The New Girl

Still unsure of what to do, you at least resigned to working through getting a proper inventory of the goods on the property; your property now. Regardless of whether you were going to keep the business or sell it, you needed to know what you had and what it's worth was. Bethany was with you in the basement, making notes in an impromptu ledger. She was no more a mind of business than you were, but she at least had better penmanship and an easier time of numbers, which was enough for the moment.

"Fuck" You let out indiscriminately as you went through a line of beers.

"What's wrong?" Beth asked, perplexed "Did we make a mistake?"

"Ya, Beth" you muttered, leaning against the heavy wooden shelf "We both did. We should have listened to dad."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Everything" You felt increasingly exasperated as you let your emotions out "Just, wasting everything away, not a care in the world. And now this happens, time to own up, and we're not ready."

"Hey, Tiff" She put her ledger down and moved forward to give you a hug "Come on now. You're blaming yourself for something that's not your fault. Had you apprenticed to be a proper business woman, Harlihn would still be dead.

“You’re probably right” You dwelled for a moment on his last words “Who knows, I may be with him right now, in the ground waiting for Dineth.”

“Very true” She added “We’re in this together, you know?”

“Thanks Beth” you meant it sarcastically, though your tone didn’t imply it. She didn’t fully understand the events that happened, not as you saw it, and implying that one things was merely a worse form of the other was foolish. “I just don’t feel like I’m ready for this, and I wish I would be. It feels like I’m in a rip current, that I’m just at the mercy of nature. I wanna be in control, and I’m not.”

“I might have an answer for that” You heard the familiar voice of your cousin as she descended down the steps to join you in the basement.

“Gods, Senna” You complained, finally at a breaking point “Do you have any concept of privacy? Doors are locked for a reason.”

“You’ll be glad I’m here. Both of you. I’m sure of it.”

“That remains to be seen” You rebutted, arms crossed “You’ve become more like my parents by the day lately, and you keep getting shoving yourself into this mess that doesn’t involve me.”

“There’s a loose Heretic and a murderer. It involves me. I can’t afford to be patient for either of you to become comfortable with that. I am here to help, and have something you may be interested in.”

“Yes?” You asked, hoping she would just hurry to get it over with.

“We found the woman he was cheating on you with. I was going to go give her a little talk. See what she knows, what may have helped with.” There was a slight, hopeful uptick in Senna’s tone “fight her, if needed. I was thinking either of you may want to come along.” Your eyes moved to Bethany, who looked strangely insecure. With everything that had happened with Harlihn and now being tasked with keeping his prized business, the infidelity at the start of all this was completely overshadowed, as if even she had forgotten what had occurred to her.

“Who is she?” She asked quietly

“A priestess of some description. From what we’ve been told, everything seems above board, but that’s what we all thought about your boyfriend too, so we need to be cautious.”

“Does she know?” You asked, your mood having calmed “about any of this?”

“We don’t know.” Senna responded with a shrug “It could be that this is a dead end, at least as far as my mission goes. Even still, I thought you might at least like to talk to her, confront her if you need to get something off your chest.”

“Ya, okay” Bethany said “hopefully this will give some answers.”

“Great, let’s go” Senna nodded back towards the stairs, leaving the Extra Ordinary, expecting to be followed immediately behind.

“I need you to come with, Tiff” She said, looking at you plaintively “She’s not going to be much comfort.”

“You kidding?” You asked “If she had anything to do with it, I’m expecting payback. There’s no way I’d let you go alone.”

“Thanks, sis” As she headed off ahead of you, you saw a brief look of worry in her eyes. You get the sense that your words of encouragement and solidarity may not have had the successful impact you’d wanted. Though you were identical in appearance and age, and similar in many ways, your sister had usually been the kinder of the two of you. Maybe it was because you’d always been the protector of the two of you, especially when your sorcerous magical abilities came to light as children to defend against bullies or worse.

Zok was waiting outside the door, joining the three of you on the walk to this mysterious mistress.

“Good morning Tiffany, Bethany” The chipper Orc greeted with a warm smile.

You commented briefly as you followed behind Senna “You know Zok, it’s interesting. Most people don’t refer to us by our names.

“Oh, that’s a shame. They’re both lovely names”

“Well thank you,” You nodded your head gently “I think too many people are afraid to mistake one of us for each other.”

“That’s ridiculous. They must not be paying any attention, you two are so different.” You and Bethany looked at each other in surprise. There was no sense of sarcasm; it almost seemed like a foreign concept to Zok and his positive spirit. Few people had been able to successfully pick you two apart so easily. For an Orc seemingly of so little intelligence or brainpower, he was at least very perceptive.

