There was little in the way of responding to Lilie’s comment as Ben believed one needed more than an emotion to get through the night. What concerned him more was that his new mage was painfully and obviously a romantic. It could have been adorable were it not for her position as a noble’s mage. He may have been reading too much into her statement, but relying too heavily on emotion seemed to be a glaring weakness that he could not ignore. Of course this was neither the time or place for that nor did he want to risk further argument at the moment, so instead he stood there quietly.

A melody sang through the air from a voice he did not recognize, speaking of ‘love’ once again. It must have been expected but the entire idea did make Ben roll his eyes slightly. The thin line between dedication and obsession did ring true at least. He did not, however, expect that the test would reveal itself in the form of demanding something in order to ‘win’. There was something that came to mind right away and it seemed that for once, both vampire and mage were of like mind.

“How troublesome,” Ben said. “I can’t say I approve the idea of asking for something from a pair that can be seen as intimate to some.”

Oh no.

Lilie bit down on her lower lip, nervously messing with her ponytail. So much for hoping he came to a different answer, he thought the same thing she did! Or did he? She turned fully to the count, frowning. Maybe she should just say what she thought it was on the off chance that she was just jumping to conclusions.

Except she didn’t really get what he said. “What do you mean?” She asked.

Ben tried to face the direction he heard Lilie’s voice from as he would address her. “The voice asks for a gesture to be ‘given and taken in willing exchange.’ I believe this calls for a kiss,” He explained. “There is a time and a place for such things and I do not believe an official examination from an academy of prestige is one of them.”

Lilie would have laughed if the dread in her stomach didn’t just swell up to her chest and choke her a little. So he thought they needed to kiss, too! At least he wasn’t happy about it. That was definitely a good sign. She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding, approaching him slowly.

“So...you think it wants a…” Her voice trailed off as she cleared her throat. “Well, I thought so, too, but…” She trailed off, scratching her cheek.

Ben nodded as he made an attempt to straighten his collar. They were on the same page, then. He extended his hand to where he assumed she was. “So it would seem. Shall we, then?” He asked.

Lilie’s eyes widened, darting from the hand stretched out to her right to the willing count. How could he agree to something so quickly?! Couldn’t they talk about this?! Well, they did, but she felt like he was a little too eager to do this! She barely had time to register his intention, cautiously taking a step to her left.

“W-Wait, you can’t be serious,” She shook her head hastily. “We can’t just…do that!”

Ben heard the hesitation in Lilie’s voice. “Ah, my apologies,” He chuckled. “Shall I let you take the lead?”

“Take the--n-no!” Lilie protested. “I just...this is all happening way too fast! You can’t just go around kissing people randomly!”

Ben had to wonder what sort of impression he was giving for her to jump to that conclusion. He thought he was clear when he had stated that this is what the exam asked for. He even voiced his own disapproval. There was also the fact that he was just a touch offended that she thought so little of him.

“I must have misunderstood when we came to the same thought process and misinterpreted that as an agreement. My sincerest apologies,” He said. “What do you think we should do?”

Lilie tried not to be annoyed as she covered her face with her hands, suppressing a groan. She actually felt like their first hunch was right, but just the thought of it made her question herself. As she really thought about it, though, there wasn’t really any harm in trying. It wasn’t like Count Ben was a complete stranger. And it was a one and (hopefully) done deal.

Taking in a deep breath, she calmed herself down a little. “No, I...sorry, I think that a kiss is as good a start as any,” She said slowly, fiddling with her fingers. “So…”

Ben nodded once again in agreement, pleased to hear confirmation that they were in proper agreement. For the better, it would be rather uncomfortable if they weren’t. He repeated his gesture from before, extending his hand.

“Alright then. Only take my hand if you are absolutely sure,” He said. “Given and willingly taken, after all. Just think of it as a simple transaction, done once, and then over.”

Lilie matched the count’s nod, stopping as she realized he couldn’t see her. He was right about one thing, if it wasn’t genuine, it wouldn’t count. Okay, one little kiss and then they would just move on. She still found it kinda weird that Count Ben seemed more comfortable with this than she did, but then again, he was really handling it in a matter-of-fact kind of way. She supposed she was more nervous because she always did associate that type of thing romantically. And so did the magical singing pot!

“Yeah. Okay,” Lilie agreed, feeling ready as she would ever be as she placed her hand on his, closing her eyes.

