Session 32

November 17th

After sleeping in their respective inns, the party met up again to go over their plans for the day. Much to Faust's thinly veiled dismay, Eden and Della do still want to stay for the circus, other cicrumstances keeping them in the town aside. For the time being, while they wait for Berwin's contact to help them find their way into the Red Church, Vasilena intends to go see her sponsor family. To her relief, only Eden offers to come with.

Leon and Magdalena, the opera house owners, were happy to welcome the pair into their home. They weren't the first guests to visit the couple that day, however, and the other member in their company, Cassius Crewe, helps himself to stay through the conversation with Vasilena. It's clear the two know each other, with Cassius' enthusiasm being matched by no one in the room, least of all Vasi. He's all too gleeful to start telling Vasilena what business proposal had brought him to the Rosenblatt's estate until Leon insists he shut the fuck up about it (nicely). Once conversation firmly switches over to small talk, Cassius grows bored and leaves, not without first insisting Vasilena visit him before leaving the city. As for the Rosenblatt's, its clear to her something is troubling them, but they refuse to say what.

After they leave, Eden asks about Cassius, given the strained reactions Vasi had when speaking with him. She confirms she's familiar with him and loathes him almost openly due to his pathetic attempts at romantically pursuing her. The fact that he was so eager to try and involve her in his business dealings with the Rosenblatt's concerns her as well, and she reluctantly admits she may have to seek an audience with him just to put her mind at ease about what he's planning.

While this was happening, Della and Faust wandered the streets of Altenheim. Della tried, very gently, to ask about Faust's clear horror and trauma regarding the circus, and how generally unhappy he seems to be since they arrived in the city. Faust responds by trying to be even happier and Della doesn't push the subject. They do stop for street food and grab treats for Vasi and Eden along the way, which they both appreciate when the party comes back together. Over the course of catching up and returning to the mid-tier inn the majority of the group had stayed at, they recieved word back from Berwin's contact. Not wanting to waste any time, they traveled to the address on the message they recieved. To their confusion, it brought them to an alleyway between two buildings that led....nowhere. It took a few moments of studying the brickwork before Eden noticed a strange seam in the wall that, upon pressing on it, opened a secret door with stairs leading down.

On the way they found an inscription in primodial that Della translated as: "To ask, you must know."

The stairs brought them to a circular chamber with four mirrors placed across from each other, forming a loose circle. Vasilena is the one to step into the line of mirrors sight first and freezes when she does. Magic pulls her gaze to the reflection across from her, shifting the image into one she knows well: her girlfriend. Or, ex-girlfriend, girlfrined in limbo? She isn't sure anymore. As the rest of the party watches on in confusion, Vasi and her girlfriend, Tematea, relive one of many fights they'd had, one that left Vasi feeling wounded. When she snaps out of her trance she's startled and quickly retreats away from the mirrors. As that was happening, Della had stepped in to try and shake Vasi free of her vision, but only succeeded in being drawn in themselves.

Della saw their mother, washing dishes. They relived a conversation they had once when Della was younger, prying gently about magic lessons with their mother who tried gently to excuse why they couldn't continue until snapping at Della. They hadn't felt they'd done anything wrong, but the lessons weren't to continue, and they were sent out of the house before company would come over. The memory shook Della and they stepped away as well, unsure what else the mirrors wanted from them.