Episode 3 Sneak Peek #7

Spoilers ahead! From a Zenaida branch. 

Her hands stop twisting. “I see. I suppose I cannot ask anything more of you. If you need assistance chartering a ship, I can—”

“No. You got me out of Rona, you’ve paid me for this job. That’s more than enough of your help.”

She pauses. “And Wayfarer Kellis? Will he be joining you?”

You look away, jaw clenched. You’re not sure where you and Aeran stand after last night. You’ve always known his tendency to lash out when he feels trapped, but his words were needlessly cruel. You feel sick to your stomach just thinking about it…

And how Aeran will respond when you show up with Veyer in tow.

“I don’t know,” you say finally. “Why does it matter to you?”

She clasps her hands in her lap. “I have a vested interest in you and Wayfarer Kellis,” she says. “There will likely come a time when I will call on you again. If you have opportunities elsewhere, I would like to know.”

Irritation twists in your gut. “That, frankly, isn’t your business. It’s not like you have a monopoly on Wayfarer contracts.”

Zenaida averts her eyes, her fingers tugging at her hood. Veyer chuckles at her discomfort, a sly smirk on their face.

“No,” she says after a moment. “But I have admired your order for a long time. Too many in the Guild use their prejudices to disregard your innate talents and abilities. If there ever was a time for Wayfarers, it is now. Now the Astrials have awoken, now that malevolent forces seek to destabilize everything we hold dear—”

1. “You have another Wayfarer. Why do you need me when you have Aeran?”
[CHOICE] 2. “I’m only here for the money. Save your end of the world speech for someone who believes it.”
3. Shrug it off and ignore her. She can make all the speeches she likes, they will only fall on deaf ears.

“Believe what you will, Wayfarer $lastname,” she says. “The truth remains that you are skilled and I trust your capabilities. I would pay you thrice what you received today to have your continued support. Why else would I have chosen you to be here now, at my side?”

You turn your head, craning your neck as you stare at the boat’s wake. The breeze picks up, sending a sudden chill rolling down your spine. The water laps rhythmically against the boat, beating in your ears as the vessel continues its steady journey westward.

Zenaida waits, calm and collected, her hands folded neatly in her lap. You can feel her eyes boring into you.

There’s something about such overt flattery that gives you pause. Zenaida does not share the same sensibilities as her colleagues in the Guild. Veyer doesn’t either, but unlike them, her interest you feels calculated.

Sophia called her daughter’s interest in Wayfarers an obsession… Why such intense interest in the first place? It seems her goal has always been to recruit a Wayfarer and that goal eventually led her to Aeran.

But you spent years searching for surviving Wayfarers to no avail. With the exception of Varyn’s letter, you only found rumours and whispers until Aeran discovered you in Karth. How was it that Zenaida was able to find him with relative ease? Of course being a Guild mage and an Imperial noble expanded her resources far beyond anything available to you, but the more you think about it, the more unsettled you become.

You know she had an informant. When did they give her Aeran’s name and location? Who pointed her to Rona?

And if she was so engrossed in a such a search, why were you never part of the equation?