With consent, Ben felt more comfortable with taking the next step. There was the possibility that they were both wrong, of course, but they would cross that bridge when it came. He put those thoughts away as he felt Lilie’s hand in his, deciding to focus entirely on the task at hand. The height difference did present the slightest challenge, but fortunately he learned from before. Once he was certain of their respective positions, he decided not to hesitate in case Lilie turned skittish, taking the plunge.

Had Aaron been corporeal, Varis’ little twirl would have smashed the blade of the shovel squarely into his face; luckily his predicament sent it sailing harmlessly (if disturbingly) through his head, though an unusually slow attempt at dodging did also send the mage himself backward through the trunk of the tree. Momentarily confused, he briefly glared at the bark before circling around to guide Varis out, sorely unamused at how much passing through things messed with his head. He reached instinctively for Varis’ jacket when it was held out, but his hand (of course) passed through that, too. The bizarre image of Varis with his jacket tied around his waist like a school child did help to dull the sting, but Aaron couldn’t shake a certain irritation at being unable to do even the simplest thing to help his master. He only hoped they could get this trial over with quickly so he could get back to normal and move on.

He could still speak, at least, and leading Varis back to the correct spot in front of the halted tile was (thankfully) no harder than leading him to the tree. “The tile will stop right in front of your feet, Master,” he updated before turning his attention to the shifting tiles. “I’ll watch for the one I dug up earlier, and on my mark, dig. There will only be a few seconds before it starts moving again, but I’ll keep you informed.”

As he watched the tiles shift, verbally updating every time they moved, a familiar dread crept back into his stomach. Varis’ reminder of the sign’s ominous warning was no comfort. Even if he did recognize the possibility of injury as a hazard of the puzzle, Aaron knew very well that the fault for any painful mistake would be pinned squarely and painfully on his shoulders, not Varis’ or the test’s. He felt the pressure mounting with each dark tile that settled before the Count, almost relieved every time the wrong tile came to rest there. He didn’t want to tell Varis to dig - he didn’t want to tell Varis to do anything, let alone something that might end in bodily harm! Hell, he wasn’t even sure if Varis knew how to operate a shovel; what if he took too long, or missed, or otherwise made the tiles ‘kick’ back at him? Aaron would never hear the end of it, and he didn’t have any more doors to be taken away!

But fate was unkind once more, and the time to act was upon him as the lighter tile finally made its way to the spot before Varis. Aaron’s heart jumped into his throat as he watched it make its journey - he had to call it exactly when it stopped, no sooner, dear lord be careful - but there was no time left to panic when it came to a halt.

“Now!”

---

Max raised his brow in the very beginnings of... whatever passes for a positive emotion out of him nowadays as the stars lit up, only to return to a particularly disdainful scowl as the lights flickered out. That was fucking useless.

There was an obvious click as he unlocked the gauntlet at his side, ready to start blasting stars at random, only to stop at Eris' voice. As the vampire finished his thought, Max was tempted to just start shooting again. It was a solid plan, but it fucking sucked. He was supposed to trace the whole fucking constellation that he couldn't even fucking see?

"You're fucking with me right now," He muttered flatly, reconnecting the pieces of metal orbiting his forearm into a functional piece of armor. How fun, they decided to flip the roles for this riddle and make Max the blind little lackey. He didn't really have a choice but to be ordered around; if they tried the magic thing from earlier in reverse, Max was pretty sure he'd end up getting confused in trying to follow Eris' movements through vague magical sensing alone.

Max moved his hand vaguely in the direction of the next cluster of stars, waiting for Eris' instructions. "Just tell me what direction to touch and count to three, I guess. And keep your directions to the point, I don't wanna hear anymore discourse about what shade of yellow these things are."

---

@Hero

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---

Interacting with:

Salem sat still, listening intently to the whispering that emanated from the orb. He began to lean in closer, eyes glued onto the blue hue of the object before him, watching and waiting to see what might appear. The smoke began to take hold of his vision, whirling around him as he made a futile effort to waft it away from his face and look to ensure his partner was still near. But as the smoke began to give way, so too did the visual on his partner. The clear night air revealed a pale sad woman who sat before him, taking the place of Victor Astorio. She seemed to hold a picture of a woman in chains, her in chains, set inside some unfamiliar Crest to a family he could not remember. Salem immediately flashed back to his waking nightmares of a pale defenseless girl chained up in a dungeon of some mad mans castle, saved by an aristocratic vampire who appeared to be missing from the Eves history. His eyes examined her a few moments more before searching the area around them in Hope's of finding Victor.

