Worry Not

When was the last time you saw your daughter?

I tucked her into bed last night. Eight o' clock as always!

Have you seen anyone suspicious wandering around the town lately?

Well, no! Who would come out this far-- wait, you don't suppose it was bandits, do you?

Ma'am, that's--

Those Heronite dogs! If I said it once, I've said it a thousand times, a border town is no place to raise our children!

Mrs. Merrow, I assure you bandits have never ranged into Resta before. Even without the Desmond clan to provide a mighty deterrent, I don't suspect they would come just to steal a child from her bed in the dead of night.

Well, who else could it be?

For the moment, there remains no evidence that Melany didn't leave of her own volition--

She would never go out on her own at night, especially not in this weather!

In that case, a good place to start would be with family members and acquaintances. Most kidnappings are committed by someone the victim knows.

It can't be anyone in the family! All we've got are my husband and his mother. Dianna is too old to travel and Frederick is serving in the crusade!

Worry not, ma'am. I promise we're going to find her by magic or investigation. Your husband will not come home to tragedy. For now, I'm going to need you to tell me everything you can about your family's immediate acquaintances, those your children see most frequently.

Merric, you stay where I can see you!

...

You need to tell her about the fox.

We did! She didn't believe us!

Then tell her that Mel left to follow it!

She still won't believe me! Mel is afraid of the dark! She doesn't like the cold either!

It's been two days, Merric! Do you have any idea what is happening to her right now?

No!

No one does! And no one's going to find out unless we tell your mum the truth! That spellwarrior is just going to waste her time talking to my family! Then he's going to to talk to everyone else in the town! By the time she realizes no one around her knows where she is, it'll be too late!

I'm going to be in so much trouble.

We both are! And it's only going to get worse the longer we wait!

Meet the Phoenix Blade

While the story of The Phoenix Blade is told primarily through the point of view of its leader, Bolreck. The guild is full of various characters with varying levels of development and involvement in the lives of other Comalanians. So, for our next post, I'd like to talk a little about some of the other members of the Phoenix Blade.

Saayuko Dreadkiller

Once a member of a gang of Heronite bandits, Saayuko fled the country after killing the leader of her gang. This monstrous archer, known as the Dread Arrow, was spoken of in whispers by the people of Heron and Tanis alike. Unable to tolerate the brutality he carried with him for any longer, she led him into a trap that caused him to fall to one of his own arrows. While this feat earned her the gratitude of the various regions their gang once terrorized, her resulting fame made her a target of every bandit in Heron. Branded a killer of the free people, she immigrated to the Desmond Foothills of Resta. There, she learned of this new country and began to travel with the local hunting parties. As she began to grow more confident in her safety within the kingdom's borders, she ranged further and further until she had eventually explored the entirety of Resta. Thus began a mercenary career as a retrieval expert, which would eventually lead her into Bolreck's path. As a senior member of the Phoenix Blade, she is known as The Fetcher for her skills in resource acquisition.

Moruay Rainwalker

As the first employee under Bolreck's business in Resta, Moruay Rainwalker would become a founding member of the Phoenix Blade. She was born on the island of Katrine as the daughter of an emissary who frequently treated with the Restan throne. She lives in frequent fear of the Third Archknight because of the ways her father, Ranin, have fallen afoul of him and his friends. This makes things tense between her and Takaa, a longtime friend of Gyanda's. She is otherwise a friendly face to all of the guild. While the guild all affectionately refers to Bolreck and Saayuko as the parents of the guild, Moruay is considered the older sister-- even by Benedicte, who is measurably older than she is. She offers her skills as a survivalist to the guild in the form of fine leather goods for the customers and delicious food for her friends.

Takaa of Ravager

Takaa was once a gunsmith working out of a solitary workshop in the south of Ravager until he crossed paths with Gyanda Maloran. After aiding the magister who would become the Archknight, Takaa set out for Resta in search of further adventure that went beyond hunting dangerous game on his home island. While he continued to aid Gyanda and his friends on multiple occasions, he found a day job as a member of the craftsman's stable that would become the Phoenix Blade. He has an avid disdain for most magic after watching his own brother become devoured by the seductive influence of dark magic but tends to make an exception for people he especially likes, including Gyanda, Volt, and his best friend Oogura. He is also taken with Tir Apollo--not for her Avatar prestige, but for their mutual fascination with engineering.

