After the return from Ardenweald, Nadana felt tired. It was not that the journey had been arduous, but that an inevitable decision had been reached. Though not exact it almost felt like having to choose one child over another. None of the Repentant nor Theo were her children, but the years of hands-on cultivating almost made them feel as such.
She wound down the steep rocky path north of Darkhaven. Below she knew was a long forgotten ruin, or at least one known to only the dredgers, within which was a single stone hidden amidst the rubble.
There was a bitter taste in her mouth now that she returned. It lingered on the back of her tongue and the feeling made her stomach turn. Though she had heard of the massacre, she had held out some hope that their allies had lied or had been mistaken. The Repentant under Nemalu belonged to Ardenweald now, they were no longer souls of Revendreth, and the potential reprisal from Ardenweald for their loss lingered in the back of her mind. That, along with the bittersweet thought that perhaps the Winter Queen’s retaliation could make the Prince’s push on the castle remotely possible.
The ruins looked untouched, at least to her eyes, though it had been many years since she’d ventured down here. There was little reason to check in on the hidden sinstone, and too much lingering here could draw unwanted attention to the location. With ease she shifted rock and tossed stone, digging in a rubble pile she created centuries past.
Nadana knew Theo was hurting, it showed in her anger. She was a quick woman – sharp, and meticulous, but Theo had already faltered in many things. She hadn’t gone in for a kill when the pair of them fought, and she had left Nemalu alive. Wrath had been the first of her sins and though she had repented the sins of her life, the venthyr were not above these same mistakes themselves. Theo was trying to send a message. She wasn’t following through with her orders, not as quickly and directly as she would have normally. Theo was trying to make Nadana hurt as much as she was. Unknown to the huntress, Nadana was already hurting. She simply didn’t show it.
She reached the bottom of the rubble pile. Here there should be a small but detailed account of Theo’s – or Samantha’s – life, and the sins that brought her to Revendreth in the first place. She would take it and bind the huntress, Theo would no longer be an issue for them. She had only to to find her and begin enacting her will.
The mage-soul would be a good one to bring with her, he had a drive to find her and could no doubt get their dousing arrow and take her right to Theo. He might also be a good candidate to distract Theo with if her anger burned as hotly as his. If that were the case, she would need to make sure she brought a healer with her for the man. Theo probably wouldn’t kill him. She was still under the assumption the Master wanted to speak with these souls. Perhaps he did.
With the last stone removed her gaze fell on… Nothing. A minor buzz of confusion passed through the eredar’s thoughts. She shifted more stones and rock, looked under rubble and checked through the stones she’d already moved. Gone. She hissed cures through her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Theo must have it. She should have known that woman was resourceful. When did she take it though? No matter. She needed to leave now before this place became some kind of trap.
Leaving curses on the wind, she made her way back to Dawnkeep. Opportunity wasted.
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