"I realize this isnāt exactly your area of expertise, but weāve been wracking our brains and our books to find some kind of explanation for how or why it happened, and frankly weāre plum out of ideas,ā he explained as he walked the man through the doorway to Kamar Taj. Even though some of the other masters were less than thrilled at a lot of the company he kept, in this instance they were in agreement with him in calling as many varied outside resources as they could humanly gather. The event had shaken them all severely, and when answers continually failed to come of their research efforts, increasingly drastic measures became permissible.
So true, Kyālar might not have been their first choice, but even as an outside set of eyes let alone as a valid resource, Stephen trusted him, and that was more than enough to warrant him access into the fold. Even when the fold was at its most defensive.
āWe... found one of our newest arrivals dead earlier this week,ā he continued in explanation, his hands folded behind his back as they made their way to the chambers he sparingly used, and which the other Masters typically used for their more administrative matters at their primary compound. āShe was up at Jhor Mahankal, which isnāt an uncommon nor forbidden place for novices to go. All novices can come and go as they please, and are encouraged to visit places of spiritual power like Jhor Mahankal - the footpaths are excellent for meditation, and our students have been well-known to walk them, enough to be known by the locals.ā
When they finally reached the broad meeting room, he finally turned to face the other, knowing he didnāt need to put on gravitas for the other to understand the seriousness of the situation. āSo imagine our horror to search for her, and find her body, pulverized, inside of a manilkara tree up in the jungle. The tree itself bore no enchantment, nor was there any hex trap we knew of in the vicinity to explain it. She was also nowhere near magic wielding, so there was no means of her doing it to herself, even on accident.āĀ
He finally turned to face his compatriot, feeling bad for dragging him into this but also put at necessary odds against his responsibility to his pupils. āI was hoping, if vainly, that you might have heard of anything we havenāt.ā
( @hellfirebound )