The remained silent, the two pairs locked before each other as neither spoke first. Finally Salem stiffened up and straightened his pose, looking at the sad girl before him before sternly asking her a question. "Where is Victor Astorio? What have you done to him?" His eyes darted back towards the photograph that she held and then back to her. Her pale skin and visage held some similarities to Lilie, was this meant to be Lilie? "Also...what has been done to you? Who's Crest is that and why were you bound in chains?" If this test was to being about sorrow, it clearly was not his that Salem was facing.

Ah, so it was one of each. Not a bad idea. The countess smiled to herself, feeling somewhat proud of her partner’s decision. It was wise to have one’s bases covered, especially when there were so many things about the exam they did not yet understand… she just hoped that such preparation would not carry negative consequences.

Amaris listened carefully to the rest of Madalyn’s thoughts on the bells and her preference for the blue bell. She was happy to find the pair in agreement on the topic, although, perhaps for slightly different reasons. From what it sounded, Madalyn’s approach came primarily from the desire to avoid potentially dangerous situations due to the countess’ condition. While Amaris felt the same, she couldn’t deny an ulterior motive for her preference in bell.

Despite the outward appearances of their partnership, the truth was they hadn’t yet had any ability to build a type of rapport. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, simply not enough time or opportunity to truly test one another… at least, not until now. Courage was fine and all, but trust was far more important to the countess at present; lesser difficulty was just a bonus to the choice.

The countess had still been deliberating to herself when a gentle press eased her to a standstill. She could sense the open air before them signalling their next step, however, there was something about it that seemed to put Madalyn into a state of unease. Lifting the hand opposite Madalyn’s side, Amaris placed it gently overtop the mage’s tense grip.

“Then a decision we have to make, best to not keep a serpent waiting. I gave it some thought along our walk and I agree with you on blue. It seems to fit best with the supposed theme of the exam.” She spoke with measured tones in the hopes that her calm might ease whatever it was that bothered her partner. Was it the form of the statue, a fear of serpents perhaps? Odd considering she had yet to hear a complaint about Getsuga’s escape habits.

“Why don’t we go together and show that statue what we’re made of so we can continue on our way.”

Victor didn’t say much as the scene unfolded before him. He could see again somehow he knew that this wouldn’t last. The fog soon dissipated and sitting before him wasn’t someone he recognized. Examining the woman before him he could see that the illusion was quiet remarkable but the princess wouldn’t poison a human and put them in front of them like this for some simple test.

A voice that sounded far off caught his attention, clearly Salem freaking out. He really needed to teach the boy about not jumping to conclusions and keeping a calm head about things. “Im sure he will grow out of it.” He thought to himself. “No he probably won’t.” This time talking to himself.

“Salem!” yelling now, “this seems to be part of the test, describe who you are talking to remember so we can guess their names.” He paused for a moment so the boy could think before continuing. “For example there is a women sitting across from me, she looks young maybe in her 20’s or 30’s with a darker skin tone. She has brown curly hair past her shoulders and brown eyes. She is clutching her throat and by the discoloration of her skin, the look in her eyes of shock, and the spilling tea that she has been poisoned.”

He figured that was a good enough explanation of the women before him but he only hoped that Salem could hear him. Victor could only wonder who Salem was going to describe for him. Still, the very thought that Salem could have killed someone like this or gotten them killed like this was absolutely intriguing. If the boy was able to actually kill someone even on accident he would be surprised.

@Trainerblue192

---

Max let out a relieved sigh as they were teleported back into the clearing; he didn't think he had it in him to keep going with that stupid puzzle. Not that sitting down and waiting for time to run out was preferrable. The weird voice spelling out their next instructions was a bit creepy, but Max did his best to focus on listening rather than internally insulting it. He doubted the voice would repeat itself if he asked.

"Tiltoure," He muttered, trying to get a look at whatever the voice was telling them to take. He jumped a bit as he saw himself staring back at him. "What the fuck. At least they got my face right. You look like more of a tool than usual, though." The mage really didn't want to think about why his clone looked like he was ready for a fight. It was just an illusion, after all. Hell, this whole forest might be one. Was that even possible?

Whatever, he needed to focus on the test. 'Quickest path' definitely sounded appealing, and 'more fun' definitely didn't, so taking one statue and leaving was probably prudent. Then again, Eris was liable to nag him about his grade if they just ditched the extra credit without even discussing it.

