An out of focus scrying eye formed before them without warning. "Bad news. Trail led to Uldum. Mindraker also Shadowskipper. Not slaver. Sacrificing to Old Ones. Minor Casualties. They slipped. Rest safe." The way the floating eye couldn't seem to get into focus, its pupil darting in every direction, its summoner had to be busy, or running, or both. "Mass mind control. Could still have tendrils on you, or anyone! Might lose trai-" Which was then the eye flared out.
For once, the disappearance of the summoned Eye did not leave Safrona relieved. The lack of focus in the summoning only told her that a man that usually had an answer and solution for everything was shaken, whether in the moment or overall. Felscythe was not a man that was often shaken. Either this, or he was angry, and moreover suspicious of her.
She’d thought she’d needed a drink, a break from the office, from Felscythe’s message, but the break of scenery from the office did nothing to take her from the edge. Mass mind control. Infiltration. Presumed manipulation. Supposed sacrifices to the Void. It was a futile, ugly feeling to feel restless, and not know what the hell to do. This was bigger than the threat of a hostile business takeover, than herself.
It had only been fifteen minutes since she’d left the office to wet her lips, but on returning to Empyrean Star Trades, a new small trinket chest had been left on the smooth wooden countertop in her absence. The sight held her still at the doorway, knowing where it had come from, and knowing it was very well intended for her. She dreaded the opening the ‘gift’, like a bad stock of wine stolen from someone else’s coffers and given to her. Still, no doubt it would be evidence.
A flick of the lock revealed as several times before crystalline orbs filled with soul essence, resting on red silk. A note was neatly placed beneath that read with a chill down her spine:
Your friend is amusing but short sighted. Business must go on. You know this too. How else can anyone understand but to be shown? Some would prefer to keep this world blind. Weak.
It is only a matter time before he finds something to end in you, too.
Eat up.
The letters spilled the monotone voice into her mind, blurred realities, allowed the coldest truths to dredge up from the darkest recesses. It left a dread and panic to coalesce in her mind. The bastard knew it. Drinking down the souls provided would easily placate her, set her to focus.
Or was the essence he provided a way to spy through her, control her…?
Slapping the chest closed, Safrona condemned it to Void Storage alongside others of its kind and vacated the offices early, locking the door anxiously behind her. This was far beyond the typical business. And it needed to see it’s end.
It was time to consult her Perished.
{ @nixalegos - thank you! Referring @thefirstperished @aranyaphoenix @nixyandrith of said Perished. }