Oogura of Sister

Oogura was once a disciple of the Landsworn, a druidic cabal devoted to guarding her island's ecosystem from within. While she excelled at blending into her environment, she eventually grew bored with life on Sister. Thirsting with a desire to see the world beyond her shores, she moved to Resta. She stopped first in the capitol's Royal Library in the hopes of gathering knowledge she would need to proceed.  It was there she learned to read and wield a pen from a patient scholar by the name of Melany Winstrom. But as Madam Winstrom began to fall ill, Oogura desperately took a job under Bolreck to take care of her benefactor. While that illness would take the old woman's life, Oogura would find a new home among the newly-founded Phoenix Blade where she applies her skills as a scribe. She is a friendly soul who, unlike Moruay, bonds easily with strangers and often appears as the face of the guild. Her love for everyone in the guild is intense, but far less so than it is for Takaa. Unfortunately this passion is unrequited due to Takaa's attention toward the Avatar of Crane.

Benedicte Zeringue

Prior to his death, Benedicte, or Bene as he is known more casually, made most of his living conning the citizens of Resta City and trying his best to avoid running afoul of the authorities. This is actually how he came to know Bolreck originally, though they wouldn't reunite and become friends until after they both became sai'mul. Though Bene's death greatly increased his talent for dark magic, he still finds ways to profit off of swindling people in addition to charging for genuine goods and magical services. Personality wise, he fancies himself quite the charmer and prides himself on his charisma. Despite his penchant for moral ambiguity, Bene is friendly with the other members of the Phoenix Blade and and generally avoids grifting his own comrades. He is particularly close with guild leader Bolreck, though also notable was his rather close relationship with Eione Astersong prior to her treason. The nature of the relationship was notoriously ambiguous, but those who know him well would be able to detect how hurt the usually-unflappable sai'mul was by Eione's defection.

Zara of Ravager

Like Takaa, Zara hails from the Midanian island of Ravager. Beyond that, his past is largely unknown. He is most notable for his close friendship with the Avatar of Kerun, Voltairine Maloran, and is said to have been her companion for years before she entered the spotlight. Like the Avatar, Zara is known as a free spirit who eschews authority and comes and goes as he pleases, though his entry into the guild along with his then-lover Eione Astersong provided a home base for him. After Eione's departure left him heartbroken, he bonded strongly with his fellow Ravager Takaa, who he spends much of his time with when he isn't abroad. While he cares for Takaa, he harbors a secret desire to uncover the shy engineer's wild side.

Eione Astersong

Once a respected Theian Priestess of Iris Isle, Eione was raised alongside her brother, the famously pious Avatar of Salica, Atunis Astersong. As a girl, she thirsted for knowledge and adventure, though she wouldn't experience this until she ran away from seminary life, traveling Mortanis and embracing her wild side. She would be inducted into the guild alongside her lover at the time, Zara, and quickly win over the rest of the guild with her witty, outgoing nature. Things seemed rosy until her deep curiosity led her to consort, secretly, with a cabal of dark magicians, starting a chain of events that would lead to the betrayal of her brother and the rest of the guild.

Flint Brokamac

Flint Brokamac is an eccentric blacksmith who is believed to be the last living descendant of the ill-fated Brokamac tribe. He lives among the Restans in the hope of gathering information for a hypothetical revenge plot against the killers of his tribe. With this in mind, he does not get along well with Bolreck, Benedicte, or Eione-- he prefers the company of those who did not originate from Resta. Saayuko looks down on him because she doesn't believe he is truly a Brokamac, who were almost certainly wiped out by the Restans with any survivors surely being abandoned by the other houses of Heron. Despite this, Flint works hard at the Phoenix Blade forge because his plot requires money. Too bad he keeps wasting it on ill-considered sports bets. A long-running joke within the compound is that Flint's greatest ambition is to sneak into the equipment manufacturing team for the Freeform Fencing League so he could influence fights with sabotaged swords and finally build up a nest egg large enough to take over Ridge.