"Are we following these losers? Because I'm frankly fine with just the passing grade if it means avoiding another stupid illusion," Max questioned in a longsuffering monotone as he made his way forward to pick up one of the statuettes. Was there a difference? Didn't look like it. But why would there be multiples? The mage huffed and closed his eyes, grabbing one at random.

---

@Hero

Aaron’s whole body tensed when the tile bucked, Varis’ screams filling the clearing and probably heard far beyond that. It was hard to tell if he was yelling in shock or pain (or both) but it wound Aaron up all the same, the mage shifting his weight in agitation and practically tearing himself in two knowing that even if he moved to help, there was nothing he could do. It was agony, and so distracting that he nearly missed his mark to call out the next tile movement.

Much to his chagrin, Aaron could only watch on in horror as the tile tossed his master around like one of those mechanical bulls he’d seen in movies. Maybe in retrospect it would be funny—after all, it wasn’t every night one saw a vaulted Count on his knees with a shovel—but Aaron wasn’t laughing. He had no desire to see Varis come to harm; Max and Salem would mock him for it, but he only wanted to help him. Instead, he was trapped on the sidelines, forced to do nothing but watch and be tormented by the display. There was nothing in the world he hated more than feeling useless, and in that moment that was precisely what he was.

After what felt like an eternity, Aaron heard a faint thunk somewhere between Varis’ curses and the world finally came back into being, his body along with it. He confirmed his newfound tangibility by tapping the tree and heaved a sigh of relief before taking Varis’ outstretched hand, placing it on his forearm as before.

“Are you alright, Master?” he asked as he led them both to the hole, kneeling at its edge. He raised his eyebrows at the shovel’s blade (bearing the imprint of a hand) before reaching into the hole and pulling out a small chest, only a bit larger than his palm. He brushed it off and stood to open it.

Inside was a small, stone medallion, neatly situated on a cushion. The face bore an unmistakable relief carving of the Eve crest, complete with a ruby in place of the dead apple on the healthy side.

“It’s a stone medallion bearing the Eve crest, Master. The dead apple’s been replaced with a ruby,” Aaron reported, tucking the medallion securely in an inner pocket of his coat. A cursory glance at the inside of the tree told him that at some point during the chaos, his concentration must have slipped, and his Dark Eyes spell along with it. A quick “Tiltoure” fixed that, and he gave the inside of the chest a quick once-over, lifting the cushion and checking the underside of the lid. Sure enough, a message had been carved there, though interestingly, not written in whatever bacterial concoction it was that they used for the other instructions.

“The inside of the chest reads… Turn left at the trees.” he reported. “There are no other instructions.”

Varis sent the boy the most unamused look he could muster. The boy watched him, a prestigious member of the vampiric community, digging in the dirt, being flung around like a half dead mage in an Astorio fighting ring, and then the audacity to ask him if he was okay. Varis designed not to dignify the question with a response. But if he had decided to it probably would go along the lines of are you on fucking drugs? Because no. Varis was not okay. He’d been demeaned and disrespected by the second highest authority in the land in a public setting and then subsequently forced to work like the very things vampiric society used to do labor. And he was apparently filthy, considering the patch of whatever was on his arm when he went to brush something itching him off. Frankly, Varis could count the number of times he wanted to break the Sinnenodel tradition of nonviolence and he still could, there would just be an extra finger up after the night was over.

“So you mean to tell me that after everything I just suffered, we were awarded the symbol of the most incompitent house in all vampiric history and then pointed onwards?” Varis bit out past clenched teeth. If that wasn’t a slap in the face, Varis didn’t know what was. At the very least, it could have been his own. The challenge was duplicitous enough. Varis followed the arm he was holding onto and took the medallion from Aaron. He tracked the design with his thumb, his other had resuming its original place on Aaron’s arm. Absolutely absurd.

His chest felt tight. His entire body felt taut, on edge, boarding on painful. He could feel the slight tremor in his hands and his arms. Normally, it’d be fear. Loss of control was a major problem. He build networks that brought older vampires to their knees and hand them groveling at his feet, indebted others to him so they needed what he had, blackmailed others so they couldn’t turn on him. Normally, he’d briefly acknowledge that. But now and here, Varis wasn’t afraid.

He was furious.

“Aaron.” He spoke calmly, collected and serene, a sudden change from his previous demeanor. “Face me in the direction of whichever tree you didn’t open.” When the boy obliged, Varis took off his jacket properly and handed it off to him. “Your job for now is to shake off as much of the dirt as you can. Keep your eyes on the jacket. Do not look away from it no matter what you hear, do you understand me?” Varis didn’t bother waiting. He tossed the medallion up for a second, getting a feel for its weight.