Traveling through the streets, you noticed early on that you were heading towards the Prayer Quarter. Though not officially named as such, it was known as that colloquially, as it was where the majority of the shrines, statues, and temples to the Gods and Goddesses were. It was an important part of the city, especially for the traveling Sailors and Merchants, who by nature of their trade do not make routine offerings or communion with the holy. Your thoughts of who the other woman ___ was with were washed away, finding now only confusion. There would be a deep irony that a Heretic had been familiar with one of their seeming enemies. The four of you came upon a large structure in the rear of the quarter, with a significant chimney that had bellowed heavy black smoke. Over the door, in a heavy oaken sign, was carved a saying across multiple languages “blessed are the Toolmakers”. Inside was a stout dwarven woman, her white robes a daring choice amid such a place of billows, forges, saws and the like. Helping grant a sense of modesty, you could tell underneath that her structure and frame were appealing, a large healthy chest and a strong set of hips. Middling of age, her soft face had only slightly begun to show the effects of years, while her curly brown hair still seemed immune. She was fixated on her work, an intricate piece of blown glass, singing as she worked, seemingly in some form of strange hymnal. That she looked up at the four of you said she was at least aware of your presence, and thankfully was also not threatened or afraid enough to run off. She seemed to suspect nothing.

"Are you Vilda Kohngren?" Senna asked

"I am." She spoke loudly, not leaving her work "High Toolmaker of Hjanda. How may I be of service?"

"Do you know someone by the name of Allanathras? A Human man?"

"Do you know where he is?" Concern immediately washed over her face, the professionalism gone in an instant.

"No. We were actually hoping you might be able to tell us."

She shook her head, clearly nervous "No, I haven't seen my fiancé in days. It's not like him to just disappear like that, especially without saying anything."

Having unintentionally triggered an eruption, you heard your sister yell out "Fiancé! Are you kidding me?" Stomping towards her.

"You two timing slut!" Bethany bellowed "You can't be betrothed to him. He was my boyfriend. We'd been together for the last nine months"

Vilda was clearly hurt and startled, but remained the calmer of the two by far "I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. Allanathras and I have been together for the last four years..."

All eyes moved to your sister, who's fire and fury was swiftly blown out. Her eyes darted slightly "You mean, that I'm..."

"You're the 'other woman'." You finished her thought. "I'm sorry."

"I don't believe this" The Dwarf woman spoke up "Accusing me of having an affair without knowing anything. We had been having some troubles lately, but he would never do something like that"

"I'm afraid it's true, miss, and worse." You refuted "he's already killed someone. My boss, Harlihn, a fellow Dwarf. We also have reason to believe that Allanthras was.." you paused, still struggling to admit it, fearing the reaction of a devout woman. "A Heretic."

Vilda was stunned, reaching behind her suddenly for something to lean on. "It can't be..." She muttered

"I know this is hard to comprehend Miss Kohngren, but it's the truth. Now, we need your help to find him, before he hurts or kills anyone else."

"I believe you" She replied, still staring into the middle distance of her holy workshop. "I just, I can't believe I didn't see it before. It makes perfect sense. His behavior changed. How our playful discussions got meaner, darker. How he got rougher in," she cut herself short, fearing she was about to share too much "I'd thought he was just working through stress. This is my fault" She buried her head in her hands "I should have seen this, and I didn't".

You, having been quiet, approached, squatting next to her, gently worked her through her feelings "There's a lot of that feeling going around, you know. Me, my sister, my cousin," Looking at Zok, unsure really what to call him "her boyfriend. He pulled the wool over all of our eyes, and I'm sure we're not alone. I know how much you want to just sulk and feel sorry for yourself. I've been doing more than my share of it, if I'm honest. That's not going to fix anything, but you helping us find him and put a stop to him would to the world a lot of good."

She nodded "You're right, my golden haired friend" Pulling herself together, she scurried in her workshop "Helping avenge this Harlihn fellow's death, putting a final stop to this Heretic would not only be an honor, but it's an obligation." Opening a heavy oak cabinet drawer, she unearthed a metal flail, a suit of armor, and a shield.

"By honor and duty, I am bound to put an end to this evil. I will defend the world my Goddess helped build, and that the Heretic seeks to destroy".

"Well, she got over him quick" Your sister remarked to your cousin "I would hope my fiance would be more heartbroken and conflicted than that."

"Oh hush," Senna replied "This is a blessing in more way than one."

Ignoring their sidebar, you continued with the Toolmaker "We appreciate the help, hopefully we don't need all of that. Do you know where he went?"

"I do not, but I might know where to start."