The Quest

Tess made her way to the kitchens, her head was now pounding, and all she wanted was a cup of soothing lavender tea. She entered the kitchen to see the trolls hard at work on supper. The newest sacrifice's body would be brought down to be added to dinner soon. She made her way through. The trolls making sure to not make eye contact with her.

"Can I help you, Priestess?" a troll bowed near her.

"I would like a cup of tea. My head is pounding," Tess admitted, resting a hand on her forehead. She was using a cooling spell to relieve the aching.

There was a low groaning sound behind her as a cup of tea was offered to her. "Thank you," Tess took a sip, not minding what was in it.

"Is everything to your satisfaction?" the troll asked, upon seeing Tess' confused look.

"What's in this?" Tess asked, looking towards the troll that had handed it to her. Her eyes widened upon seeing the troll she had made friends with on Destru's ship.

"Lavender and tarragon," Nyx's gravelly voice informed her.

Tess sat the cup down, staring at the troll. "Nyx," she whispered. The troll nodded his head at her, confirming her discovery. "Are the others here, too?"

Nyx nodded his head once more as a siren walked into the room. She saw Tess' flustered look and rushed to her side.

"My priestess, is everything okay?" The siren took Tess' face into her hands as she looked over at her, worried.

"I-I'm fine," Tess blinked a couple of times, trying to focus on the siren in front of her. "Just a little fatigued. I think I'll be laying down for the rest of the evening."

"Should I have supper sent to your room?" the siren asked, not sure if she completely believed Tess' excuse.

"No, I don't think I'll be awake for it." Tess excused herself from the kitchen. "My head is aching. I will see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night," the siren called after her, wondering if she should follow Tess to her room or not.

-----

Tess hurried from the kitchen and slipped down a hallway. She glanced behind herself to see if anyone had followed her. Seeing the coast was clear, she slid against the wall, holding her head in her hands. Nyx was in the kitchens! Destru and his crew most likely were in the dungeons... would she be forced to kill them? Or worse, eat them!

She looked through her fingers that had migrated to her face. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to find Destru and find out what was going on. She took a calming breath and envisioned herself in her mind. She went through what she would do in the next few minutes if she hadn't decided to go to the dungeons. Walk to my room, and lay in my bed for the rest of the evening, she thought to herself repeatedly. When she opened her eyes, she saw a clone of herself standing in front of her, waiting to be instructed on what to do.

"Go to my room and pretend to sleep," Tess whispered to her copy. "You're not feeling well."

The copy nodded, then walked down the hallway, making its way to Tess' room. Tess waited a few minutes as she waited for the slight wave of exhaustion to move on. She could perform simple spells with next to no repercussions. The bigger spells still took a slight toll on her with the bracelets she had on.

She stood and made sure nobody was in the hallway before making her way to the dungeons. She wasn't allowed in them. They still terrified her from her first day there. Tess glanced around herself once more, then snuck her way onto the stairs that led to the dungeons.

It took her a little while to find Destru. They had put his crew towards the back of the dungeons. But she knew he wasn't all the way in the back. She recognized these cells from when she had been taken upstairs her first day here. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. Don't think like that; she thought to herself.

Finally, she saw a wolf with a dirty blue coat leaning against the iron bars. "Destru!" she called quietly, a sob catching in her throat.

Destru's ears twitched as he heard his name. He turned towards her and lept up in surprise. "Lass!" Destru gave a warming smile upon seeing her.

Tess wanted to fall into his arms in relief. Someone she knew! Someone she wasn't forced to make friends with! "Destru what are you doing here?" Tess looked in towards the crew. This wasn't everyone. Tess' heart sped up with concern. How long had Destru been here? Had they made his crew into meals over the past few days? "Where is everyone?"

"We came to save ya," Destru grinned, ignoring her worried look. He looked over her, looking for signs of distress. "You're looking well."

Tess rubbed at her face, preventing tears from falling down her face. "You're doing a brilliant job," she laughed, before becoming serious once again. "Destru, where's your crew?"

"Don't worry, Lass, most of them stayed behind," Destru winked, trying to keep the mood light. Perhaps he could convince Tess to get the key to their cell. "Only one we're missing currently is Little Rune."