Renea's Check-Up

[Glenn]

Governor Burnie and his ... chief researcher? arcane inquisitor? Well, whatever title Aleksei had, the two men had a personal and informal way of communicating with one another, of questing out each others' secrets and forming some sort of collegial bond. It had served them well until the disruption that came with the Book. This, however, was not a casual return to such interaction. No, it was a formal note with a formal seal, though Glenn generally thought it was a waste of time to write down everyone's titles in even quasi-official letters.

Aleksei,

The Marshall has recently returned to us from her ill-thought out (as in not at all) excursion to Thessilane. She seems hale and healthy from her trip. A bit of a tan. A vigorous airing out of the humours. Oh, she just happens to be about fifteen years younger as well. She claims this to be due to Catch and some crazed former ward of hers. To be honest, the entire story gave me a bit of a headache.

Could you please track her down in town and use your alchemist's eye or taste a bit of her blood, or unleash your inner dragon or make her say the alphabet backwards or really, whatever it is you do. My main concerns are as follows:

1.) That she was transformed by the dark Thesshole gods and is secretly, and maybe unknowingly, their agent.
2.) That she's still under some deeper spell of this ward of hers.
3.) That she's going to continue to get younger. This would likely result in Genny changing her diapers and we really have better use for both women than that.

I feel fairly certain that she is not a spy at this point, just occasionally a moron. I would have Rhaena confirm it, but it would probably get bloody when the dresses came out. Running to Thessilane, on its own, is not inherently traitorous. Stabbing Rhaena is.

Please let me know what you find and be careful.

Glenn

[Tolleson]

A single sheet of parchment had been hastily folded, bearing a lopsided office seal that hadn't used quite enough wax to get the entire sigil. The opposite side bore a quickly scrolled, 'Glenn' and had somehow found its way to the top of the pile of papers most immediate on Glenn Burnie's office desk. Though Genny was unaware of the letter to Aleksei, as she had come and gone without a word; her letter contained sentiments quite similar.


Mister Burnie,

It should please you to know my research on the woods has concluded. We should discuss this to some extent in the near future. But I write you now with a curious concern. I do not intend to waste time with gossip as I'm sure you have noticed our Marshall's new look. I am sure you've already contacted him and I am positive Aleksei will find the root of her regressive aging, malicious or otherwise.

Regardless, not a day prior I happened to see the young, Miss Renea and Agnie Miss Kaczmarek exchanging some choice words with one another. I understand the ill sentiments, but perhaps a re-assessment should be made concerning their compatibly, that is, if she is still fit for service. Else I fear it won't just be words that are exchanged at their next encounter, Gods forbid it be during a time of real conflict.

Be well and call for me,

Genevieve



Perhaps the last bit was meant to say 'May this letter find you well,' and 'call upon me if you require,' but no - the script was sloppy and rushed, her name almost illegible. Quite the contrary for Genny who actually wrote very neatly though it, like walking in her case, required more effort than she'd dare admit.

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei, for his part, read the letter.. and rolled his eyes skyward. He did not think he had the fortitude to deal with Glenn's humor in a daily basis and was very glad he was allowed to work from home for the most part. It was mostly because he needed the space, however. He tended to.. sprawl about with his work. Since every flat surface, and most walls were covered in paper, maps and notes it was easy to see why no one wanted to share space with him.

Well, for Renea. She was known to associate with Catch, and had been exposed to the book. So he penned her a letter.


Renea,

It has come to my attention that Glenn would like me to have a look at you. If you could pop by, or let me know when you are home, I will be happy to get this out of the way and over with.

It shouldn't hurt!

Aleksei

The letter would be sent via constable, then Aleksei started gathering the materials he would need for this process. Hopefully.. not much, since he was hoping that she was fine and it was just a weird side effect.

[Glenn]

The response arrived back, eventually. There was, apparently, much on the desk of Governor Burnie these days.

Genny,

How are you at military tactics? Drilling soldiers? You would make an especially disarming Marshall. No? Then we'll just continue as we are. My thanks for this news and for your hard work and effort in the woods. I am gladdened to hear you emerged safely. Not everyone has, after all. You did emerge safely, no?

As for Renea and dear Agnieszka, conflict between the two is not, as of yet, the worst thing. Their jobs have a different focus and between the two of them, at least one and a half are professional. To be honest, I was a bit worried at how close they were becoming. We have a committee of three people so that different opinions can be weighed, but that a vote will always have a resolution.

We'll keep an eye on things moving forward. Thank you again, and if you wish to report on your time in the woods, do stop by.