Adar "Lugsbonk" Cogfate

Despite the implications of his name, Adar Cogfate is NOT an engineer. He is descended from a long line of researchers at the Fides Academy of Engineering, but to put a machine into his hands is to invite destruction. This inspired his nickname, Lugsbonk. As a technological illiterate, he doesn't get along well with Takaa, who often has to guard his work from the dangerous mishaps that seem to follow him. He looks up to Benedicte because they have a similar passion for alchemy, but the rest of the guild worries that Bene's greed might rub off on him.

Hu-yin Dreamwalker

Hu-yin couldn't have joined the Phoenix Blade at a worse time-- she entered the guild just two months before a disastrous calamity struck their compound and scattered many of its members to various corners of the continent. Despite this, she has stuck around in the hopes of finding adventure under the company's new leadership. Hailing from the Lost Lands far across the ocean to the south of Mortanis, Hu-yin has had a long journey. She continues to press on through the roughest time in the guild's existence in search of a truly epic tale she can someday take back to her homeland. If you were to ask where she came from, though, she would pretend not to remember. The truth behind this faked amnesia is only known to Saayuko who saw through her lies and pulled the truth out of her at knifepoint. Since then, neither woman has revealed the truth to anyone. She is a monk and a scribe by trade.

Can You See Through The Snow?

Did you see the Snow Fox running around outside last night?

Yeah! It was weird to see one of those this far south!

Don't be silly! Obviously, it was a ridgewolf!

Nuh-uh! Ridgewolves are so much bigger! It wasn't much bigger than a field lynx!

How do you know what a field lynx looks like?

We saw some on the way to Gran's last summer for the festival!

That was the best! I wish I could have some firecrab now!

You always change the subject! Stop doing that!

You don't believe us anyway!

Well if you did see a Heronite Snow Fox, what do you reckon it's doing in Resta?

I don't know! It was kind of just poking around for something in the snow!

That's not all! It looked up and saw I was watching it and it just stared at me!

Animals do that when humans are looking at them. It must've thought you were going to attack it!

I wasn't, though!

Oh, I'm sure! But the animal wouldn't know!

I think it did, though! We stared at each other for a long time. Then it started to spin!

What do you mean "it started to spin"?

It was just walking around in a circle! It always lowered its head when it faced my direction, but lifted its nose when it was looking to the north!

Maybe it wanted to show you something! Did you see what it was pointing towards when it was looking up?

Ridiculous! There was a blizzard last night! Can you see through the snow?

Lenny's right, brother! I couldn't see anything!

Maybe it wanted you to follow it!

In a blizzard?

Argh! You're right! Why couldn't it come when it was actually safe to go out?

I heard Snow Foxes are tricksters. It was probably only trying to lead you to your death.

And what if you were right about it being a ridgewolf?

If it's a ridgewolf, it could be a spellwarrior's companion, trying to lead someone to their master in distress. If you see it again, you should just tell your mum and be done with it.

But what if it's something else! Mum told us about a wolf that led a girl just like you to a legendary spear that she used to hold back the worst blizzard in history!

That was just a bedtime story, Merric! Don't believe everything you hear!

If it was a snow fox, it has to be here for a reason! If you see it again, you HAVE to follow it!

I don't know what I'm going to do yet, or even if it's even going to show up again! No sense arguing about it now!

Mel's right! We're here for a game! Now... whose turn is it?

Blood Magic Codex

Hey guys! The new job has been kicking my head in this week so the weekend post this time is actually a re-post from our Patreon page! Subscribe now for more Comalan content and enjoy this glimpse into the abilities of a blood mage!

Notable Spells

Blood Blade- The caster focuses their blood into the shape of a blade that can cut through anything with ease. Additional blood added to the spell can increase the size and even number of blades, creating a sinister and powerful close range offense.

Blood Drain- A mid-range spell which allows the caster to drain any nearby blood. While it is possible to draw blood from any open wound, it is considered an ethical obligation to only draw blood that’s already on the ground. Blood taken from this spell is drawn into the caster’s body, increasing their vitality and providing additional resources for their more powerful spells.

Blood Scrying- Using someone else’s blood, a caster trained in Intalan magic can see into the past of the person who owned said blood. This spell is notably used to discover the circumstances which led to the blood being spilled.

