[hider=Flashback: Night Sola 23, 1739][center][h1][b][color=00F8FE]Callum[/color] & [color=DAF6C7]Riona[/color] Part 9[/b][/h1][/center]
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[i]Riona floated, suspended somewhere between dreaming and awake. Worn cotton sheets felt soft against her skin. Sunlight spilled through the windows, turning the inside of her eyelids a reddish-gold. She breathed in crisp sheets and traces of woodsmoke from the hearth.

A gentle touch pulled her closer to consciousness. Fingers combed through her sleep-mussed hair, then skimmed down to cup her cheek with a tenderness that made her heart ache.

In that drowsy moment, she couldn’t tell who it belonged to. Not until he whispered her name against her temple. “Riona.” Her chest tightened.

As his warmth began to pull away, her hand shot out to catch him. Needing to make this last just a little longer.[/i] [color=DAF6C7]“D-dan…”[/color]

Her eyes fluttered open and the blurry shape in front of her swam into focus. Callum.

[color=00F8FE]“How you feeling?”[/color] Cal asked, grabbing Riona’s outstretched hand, figuring she wanted help getting back up. [color=00F8FE]“Just missed our friend’s dramatic exit. He claimed he was here looking for secrets, like us. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you to ‘remember what the giant said in the alleyway.’ Have you been having clandestine meetings with giants in alleyways?”[/color] 

His words washed over her, something about a dramatic exit and secrets. None of it made sense. Riona blinked, just laying there awkwardly holding hands with Cal, as she tried to unscramble, scrambled thoughts. Dan was here, wasn’t he? No, he’s gone. Has been for a long time. A flash of red hair, violence—

Clarity slammed into her like a fist. Her gaze snapped to Cal, zeroing in on the dark stain across his side. [color=DAF6C7]“Sh*t, you’re bleeding!”[/color]

She tried to scramble up, only for pain to shoot up her feet. Glancing down, Riona saw her shoes had been reduced to blackened husks. [i][color=DAF6C7]What in the hells?[/color][/i] She shook it off. There were more pressing matters.

With Cal’s help, she stood up. [color=DAF6C7]“We need to get you to a physicker. Now.”[/color] Fingers fumbling, she yanked at her apron. It wasn't much, but it would have to do to stem the bleeding. [color=DAF6C7]“Hold still,”[/color] she ordered, her voice steadier than she felt as she pressed the makeshift bandage against his side.

[color=00F8FE]“I [i]was[/i] bleeding, got a healing potion. And so did you. From the window man.”[/color] Callum explained slowly. He gently pushed the apron away and lifted his shirt to show the healed-up stab wound. [color=00F8FE]“See, all better. No royal physician, I don’t even know how I’d explain this one. What happened to your shoes?”[/color] He asked.

Riona’s jaw dropped as Cal lifted his shirt. Where she expected to see a gaping mess, there was smooth skin. She leaned in closer, her eyes squinted in disbelief. Hesitantly, she reached out to brush her fingers over the spot. Warm. Whole. Not even a hint of a scar. If it weren’t for the blood, she’d have sworn she’d dreamed up the whole attack.

It looked... completely healed. That was... amazing. Despite their best efforts, Riona and Cal never managed to create healing potions or salves this potent or fast-acting. A mixture of awe and skepticism swirled in her mind.

[color=DAF6C7]“Does it hurt anywhere?”[/color] she asked, just in case. Something stank about this. No way their would-be assassin gave them such a valuable potion without a catch.

When Cal mentioned her shoes, Riona’s eyes dropped to her feet. [color=DAF6C7]“Funny, I was hoping you could tell me,”[/color] she replied. She carefully removed what remained of her footwear, wincing slightly. Parts of the charred remnants crumbled in her hands, still radiating a peculiar, unsettling warmth.

As she examined the damage, Riona realized, with a grimace, the cause of her pain—tiny bits of the material had worked their way into her skin when she put weight on her feet. Lovely.

She turned her attention back to Cal, she asked, [color=DAF6C7]“You didn’t start a bonfire while I wasn’t looking, right?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Only the illusion kind, but that wouldn’t have included you? Weird.”[/color] He tried to remember if anything the intruder had done could’ve caused this. [color=00F8FE]“Mr. Window Lurker did something, you saw the…thing with all faces right? The thing that kept screaming? Maybe it was when he summoned that?”[/color] He asked, he’d have to ask if he ever ran into the scroll thief again. 

[color=DAF6C7]“Faces?”[/color] Riona echoed, brow furrowed. [color=DAF6C7]“Cal, it was just us and that creepy window guy…”[/color] She paused to think about it, [color=DAF6C7]“But if he had magical healing potions, maybe he used illusionary magic too?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Yeah, I figured, I guess…”[/color] He trailed off, wishing he hadn’t been the only one who’d seen the creature but not wanting to sound afraid of an illusion either. [color=00F8FE]“He must’ve melted your shoes too.”[/color] Cal added. 