Glenn

[Caile]

Renea was not fine. Oh she certainly felt fine. Great in fact, but as usual it was all just an illusion that would, at some point in the future, boil over and create exactly the same situation that led her to destroying the ritual of the book and running off to Thessilane on an ill thought out adventure to replace the information she'd caused to be lost. This adventure then led to her current youthful form, which she still did not understand. The idea of reporting to Aleksei to have him poke and prod around was a double-edged sword as far as she was concerned, on the one hand she was going to learn what had happened to her, on the other this was going to be even more magic which she was becoming even more skittish of than she had previously been.

When the constable delivered the message she was in the midst of a very frustrating day of training the militia. It was raining outside and almost half of the members had let their bowstrings get wet, completely ruining them, the other half were either lethargic or irritable and were arguing with everything she said. With an irritated sigh of her own she dismissed the troops for the day and sent the constable back with a quick note to let Aleksei know she was 'popping by' in a few minutes. Best to get this over with as quickly as she could so she could get back to doing her job.

She walked, she usually did unless it was an emergency. It wasn't that she disliked horses she just trusted her own feet more, had never really felt a connection to the animals the way some people did. The only thing that came close to that bond was the way she felt about her sword, but even then she felt her sword was a useful tool and not a friend. Renea didn't really bond with anything, or anyone for that matter. There was her family, Rielle and Beta (Rielle now, not Cerces. Not even mentally did Renea refer to the firewitch with the name she'd been calling her as long as they'd known each other. Not now.) and there had been her first husband. The Paladin had left her starting a downward spiral that still forced ripples through her life that she still hadn't recovered from, and then Rielle. All in all it was safer to not get attached.

It didn't take her long to reach the house where Aleksei was staying and she tapped lightly on the door to announce her presence. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long and she could get back to doing more productive things. It wasn't that she didn't think this was productive but the idea of it made her skin crawl and she wasn't entirely certain she wanted to know what was going on with her magically. She was afraid of the answer.

[BetaFlame]

He blinked at the note. Well, that was certainly quickly. He moved like a whirlwind, seeking to clear a table and a chair for her. Well, there was already a chair cleared, but that was Eleanor's chair, and he was not about to offer it up to the woman. So tea and crackers were set out. Really, the only things he had fit for company.

He set a small case down next to his chair at the table, and when she arrived at his door, he opened.. then frowned at the rain. "When.. did that start?" He shrugged at the mess, and offered to take Renea's cloak, shaking his head at her, "I under you are probably eager to get this over with.. I have warm tea and snacks, so why.. don't you tell me why you are here, and let me understand what is going on?" RIght to business. Of course, Aleksei was busy himself, so he wanted this dealt with as rapidly as possible.

[Caile]

The faster she got this taken care of the faster she could get on with her work without being doubted, at least by the people who mattered. Amusement coloured every aspect of her features as the door was opened to reveal the scattered man she had come to see. "Hello Aleksei, nice to see you again. No tea thanks, you're right I'd like this done as soon as possible." She entered the room, a slight grimace at the shock of seeing something so large inside of something so small, another sign of magic that she was becoming more and more loathe to experience, and yet here she was about to get poked and prodded by that very same magic to prove that other magic hadn't turned her into something to be feared or killed. Maybe those hundred virgins were worth it after all.

She didn't sit, that would indicate a comfort level she didn't feel, instead she found a counter that wasn't too terribly cluttered to lean against. She declined is offer to take her cloak too, as ineffective as it would be she felt safer just having another layer of protection between her and the world right now.

"I'm here because Glenn wanted you to make sure I wasn't an evil demon in disguise, as to what happened, well even I'm not entirely sure. Giuseppe and I ran into Catch and Jarod on the road back from Thessilane, Giuseppe tried to kill Catch and got taken on a magical unicorn ride, Jarod took me off to their secret lair. He expressed a desire to protect me, shoved tentacles down my throat, I passed out and when I woke up I was young and unscarred. I just figured he was a little overzealous in his healing attempt. Nothing else seems to have changed."

She shrugged, clearly uncomfortable now and not even trying to hide it. All she wanted to do was avoid the whole damned mess, run away and pretend nothing at all was wrong, but that would just make her look guilty and Glenn would either harrass her back here or have her killed, neither of those were options at this point.

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei watches her, head tilting to one side. He knew things, of course. Just having observed her for a long time had given him insight into the woman.

"You don't like this, because you don't like magic. I understand. But your body was healed by magic. Reverse aging.. is not easy. Stopping aging is something more than a few wizards and witches can do, Renea. But short of undeath, I've never seen someone go back in time. That is the sort of thing from children's fables."

Reaching over, the angel-man pops a cracker in his mouth and watches her while he chews. There was always a price to be paid for this sort of thing. Nothing was free, not with magic. He paid a price, and so must she have. Maybe this.. Jarod had paid it for her?

