Amongst Thieves

23.

The next two days dragged miserably, and Maize couldn't keep herself occupied enough to pass the time. Between Celese's note to Lawson Forge, and the discovery of the information about the revenant, Maize's mind was a flurry of questions, hypotheticals, and pain.

Knowing that Celese had reached out to Forge told her she knew about the search for Lusciana's Legacy, and offered her up for the right price. So then, did that mean Celese knew about their plans all along? Had she sent them on that mission because she knew Lawson Forge would be waiting there to speak with them? Or was the mission in place and she informed Forge where they could be found?

It also meant the assumptions about Ress being a traitor were false, and perhaps even a test. If Celese wanted out of the way, she could have found other ways to do so, unless she wanted to drive a wedge between them by having Maize look into the accusations. She could have been testing them for weakness to further determine Maize's loyalties, as well. Or, as she also suspected, could have assumed Maize would not turn Ress in, and either agree and tell Ress what was going on, or outright refuse and still tell Ress what was going on.

She wondered how Celese felt about the ruse about Aunt Clora...

To keep up the facade, Maize did pen another letter to Celese to update her on the death of Ress' fictional aunt. As intended she informed the Denmother they would need to remain away for at least until the end of the funeral receptions and would return to Dreduor at that time. Sealing it with wax, she sent it off to the post, though knowing now what she didn't before, she imagined Forge was having her letters intercepted and their whereabouts checked. If he wasn't, he was stupider than she gave him credit for.

She would need to decide how they proceeded once Ress returned. It was the ridiculous amount of reward money that brought them there in the first place, with thoughts and dreams of finally having enough to leave the Den behind and finding Maize the help she so needed. However, with Celese involved, there was now the question of how much money they'd actually receive if they turned in the Legacy as agreed. Was there honor and would they receive the promised gold, or was it already dishonored when Maize agreed to a mission outside of the Den's code, therefore forfeiting her reward? Or was there nothing to receive and no more than betrayal and deception from the very start?

And Celese mentioned Laris seeking her out- why? What was Laris' part in all of this and what did he already know? What else could he know, and how much did Maize want to tell him? In the time since he had departed, she realized there was actually a lot she wanted to tell him. But could she tell him everything?

Too many questions and she didn't have the answers.

All of it was shadowed, however, by the paper she stole from Forge's room. She had discovered the term revenant through her own research, but none of the standard texts she had access to explained anything further, but still she used it to give context to the hell she was living. Discovering more about it, to hear it considered a curse- she was afraid to know more but needed more answers.

Even as the pain in her skull had been near unbearable since she left Forge's rooms. Like the voice inside her head was revolting because she dared to think more about what had happened to her.

Even as she finally began to realize what had truly happened to her brother...

Lies, lies lies...

Erebyn had many secrets, and mostly all of them were at the expense of those he loved. He had lost too much of himself in personal gain, possessions became more important than companionship, and when the money began to run out, he started turning to the wrong people.

And started offending the wrong people.

But how did Erebyn get himself involved with someone powerful enough to manipulate a revenant?