The importance of Master Angelo's Haven

Ilena turns over the first card, revealing an upside down Queen of Wands. "Oh dear me. This is not what I would have expected..." Everyone leans in a little. Dubala's left eyebrow raises slightly. "Give it to us straight, Ilena. We can take it." Lena clings to Angelo. "Y-yeah!" Angelo leans a little against Lena. Jasmine places a hand on the table. "It can't be that bad, can it?" Ilena clears her throat. "This card has to do with fertility, and given that it is in an upside down position, it indicates many negative things in that regard."

She moistens her lips. "Its keywords are demanding, vengeful, low confidence, jealous, selfish, temperamental, and bully. It means that the area is a magnetic draw for dark forces and requires many sacrifices to get the most out of it. I believe this would explain why it was in such peril before Angelo first arrived." Angelo tilts his head a bit. "How did you know this place was in such peril when I arrived?" She smirks while looking at Angelo. "It is a story told once a day in the town square. The story depicts you in a very dashing light."

She bites her lip while looking him up and down. "However, you are even more dashing than I had heard. It makes me wonder how much more wondrous your actions were that day." She softly moans while hugging herself. "I bet I would have fallen in love with you at first sight. Not that I don't find you very alluring as is." She playfully winks at him, causing him to blush. Dubala gently taps Ilena's shoulder. "Less flirting, more tarot reading." Ilena's cheeks turn bright red. "Oh, silly me. You're right. We're not here to talk about my fantasies, yet."

She turns over the next card, revealing The Empress in an upright position. "Oh, normally this would be a good sign, but..." She glances at the previous card. "It would seem this place is sacred. It has been blessed by the divine to nurture dark and twisted beings and situations." Dubala stares blankly at Ilena. "This sounds like this is the perfect place to resurrect a dead or fallen God." Ilena begins to pout. "From what I see so far, that is a fair assumption. But don't fret. There are still three cards that may depict a brighter situation."

She turns over the next card, which is an upright Two of Pentacles. "Curious..." Angelo tilts his head upon hearing her utter that word. "How so?" Lena nods eagerly. "Yeah, do tell." Ilena giggles. "I will get to that." Her eyes glance at the other two cards. "You see, when this card is upright it refers to balancing resources, adaptation, resourcefulness, flexibility, and stretching resources. As you might have guessed, a place like this is hard to manage. It is in the middle of a desert with only a small oasis nearby."

Jasmine purses her lips. "That would make a lot of things difficult." She crosses her arms underneath her breast. "This place lends itself strongly to doing vile and evil things to survive." Dubala nods. "Yeah, I could see this being the perfect place for a cult or an assassin's guild to flourish." Angelo looks down slightly. 'It doesn't help that this place is built in a way that makes it easy to hide in the shadows.' Ilena smiles gently. "As you have surmised, this place is ripe for corruption due to how everything is balanced and stretched thin. This is becoming quite ominous."

She looks to the next card and turns it over, revealing an upside down Three of Pentacles. "Hmm, this is truly dubious. As related to the previous card, this amplifies the problems for everyone involved in these lands. You see, the keywords here are lack of cohesion, lack of teamwork, apathy, poor motivation, conflict, ego, and competition." Lena blinks. "That makes it sound like both good and evil within the area can easily be manipulated to either fight amongst themselves or join the other side."

Ilena blinks before focusing her full attention on Lena. "Well aren't you a clever one. It is exactly as you believe. Since everyone is out for themselves, it is easy to get them to side with whichever side is more promising and/or appreciative of their skills. That is, unless that side begins to properly communicate." She looks off to the side and mutters something, causing Dubala's and Jasmine's ears to perk up. Angelo leans in a bit. 'What did I just miss?' He gets up and walks over to Jasmine to whisper into her ear. "Did she say something important?"

Jasmine leans over and whispers into his ear. "She just said that her co-conspirators don't respect her. But, she may have only said what we wanted to hear to draw our attention from Thukeg." He nods slightly as Dubala gently taps the table in front of the last card. Ilena chuckles. "Right, on to the last card." She turns over the final card, which is an upright Seven of Wands. "This further confirms what I already knew due to the previous cards." Angelo's right eyebrow raises a quarter of an inch. "How so?"

She sighs softly, leaning back in her chair. "The keywords for this card in this position are protectiveness, standing up for yourself, defending yourself, and protecting territory. Meaning that this place is truly vital in the battle ahead. Whoever controls this place after the dusts settles, will win." An uneasy hush falls over the room as they all contemplate the meaning of this. This information could very well change their fate in the battle ahead. Should he leave the girls behind so they can defend this place in his stead? Or should he take one or more with him just in case? What of Ilena's words? Should they assume she is working for the other side? Or is she talking about something else?