Wheloon-5th of Elient. Willow asks Seadda a question...

Willow felt as though her insides were being torn in two. One side of her would jump at the chance of a revelation about her past while the other side was too afraid that such a revelation would turn her whole world upside down. Willow wasn’t sure she really wanted that to happen, especially since things were starting to go so well.

But Shanthar, the priest at the temple of Mystra had told her that it was quite possible they could find out the hidden mysteries of her past. The priest of Mystra’s words had almost seemed too good to be true. Willow shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it, but the turmoil in her nether regions wasn’t letting her forget. She needed to make a decision. Would she stay in Wheloon and let the temple of Mystra find her past, not knowing how long it would take or what would be the result? Or, would she choose to put the past behind her, at least until a more convenient time when she was ready to face the truth? The former, depending on the length of time required, could very well mean that Willow would have to say good bye to her new found friends. That would mean traveling alone again. She wasn’t sure she liked that idea. She was just getting used to being with people all the again and she had met some really good folk. No, Willow was leaning toward the latter. Save it for a rainy day. Maybe. Willow just had to be sure. She had a few more questions for Shanthar before she made her final decision.

Willow had been so engrossed in her own dilemma that she had almost missed seeing the genasi walk past her table. Willow had been sitting there since they had all discussed going to the service at the temple of Mystra at midnight that night. Everyone else had left to go about their business but Willow had stayed to think things over. There was something not quite right with the goings on at the temple but Willow could not put her finger on it. Seadda, the pretty blue haired genasi knew more about magic, maybe she had a clue as to what was going on and could explain it to her. Willow hoped that it was just a simple misunderstanding…

“Seadda,” Willow stretched out her hand to catch her companion’s attention, “Do you have a moment? I wish to ask you a few things regarding the temple of Mystra.”

Willow paused to see if she had gained Seadda’s attention.

“You don’t think anything really bad is happening up there, do you?

"I mean,” Willow bit her lip, “that missing man will turn up soon right? It’s a temple to Mystra- surely the priest would only ever do what is right and holy. Am I right?”

The ranger sighed. “It’s just that I want to believe the best in people and after all that the priest Shanthar said to me I can’t help but hope that he isn’t involved in any kind of evil…” Willow’s voice trailed off into a whisper. “I still had some questions for him…”

Sauntering toward the exit of the Lantern Inn, Saedda's mind was similarly whirring with the possibilities the evening might bring. "Do they really hold Mystra's sacred trust?" The words written on the pamphlet found in the missing Amnic's bookstore rattled through her brain and put her at even more unease. Best to go outside in the fresh air where she could think more clearly.

Somehow, the note of desperation in the ranger's voice cut through the mental chaos, and the genasi stopped and turned toward her, the air whistling sharply at the abrupt movement. There was much riding on this ceremony for Willow tonight, as she well knew from her discussions with the young woman and Bisera. There was much riding on the promises the sweetly smiling priest had made to them both...

She listened quietly as Willow spoke, and the thoughtful silence continued a few moments after she'd finished.

"Come walk with me outside, if you will," the wizard asked suddenly as her pondering gaze shifted to meet the ranger's. "The air here is far too stagnant for proper processing."

After the ranger rose, the pair headed out into the late summer sun. The Lantern Inn was situated in the eastern end of the ferry route very close to the Wyvernwater. Saedda led them down to the edge of the river where she sat in the high grasses to watch the barges and ferries pass by. Lifting her wide-brimmed black hat from her head she rested it on her knees and looked up, motioning her request for Willow to sit next to her.

"I also have hope that Shanthar is being truthful about his promises," she began, "and I wish for nothing other than that your mysteries and those of Bisera may indeed be solved if that's what you wish at this time. I do have my concerns though. After the revelations of the missing Amnic who seemed to have doubts of his own, and the priest, Tinnister, who had been turned away at the door, and even Shanthar himself..." Saedda trailed off for a moment again remembering the kindness the young priest had shown her companions and even herself. He answered everything quite efficiently about the drunkard priest who'd initially set them on this path, but something about him seemed a bit too good to be true. She hoped she was wrong.