Blood Shield- A significant amount of the caster’s blood is used to create a dense shield that rivals solid steel in its strength and is most effective as long as the caster doesn't move. Additional blood added to the spell can expand its radius, creating the perfect defense.

Circulatory Purification- This healing spell is capable of curing nearly any blood-borne illness. It is activated by making a small incision from which to draw blood, then stimulating the patient’s blood vessels to push out any toxins or harmful microbes. A tiny bit of the caster’s own blood is then used to speed up the healing of their incision.

Corrosion- The caster imbues some of their blood with a corroding power that can quickly dissolve armor and flesh more efficiently even than Maulan toxins. This power is speculated to be a threat even to the gods since the Fourth Archknight used it to defeat the Second Avatar of Chaos.

Phlebotomy Grenade- A unique spell developed by Gyanda Maloran in which an exploding lump of blood is lobbed at an enemy. The shrapnel resembles countless tiny blood blades, which embed themselves in anything nearby. If the shrapnel makes contact with someone else’s blood, a vacuous force drains the victim of all of their blood through their wounds. This spell is described as a combination of the blood drain and blood blade spells enhanced with Arcane magic.

Transformations

Spellwarriors who are trained in blood magic can find their signature transformations altered by the foreign blood they imbibe with the blood drain spell.

• Bloodfist Style- Silverfist transformations become incredibly deadly when imbued with blood magic as their fists take on the property of blood blades, allowing their punches to penetrate any defense.
• Bloodhawk Style- Phoenix transformations combined with blood magic increase both their destructive and healing power. While phoenix wingbeats would usually drop motes of fire that burn their foes and heal their allies, the bloodhawk instead unleashes splashes of blood that apply Corrosion to enemies while accelerating the natural healing of their allies.
• Bloodtusk Style- When a blood mage transforms into a pachyderm, their rough skin becomes reinforced with the power of a blood shield, making them nearly impervious to harm without sacrificing any mobility.

The Skysworn

By the light of the kilg, Comalan's sun, there is a cabal of warriors who swear to uphold the values of Tanis' Serene culture. Based in Fort Kieransgard, the elves of the Skysworn are a counterpart to Resta's templars, differing primarily in their solitary focus on Doctrines of Serenity. All Serene Doctrines are represented, namely Tranquility, Love, Dreams and-- to a much lesser extent-- Shadows. Those who join the Skysworn are taught to live by a particular ideal; all life in Tanis is to be protected. This informs various responsibilities including nature conservation, hunting for casters of dark magic native to the Bog of Anguish, offering safe harbor to Restan and Galean pilgrims, and collaborating with rangers to protect the land from their Heronite enemies.

This order owes its origins to a Restan templar by the name of Kieran Hawke, who once saved Tanis while escorting a group of pilgrims from his monastery in the year 2E87. He was unaware of the dangers of the Bog of Anguish, and so attempted to lead his people through it to Boggarde so that they may pay homage at a Serene temple there. This might have ended in the death or corruption of his entire group if not for a chance encounter with a ranger from Medear named Nalan. It was she who led the Templars safely through the bog, skirting known locations of sinister magical activity. Upon reaching their destination, Kieran bestowed a gift of prayer beads engraved with the markings of the Shadow Doctrine. Nalan initially rejected this gift for its association with Chaos, but a long and respectful discussion ultimately convinced her that the Shadow Doctrine was just as much a part of Serenity's wisdom as it was the war god's.

With the acolytes' charge to pray at the Boggarde temple completed, Kieran would thank his new elven friend once more before setting off toward Medear on a journey that would lead them back to Resta. Along the way, they would encounter an army of demons that bog witches had been cultivating in secret for over three decades. Although the rangers expected him to escape in order to protect his charges, Kieran led the acolytes to join the rangers in defense of Boggarde. While many acolytes would distinguish themselves as strong candidates for priesthood and knighthood in the ensuing battle, Kieran alone suffered a mortal wound from the horn of a crazed fever morph that took the form of a human-bull hybrid.