"Was this the sort of thing Jarod could do before? Glenn had mentioned he was your charge at some point? I know you like Catch, and so do I, but his influence on things is.. well. Odd, I think you would agree?"

[Caile]

"Yah well, wasn't really asking for it." Of course she didn't like this, she didn't like the process she didn't like the fact that she had to endure more magic to find out if the magic she'd already endured was a danger to the world around her. She didn't care how difficult or amazing what Jarod had done was, she didn't ask him to do it and she just wanted to get this check up over with so she could go back to being a soldier.

"Jarod? He always had magical ability but whether he could do something like this? Probably not. He used tentacles and he didn't have those before he met Catch." Tentacles. She shuddered in remembrance, horrific experience and not one she'd like to repeat. "Catch has changed him, there is no doubt about that." As she spoke her eyes roamed the room, flickering back and forth more out of discomfort and anxiety than any real curiosity about what was in the shop.

[BetaFlame]

"Really? What else did you see? Can you tell me more about what happened? Details, don't be shy with them." He' still studying her, blue eyes locked on hers, like he is searching for something. There is no outward sign of magic from him, he just picks up a notebook and starts scribbling down the details he has managed to pry from her jaws so far. She was clinging to them like a wild dog with a bone, and that was making his job harder. He'd rather do this without poking her magically, but if she wasn't more forth coming, it would be required.

"Sorry about the.. room. It's Eleanor's doing. I used to get nauseous just walking in here. Nice to have the extra space, though."

[Caile]

She wasn't holding back out of any perverse sense of control or secrecy, it was merely that she didn't understand and didn't like that it had happened to begin with. The memory was one she'd tried to supress as quickly as she could, shoving it down with the other undesirable thoughts, feelings and memories. Yet, well Glenn had told her to meet with the man and allow him to investigate what had happened to her, if that meant she needed to answer questions then she would, the sooner to get this over with and get back to work.

"What happened? I don't know exactly what happened and what I remember of it I covered. He said he wanted to help me, to protect me and I told him that I'd appreciate that. I was, for the most part, humoring him to make him feel more at ease. All I remember after that is tentacles, the same sort of thing Catch does, and one of them was down my throat and there was pain and shock and I must have passed out. I woke up and nothing hurt anymore, not old wounds or new. Old scars were gone, my body was pristine and I felt young, more energy more alert. My reflexes were faster...are faster. That's all I know." She shrugged and pushed herself to a standing position from the previous leaning one and began to pace back and forth, agitated, frustrated, angry.

"Look I don't know magic from a hole in the ground, which you'd think I'd have at least picked something up given my relationships with magic and magical types but no, I don't. I never did like the stuff I never understood it and I don't know what is possible or not, what is easy or not and what is natural or not. Black, fear, pain then I woke up as you see me now. That's all I know and if that isn't good enough then that's just too damned bad!" She'd started speaking in a normal tone of voice but by the end of her diatribe her voice was raised, still pacing the floor, arms flailing about as the words spilled out. Renea wasn't often discomposed in company this way, it was a sign of how scared she really was of what had happened that she let a stranger see her so now.

[BetaFlame]

He just watches her flit from one side to the other, eyes following her. He gets up and moves over to stand near her, and finally says "Renea, please hold still so I can look at you." He waits to see if she will, before he reaches out and holds a hand -near- her, without actually touching her. There is a.. coldness coming from his hand, and a faint light, his brows are furrowed in concentration as he moves it first near the side of her head, then down, near her belly.

"Well, I don't detect anything from you." Not a lie, not really. "That doesn't mean it won't change. If your.. friend has some how gained some of Catch's powers, then it is rooted in Chaos itself, and we must have a care. We should meet at least once every other week so I can have a look at you, alright? Nothing painful, just what you went through."

He waits to see how she responds before getting ready to pen a letter to Glenn.

[Caile]

She stilled when he asked it of her and remained so throughout the...examination. The lack of being touched seemed to help her agitation fade, the magic wasn't exactly being used on her just around her. She had expected something more invasive and that this was all that there was to be was reassuring and so when he asked her to return each week she'd just nod, a little relieved. There was no surprise that there was no demonic being within her, she knew that already and this was just to reassure Glenn, and it helped to reaffirm her beliefs that what Jarod had done was purely overeager healing.

"Fair enough. I'll be here each week when training allows. I'll send along a messenger to let you know when I'll be stopping by to give you time to prepare." She paused only long enough to see that this arrangement was agreeable and then she'd leave. She needed to do something, anything, to get away from magic for a time.

[BetaFlame]

So, the letter.


Glenn,

I've seen to Renea. She's.. missing something. She said the person that changed her was associated with Catch. We need to talk, in person. Soon.

He sent the letter to their secure box for such things.