The medallion whipped through the air, a crack blasting form it as Varis sent it flying at the tree. The medallion slammed into the door, the metal screeching when the medallion punctured it, and embedded itself halfway out the tree on the other side. Varis’ composure broke and he bared his fangs instinctively as he followed the sound of the medallion flying and slammed into the metal door, wood around it snapping and crackling in protest as he pushed his fingers into the tree. He gripped the sides of the door and pulled as hard as he could. It gave after a few tugs with a sickening screech and Varis hurled it towards the tree next to them. He smirked at the satisfying crack of it burying into the other tree and Varis stalked into the other hallowed out interior. Inside this one was nothing but Varis didn’t care. He tore at the inside, leaving massive gouges in it and littering the trunk with holes. Eventually, he felt the medallion brush against him and he yanked it out where it was buried into the wood. He traced it again with his thumb and sighed loudly, feeling a little better now that one of Ryner’s insufferable traps was in pieces.

Varis cocked his head as he tried to get a grip on his surroundings, a little disoriented now that he wasn’t possessed with an all consuming rage. His ears were ringing softly and he still felt taut and on edge but it wasn’t anywhere near as intense as before. He collected his thoughts, trying to figure out how to get back without calling for the fool, and he wrinkled his nose. The boy had asked to put him down earlier which meant he was probably tired which meant… Varis shuddered. Mortal biology was disgusting. Varis focused on his senses, dulling the others and sharpening his sense of smell. It was cold, which muted everything, but the boy wasn’t far. Varis sniffed the air for a moment and there it was. The faint acridity among the overwhelming smells of nature.

Varis wouldn’t admit he stumbled on his way back but eventually he managed to clamp onto the boy, letting his senses fade back to normal, and held his arm out. “If you’re done boy, help me get this back on and we’ll be on our way. I’m quite ready to quit this place as quickly as possible.”

Interacting with: @Obscene Symphony

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Interacting with:@ReusableSword

"Right. Before me is also a woman. She bears a remarkable resemblance to Lilie but I can assure you it's not her. She has pale skin, blue eyes and appears to be...sad. Theres a photo of her, a younger girl but held by chains and she seems to be beneath a family crest that I dont recognize." They had to guess their names, that's what the voice had said before this challenge appeared in front of them. Salem sat and thought on the puzzle, if they were to give the other clues in order to find the person's name, then it only made sense for them to know of the people who sat before them. He thought of woman in his life, dark skinned, curly brown hair to their shoulders with brown eyes. If Salem had to hazard a guess it could be any number of people. There was the detail however the tea cup and poison. That eliminated quite a few others from his life, narrowing the choices. It appeared that everything in these images before them would be crucial into figuring out who they were.

His family on his mothers side shared similar traits to him. Dark skin, brown hair, many of which had curls. But each family member developed their own profession. Each utilizing their skills for a different path. His aunt dealt in perfumes and fragrances, his grandmother was an herbalist and helped with homeopathic medicines. His mother ran a tea company...suddenly there was a wave of emotion flowing through him. Thoughts he tried to push away of when they were poisoned. This is how they were to face sorrow. The timing of the image would make his mother younger, fitting the description that was now given to him. "Try...try Alice Spellman. Oh, and since every detail matters, the pale one before me seems to be holding a full moon in her other hand."

The extremely jarring sound had also startled Ben, however, the small bump of their faces together had definitely surprised him more. He touched his chin and withdrew his fingers in disgust as he felt something sticky on it. What in the world had Lilie done to him? But the stickiness felt familiar, and Ben grimaced as he recalled that the girl's lip 'gloss' (why something meant to accentuate the lips and draw attention to it would stick was beyond him) had felt the same. He had to admit the scent was alluring as his tongue instinctively passed over his lower lip. He wasn't proud to admit he gagged at the taste as he quietly wondered why he bothered.

"I feel when this exam is done that we need to discuss your makeup choices," Ben said as he wiped his hands on his coat and let her clean his face. "I can't say I approve of such a thing on a proper young lady. The scent is much too alluring, there are those that would get the wrong idea. The smell is too sweet. It is as if the gloss wants attention and I don't like that."