"We've no concrete evidence of ill-doings around this temple of Mystra of course, if it is indeed that and not just a cover for some illicit operation, but something just isn't sitting right with me. I find it exasperating... I expect we should learn much more at this evenings ceremony!"

Saedda leaned back, resting her weight on her hands and inhaled deeply, savoring the sweet taste of moisture-laden air. Turning her head to the side to regard the dark-haired woman sitting next to her, she saw the conflict roiling just beneath the surface.

"It sounds like you sense something may be amiss as well?"

Willow was glad to sit outside with Seadda in the sun’s gentle rays. It was a comfort to her in the midst of her inner turmoil. If there was one thing in this life that she could count on it was the fact that the sun would indeed rise in the east and set in the west every day. Nothing could change that fact. That knowledge gave Willow the strength she needed to keep on going.

The ranger looked over at her fair companion sitting comfortably on the grass beside her. They’re eyes met and Willow could see her own conflictions reflected in Seadda’s questioning gaze. The genasi could tell that Willow was upset about the ordeal. Willow had never been good at hiding her emotions to anyone despite her desires to do otherwise.

“Yes, I do sense that something ‘may be amiss’, as you say.” Willow sighed with pursed lips as she shook her head in disgust. “The thought that things aren’t quite as they seem has been plaguing me ever since we met up with Tinnister. I’ve tried to pay it no mind but it will not leave me be. I wanted to hope that it was as simple as a misunderstanding between the traveling cleric and this new temple to Mystra but my fears tell me it is more complicated then I would choose to believe.

“And then there are all the words Shanthar spoke to me. Words filled with confidence, hope and sincerity. I believed everything he told me. As soon as he opened his mouth I felt like no cause to doubt him. His assurance that my mystery could be solved chased all my fears about the temple of Mystra away…”

Willow could feel the frustration build to the point that her voice began to shake. She paused for a moment to compose herself. She knew that now was not the time to let her emotions carry her away.

“But now there is the case of the missing man, Amnic. I cannot help but find it odd that no one else seems concerned about his safety but his wife. And thinking about words Sir Trueblade found scrawled in Amnic’s writing on the pamphlet ‘Do they really hold Mystra’s sacred trust?’ only goes further in confirming my fears that something is not right at the temple. As much as I want to deny it, I know it is folly to continue in that mindset! I will be on my guard when we attend the service at the temple this evening.

“This morning my hopes were to find more truth about my past at the evenings service, but now I seek truth on what I believe is a much graver matter. A matter that affects more then just myself. I do not know what they are doing in the inner sanctum of this temple but I feel that it cannot be good or right.

“And if Shanthar be involved…” Willow whispered, her voice shaking. “He will have to answer to my blades!”

The ranger clenched and unclenched her fists as she tried to hold back her anger. She did not know if Shanthar was truly the charlatan she feared him to be but just the thought was enough to make her blood boil.

"Take heart, Willow..." The genasi responded to the ranger's fury in the most reassuring tone she could manage...which sadly, wasn't much. Saedda had never been accused of being the 'warm, fuzzy' type.

She did have a puppy once...before Calimport was destroyed. A sweet little Cormyrian Shepherd pup that her mother had gotten her just before she went to sea. An incentive to come home she assumed, where her father had not. Tiny little Mas'ud loved to be held and scratched behind his cute, pointed ears, and she loved it when he'd crane his fuzzy head up to lick her chin... Likely burnt to ash like the rest of the western wards of the city.

At any rate, Saedda hoped that the sincerity of her words to Willow would count for something!

"You are not alone in your concerns for tonight, nor need you be alone in your quest for the truth of your past. Unless of course you wish to be," she added with a polite nod.

The wizard turned her pale-skinned face toward the sun and shut her eyes, finding comfort and clarity of thought in the warm rays.

"Tonight we will begin our investigation into the truth of Shanthar and this temple and the missing Amnic. Until then," she cracked an eye open and turned her head toward Willow, "perhaps it would benefit us both to attempt to find a place of calm before we go into this. My mind is churning with conflict, as it seems is yours.

"You are welcome to sit and taste the air with me awhile," she offered. "Feel the sun on your skin and try to clear your head. It's possible we may end up in some sort of altercation tonight, and it always helps my concentration if I take a short time to focus my thoughts beforehand."