#earthrunes

Later, Zara fills a silver dish with water. She opens the shutters to allow moonlight to filter in - thus, alone, she seeks to scry the Barony of Dry Tears, using the Balor's poison as the link. Later, she will use the Sisters, to check on the Siv-shaped-hole that may move through the world.

The poison allows a glimpse, damn it, too close.. a sword in it's Scabbard

the close up shows little , save the weave of the scabbard, looks solid enough

She works, trying to draw out for a wider view.

It pulls out and she sees the Balor from the Backward glance earlier... He standds on a great ledge of some mountains, the view is not lush, but it has it's own charm

She watches him, curious.

He is overlooking berry picking? yes, tiny bushes, small and scrawny... on the hillside below... and Changelings are picking them.

Zara narrows her eyes.

Dross... some sort of dross. Amid the barren land scape, to mortal eyes the look like nearly dead bushes, but to fae eyes, it is dross...berries that resemble rough gems, uncut.

What kiths are working?

It looks like the usual mix, she sees three boggans, two trolls, a redcap, a Nocker... these last two glare pure hate at their lord a BIt MORE openly. And yes..she sees a sluagh woman, a crone who nearly stumbles

Hisss.

This reminds her too much of slavery, yes. Are there magic bonds on the workers?

None of these. Most seem to be working without restraints. But then.. there are those marks on their necks. the Chimerical tattoos her brother observed on one .. they're numbered.

Are the tattoos magical?

Chimerical at least.. mmm mimicing the motions she's seen on NCIS TV shows, Zara 'enhances' the view again. Closing on the tatts...and she notices that they seem to UNDER the skin, and showing through.. this is more than chimerical ink embedded. It's like those things are nestled in there

"Enhance..." like focusing a microscope. She can Omen through a tattletale - maybe she can learn more?

She can try

And does! her magic cuts through the tattle tale and omens the tattoo on the Old Sluagh's neck . It's nature is.. this is not ink. it's a parasite! It's a chimeral beast, no less than Bronte. And yet, not so kind. It saps the will , and.. Zara suspects, does more.. the omen shows an image of a tithe bowl SHOVED into one's hands

Hissss.

It's an affront. to be sure.

She takes an impromtu survey, a head count as it were... about six or seven kithain working here for the bushes. She does NOT See Wencenslais

Enough to start. Now to get word to the ladies - simple messages for morse. "Serf tattoos are chimerical parasites, control will." Information for Symon AND Siv.

And as the image is about to fade... Zara sees.. another figure on the ledge, approaching the balor

not in detail.. as the image is fading

And tapping message from Siv's cohorts "In dungeon. Looking for sluagh serf that was taken from Rivervale. Siv disguised."

She puts on the circlet - with this distance, the bond is stronger if she actually wears the treasure. "Show me, aye?"

And suddenly Zara is as if in the dungeon herself, seeing through so many eyes. It takes a moment to adjust to that , but only a moment... and the torch lit dungeon has a Spanish or Tuscany feel. Siv is in the underhold. But..she cannot know about the Crownheart. She was not there at the meeting. No, Siv is looking for Wenceslaus. And she has found cells.

Sexta, there is a treasure, a "crownheart"... Zara fills in the spiders.

In one, a sleeping Eshu fellow. The scraggly beard indicates he has not been allowed much time for grooming. Another has a pooka of wolfish persuasion

Siv stops. She's not looking like Siv, of course. But the mannerisms show familiar .. surprise, then excitement "Truth? Of course, didn't mean to insult you, Sexta. Thank you. Please tell the lady at the center of the web I shall seek it out. "

And Siv moves on. Biting her lip at the prisoners... then she hears the crack of a whip

"Shit" And she crosses into an archway to...

and the connection is lost! Some sort of archway that cancelled existing cantrips.

And if it dropped the tattle tale...

then Siv's disguise is surely gone!

Zara swears quietly.

She reaches for the spiders - between her soothsay and the treasure, that is her best hope of linking.

And it rehooks. Ah, the archway cancels cantrips, but it does not prevent them from being cast again! She can see through them again

And sees Siv in a battle.. the torturer did not expect her. Change or not.

Of course Siv is in battle. Bless.

That said, he's a nasty thallian goblin, and cuts her with a buzzsaw dagger (Who makes this shit?) along her side, and cracks the whip at her with the other hand. Siv has the edge though, what could have taken a slide of kidney just takes skin, and Siv grabs the whip with her free hand and uses trollish strength to pull him foward into her rapier! "Give us a kiss" Siv hisses. and the Thallian flickers out.

Zara does a little fist-pump of triumph.

the sluagh Wencelsas gasps "You.. should not be here" His whisper rough "You nearly died the last time you tried to help me. And now you are in his hold"

Siv says "I know, but what was happening to you wasn't exactly Safe Haven. Look, do you know something about the Crownheart?"" She looks over the wounds on his back, extensive

"Of course, it's why I told you about it" he says dazed still

"You.. of course" Siv says , helping him up "You're not chained? I mean.. couldn't you run this time?"

"that would have just made it worse" The slaugh shrugs

He has a tattoo yes. Number Six.