[color=00F8FE]“Anyway, it still feels like I’ve been in a fight, but nothing hurts as much as it did before the potion. Except my head but that could be my fault. How about you?”[/color] He asked, the shoe thing was weird, not the weirdest thing that had just happened, but still. [color=00F8FE]“Did you catch what I said about the giant?”[/color] He added.

[color=DAF6C7]“Aside from this,”[/color] Riona held up her shoes and wiggled her foot, [color=DAF6C7]“same. We might want to use our stash of healing stuff before we go to bed, just to be sure.”[/color]

Her gaze swept the room, taking in the aftermath of the brawl. Nothing looked broken beyond repair, but it was pretty damn obvious there’d been a fight. They couldn’t just leave the room like this.

Cal’s question pulled her back. [color=DAF6C7]“Uh, giant? Um…”[/color] The words trickled back: [i]‘Remember what the giant said in the alleyway.’[/i] And with them, [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5427194]another memory[/url] surfaced. Karleen. The hulking figure. [i]‘My master wants to meet you.’[/i]

[color=DAF6C7]“Right, the alley, got it.”[/color] Riona said. Was Mr. Window Lurker working with Karleen? Even though Karleen denied it, Riona thought Karleen was one of Sh*tlord’s servants. But…  if he was his ‘master,’ why the need for a reminder? Didn’t she meet him on a daily basis now?

Mulling it over, Riona started straightening the room. [color=DAF6C7]“Did Window Lurker say anything else? Because honestly all I remember the giant saying is ‘meet my master’ and that master being Varian.”[/color] She asked, shoving a chair back into place. [color=DAF6C7]“Oh, and can you check for blood? You can use my apron to wipe it up.”[/color]

Callum grabbed the apron and worked on wiping away any traces of his blood. [color=00F8FE]“He said; If you’re not full of shit, tell Riona; remember what the giant said in the alley, she does that and she gets your scroll back. Play nice and the sword might find its way home too.”[/color] Cal said, repeating the words and using an accent best described as ‘generic dumb henchman’ as he spoke. 

[color=00F8FE]“Of course, if you got a bad vibe from him or the giant, ignore the message. And I guess I should mention he did offer to trade the scroll for you, which, not a point for him being trustworthy.”[/color] He added, readjusting some of Wystan’s furniture until the room looked the way it should. 

That was when Riona finally noticed that the sword was missing. The only key they had to that room. Taken. Fan-freaking-tastic. [color=DAF6C7]“Well,”[/color] She quirked a wry smile at Cal, [color=DAF6C7]“good to know I’m worth more than a priceless magical scroll.”[/color]

Turning to the secret entrance hidden behind the wall, she said. [color=DAF6C7]“If we want back in there, we’ll need to get the sword back or find another way in, somehow.”[/color] But maybe, a little voice whispered, staying out of that creepy cursed treasure trove was the smarter move.

Wait. Riona patted herself down, alarm spiking. Dagger, gloves, journal—where...? She paced the room, checking behind and beneath furniture. The gloves and journal turned up, but she couldn’t find her dagger. [color=DAF6C7]“My dagger’s gone,”[/color] she announced, and she had a pretty good idea who took it. [color=DAF6C7]“That guy didn’t take the compass from you did he?”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“Nope still safe.”[/color] Callum patted the pocket the compass rested in. [color=00F8FE]“So how tall was the giant?”[/color] He added, gesturing to the door. Time to leave before they caught, they were already pressing their luck. 

Riona swept her eyes over the room one final time before nodding to Cal, signaling that she was ready to go. [color=DAF6C7]“Lord Roman’s height give or take. Maybe a little more. Pretty beefy looking too… So yeah, intimidating, but… Didn’t give off that ‘I eat kittens for breakfast’ vibe, you know?”[/color] 

Trust wasn’t on the menu for Karleen or the stranger, but the fact remained: either could’ve killed them and they chose not to (in the end). Which meant they—their master—[i]really[/i] wanted something from her and/or Callum. The question was what, and if they could use that to their advantage. [color=DAF6C7]“I’ll try to get the scroll and sword back.”[/color] Riona eased the door open a crack, peering into the hallway. Empty. For now.

[color=00F8FE]“Try not to get eaten by the tall but not-really-[i]giant[/i]-tall-guy over it.”[/color] He reiterated, sounding disappointed that giant didn’t mean as tall as a house in this instance. Callum retraced his steps back through the hallway and back to the portrait, retrieving the burnt matchstick he’d left behind. [color=00F8FE]“Need anything before you head back to the hut?”[/color] He asked Riona. 

Glancing at her bare feet, she answered, [color=DAF6C7]“Shoes.”[/color]

[color=00F8FE]“I’ve got plenty of shoes if you want a pair.”[/color] Cal offered.

Riona snorted as Lordling Smithwood came to mind. [color=DAF6C7]“Guess the shoe’s on the other foot now.”[/color][/color][/hider]

[hider=TLDR]Riona briefly sees a ghost from her past before regaining consciousness. Callum and Riona discuss what happened, including the message from the intruder; to remember what the giant told Riona in the alleyway, while they clean up Wystan’s room and leave.[/hider]