by my brother's colour spray... but it's fading, I think I'm still on solid ground."
"I think, now, I understand what his dreams are like a bit more."
Arastalia: "It is not without its benefits."
Arastalia gestures towards the paper before Engir, written in a complex script of runes he simultaneously doesn't recognize and knows by heart.
Engir peers into the words, steadying his hands by holding the paper against the table.
"Your destination lies not forward but underneath, through a passage known by the unfairly hated. There is one who anticipates your arrival, though they do not know it."
Engir turns his palms to his face, and inspects them, shaking slightly.
Engir: "I am deeply indebted to you. Both of you..."
Arastalia: "I live to serve, Lord Engir."
Arastalia seems somewhat worried and distracted by something.
Engir: "As do I, even if I sometimes forget. Mmm... say, is something the matter?"
Arastalia: "Ah... sorry. I am lost in thought. Please never mind me."
Engir: "If something bothers you, you should say it now, while it is quiet and there are not others. I swear I will not share it without your permission, and you know how binding my word is."
Arastalia: "I just... I don't know why it is. Why I throw everything away into a hope..."
"All the gold I was saving up to one day try to see if I can make it to Ikanda in the search for a cure to the curse..."
"I spent it all, using incenses on your quill."
"I'm such a foolish girl."
Engir: "...oh, I see..."
Engir tilts his eyes to the side, in reflective thought.
Arastalia: "I've just... assumed I would get to come along with you all."
Engir: "You will. That was my intention as soon as I realised you would likely still be safe with us in Rissada."
"At the very least, I imagine this blessing will make up the cost over the course of our travels."
Arastalia: "Mmm..."
Engir: "I must ask, though... where is Ikanda? I think I've heard of it... but I cannot for the love of knowledge remember a place it could be..."
Arastalia: "...ah!"
"Pray, please forget I said that."
Engir: "I cannot say I will forget. But I will vow my silence to the other unless it becomes a necessary matter."
Arastalia: "Consider it like the secrets of Broken Top, if that means anything on why I shouldn't speak of it."
Engir nods.
Engir: "Or Pitch's heritage."
Arastalia: "But please, forgive me tampering with your quill without your permission."
Engir tilts his head.
Arastalia: "I asked the archon and thought that was enough but I... I am deeply sorry."
Engir: "If you borrowed its strength yourself, I will not object. I trust its judgement."
"And you, you are not like the others. You seem an honest, good person to me, and we have enough in common that I feel I can trust you."
Arastalia: "Still, I acted emotionally. I promise it will not happen again, Lord Engir."
Engir: "Ah, don't need to say any of that to me. I might sound wise and disciplined, but I don't know how much I'd get done without my own frustration and curiosity."
"Mmm... perhaps I should think about these things alone for a bit, before the others wake up. You've done us many favours, Ara. I pray we will be able to return them as you travel with us."
Arastalia: "Nonsense. I owe my very life to you. I am the one that is eternally indebted."
Engir smiles.
Engir: "Perhaps we can negotiate that later."
Engir gets up and leaves, chuckling.
Arastalia: "It's fine for you to say 'it's okay', or 'don't worry about it', but it's what I sincerely believe."
Engir: "Mmm, a life is invaluable."
"What are these debts, anyway? From this point, you are one of our companions, and we will likely be saving each other many times over."
"It's going to just be part of the job."
Arastalia: "Mmm."
As Engir returns to his bed, he slumps and reflects, thinking about the quill as a companion.
"It's time I gave you some of my energy..."
"Before... I have always borrowed your power and aid without much thought. But now, I realise... do you have a name, friend?"
Lantern Archon: Engir can sense emotions from the archon. {Acceptance. Kindness. Happiness.}