"So Sarm has... ascended?" Arianna says thoughtfully, and a smile spreads over her face. "A fitting fate. That's much better news than I was expecting, thank you Quintus."
Though Tarkus intended to keep his questions within the group, Arianna's elven ears have exceptional hearing and she answers some of them unbidden. "This is the ideal capitol city for them for a few reasons. Number one, in order to cross from one side of the continent to the other, you have to go through here. That was instrumental in their conquest of the continent; this is the first city they took, you see. Number two, obviously there is the enormous gold mine right inside city limits.
"Their leader is known only as the Praetor, and he has seen fit to keep his real identity a mystery. I've only seen him once, and it was from a distance; all I can tell you is that he looks like a normal human. I'm not sure which headmaster you're referring to, but the Emerald Bay Academy is being overseen by a wicked fellow who goes by the name of
Rand. From what I understand, he is completely and totally in the Praetor's pocket."
When Val asks that dreaded question, Arianna grows quiet and looks down at the floor.
"Dead," Ivor says as bluntly as he possibly can. "After the town was taken, she wouldn't play ball with the Legion, so they took her out to the town square and chopped her head clean off her body in a very public and very bloody execution."
Ivor once again steps out from behind his desk and gets into Val's personal space. "That woman was an angel sent here by the gods," he says venomously. "After the initial attack that we fought off, I was in a coma for nearly a year, and that woman, gods rest her soul, made it her personal mission to care for me and make me comfortable until and after I recovered. If it weren't for her, I might've died before ever waking up.
"And you
abandoned her. Just like you abandoned everyone else. The way I see it, you're just as responsible for her death as the Legion itself. Only reason you're still alive is because we happen to be fighting for the same cause. So let's get one thing straight, Kaff Reyneel, or Valgar Fierno, or whatever other bloody alias you've cooked up lately. You don't
get to say her name, least of all in my presence. You lost that right when you decided to up and go for twenty years and left her and the rest of us to fend for ourselves. Understand?"
Having said his piece, Ivor backs up a few steps and breathes. "I need to get some air," he says bitterly, and pushes his way out of the room.