His complaints would be put aside for the moment as he felt the rock pressed into his hand. At the very least he did admit to himself that he greatly enjoyed the sense of accomplishment done by working together. His enthusiasm muted slightly as she announced that there would be more challenges. He was proud that his mage had every intention of succeeding, of course, but he was less keen on remaining dependent on her. Not to mention if this challenge commanded some minor inappropriate behavior than what would be next?

"I will follow your lead," was all he could muster as his response.

---

One more challenge. Max could do that. Hopefully, the more extra credit they did, the easier the directions got to compensate for the time spent on solving them. But did this one they just did count as extra credit or a normal part of the test? They had to solve it to get the directions, but the voice sort of implied they went above and beyond with the sibling crap, so- he was still overthinking this. He and Eris were both reasonably intelligent, they could probably get away with running on action rather than meticulous analysis.

"Can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this- Alright, fine, we'll do the next test. But only because I don't wanna accidentally walk into whatever the fuck Other-Eric looks like he's shitting his pants over," Max muttered as he started after the clones, yanking Eris along with a magical tug. He wasn't sure if their expressions were meant to be a warning about taking the easy way out, a hint that the next test was going to involve them getting hunted by some monster, or if the illusionist just felt like fucking with them.

"How long do you think they spent setting this up?" The mage pondered aloud, hoping to set the tone of the invevitable small talk to something other than Eris prying into his life. Plus, thinking about the backbreaking labor someone had to do to put them through this torment brought him a sick kind of pleasure. "Rigging a whole forest with individualized enchantments had to have taken forever. Unless this is all some weird shared fever dream they cooked up with mind magic, in which case I better not wake up with piss in my pants." Stars forbid he had to take a shit out here, that was going to be awkward regardless of it being real or hallucinatory.

---

@Hero

Amaris could still sense a sort of tension coming from her partner as the pair drew closer to the serpent’s statue. While she wasn’t likely to admit it, the countess was beginning to share the nervous energy she felt from the mage. She wondered if perhaps it was an empathetic response she was developing or if it was her own uncertainty creeping up on her now that she’d offered to be on the front lines. Either way, it was far too late to turn back at this point. All there was left to do was put the bell in its place, answer a couple of questions, and move on with the test… or at least that’s what she had thought. A sudden scream caused the countess to jump, and nearly trip over herself in the process, before the sound was seemingly swallowed.

“Maddie? Maddie what’s going on? What was that sound just now?” Amaris called out into the silence but received no response in return. She parted her lips to call out again but found herself speechless as her sight was suddenly restored to her.

This can’t possibly be good. The countess’ thought was swiftly punctuated by the very sudden, and very unnatural explosion of water consuming the clearing. She could feel something wrap around her body, pulling her down into dark and cold depths. Amaris attempted to free herself from the grasp only to find her efforts wasted. The cold temperature of the water was uncomfortable to say the least and was equally as distracting as the changing scenery that she could still partially see.

The only source of light down below illuminated her missing partner, who strangely looked dry despite the location the pair found themselves in. It took the countess a moment to realize that the mage was inside some sort of barrier, but for whatever reason seemed less than thrilled about her current situation. She tried to move in Madalyn’s direction but found the task easier said than done as her path was cut off by a very real serpent.

So much for the statue.

Amaris winced as an unfamiliar voice filled her ears. To say it was unpleasant to listen to was an understatement but it was mostly a surprise at how clear it sounded despite the circumstances. The countess would have expected it to sound more warbled but she found little difficulty in understanding the creature as it spoke its ‘riddle’. Four truths, two lies, and all they had to do was agree on which ones were which. The task should have been an easy one, so why didn’t she feel better watching the serpent retreat into the darkness?

Her question was answered as two additional barriers, as well as their occupants were made visible. Had Amaris any need to breathe, her breath would have definitely been caught in her throat as her eyes passed from one to the other. Before her were two faces she never thought she would see again but she couldn’t find any joy in the reunion. Minfillia’s gaze was the sharpest thing she had ever witnessed from a mortal, but the daggers were nothing compared to the pit growing in Amaris’ stomach. Seeing Cassandra’s slumped form pained the countess, her hand reaching out reflexively toward the barrier only to have her image ripped away to be replaced with words.

The words swam in her mind as she struggled to concentrate, her thoughts torn between that which she knew and that which she saw. What was the purpose of showing her such a scene? Was it just another piece to the puzzle or was it meant to bruise her pride?

I don’t understand, is Cassandra alive after all? What is she doing down here, it isn’t safe. Damnit, no. I have to focus, there;s something I’m supposed to be focusing on. But… what am I supposed to do?