Understanding that this wound would finish him, Kieran surrendered his body to the gods for a powerful blast of divine energy that eradicated the remaining demons and rent a massive hole in the forest canopy. Elves who studied this miracle would find traces of Serenity in its aftermath as it opened up the sky not by harming the treeline above, but shoving thee branches aside. This exposed part of the Bog of Anguish to the sky for the first time and inspired many rangers to declare the site of this battle holy land. They would build a tower in this spot that reached beyond the treeline and swore to honor their newfound hero by adopting some virtues of his order. The Blackstone Order would send a commendation to the garrison of this new tower fifty years later, declaring them the Skysworn, Tanisian allies of the Blackstone Order. Nalan accepted this honor as the Skysworn's first Grand Master, pledging to uphold the honor that Kieran Hawke showed as a templar.

Tales of the Starlight Crusade: The Watch List

The walls of the Morta nearly vibrated with activity in the midst of its pre-launch testing. Between the hum of its engines and the frantic pounding of footsteps from Restan soldiers still working out where they needed to be, this was the only time Ellie could get aboard unseen. As the vice-captain of the fleet's recently-designated flagship, she could have requested access to the information she required easily through the fleet commander, but the captain she was dealing with was quite tricky. Going through the normal channels seemed like the thing any Avatar would insist on, but with two so firmly opposed, she couldn't trust any information Captain Maloran freely gave her. The Archknight had to be making moves against Tir ever since she began to insist her mentor's betrayal was not dealt of his own will. There was no way she could find evidence by demanding to see his files upfront.

The Windlord stopped just before entering the Tactical Information Terminus to apply a new Lightbend mantra to herself before she became visible again. Then, she took in a sharp breath and rushed in after Clint, the Morta's own vice-captain, just as they had arranged. Every move she made had to be perfect. Even if Sir Maloran lacked the fully-honed senses of any other spellwarrior, he would more than make up for it with a mountain of external security measures.

Esia, she quickly murmured, causing her eyes to glow with the magic that would allow her to see other magic.

As she thought, the walls were lined with similar glyphs to the one inscribed on her mantra. Hugging the walls would probably dispel her magic and make her visible once more. Worse still, she also spotted magical-cantrips on the ceiling which were likely invisible to the naked eye. These traps would probably spring on any cluster of magical energy that passed beneath it. This explained the sign outside forbidding the use of magic on the bridge, which was ironically unique to the ship owned by a kingdom that virtually founded the practice of magic. Ellie wanted to curse as she studied the area above the captain's chair. It was surrounded by these traps, so approaching it herself or even collecting the tablet she so desperately needed with her wind powers wouldn't work.

Carefully maneuvering around the cantrips, she sneaked into the launch bay for the Voidwalker and Hermes armor units and opened one of the lockers within. Inside, she found the uniform for a bridge officer that would suit her needs. She removed her own yellow-trimmed coat and sash and replaced it with the white-trimmed coat that was specific to this ship. Then she removed her mantra and applied a quick glamour to make her hair dark brown, thinking that the rampant use of such magic would be enough reason for the Archknight to make an exception for it. With a more presentable appearance, she strode back onto the bridge casually, but with purpose. Sure that no one was paying attention to her, she made a beeline for the captain's chair. Gyanda nearly turned in her direction as she passed, but was quickly distracted by Clint, who had stopped to ask him something about the navigational synchronization tests that she herself would be involved in later.

Ellie picked up the command tablet and, with the code she was supplied by Clint, scrolled quickly to find what she needed. Within moments, she found the security code that would allow her into the Captain's Office. She then swabbed the chair with a blank Identify mantra and returned to the launch bay to retrieve her original uniform and apply a new Lightbend mantra. She then crept surely through the ship until she found the source of her quarry. With the Identify mantra wrapped around her wrist, she punched in the security code and, with the panel believing she was the captain, the door slid open.

Rifling through his files was full of enlightening information about the Restans who served on the Morta's crew, but that was not her concern. It would take her ten minutes, twice as long as she would have liked, to find what she was looking for. Here, sandwiched between two innocuous personnel files, was a list of some crewmembers from across the fleet that Gyanda had marked as potential sympathizers of the so-called "Betrayer". The Commander's name topped this list of course, she found her own name as well as that of Clint plus dozens of Galeans, Restans, and Tanisians all helpfully coded by which ship they served on. Curiously, she found the name of an S-rated soldier known only as Bolreck who was serving as a mercenary for the Amologra. As far as she had been able to gather, Broger had never had any contact with this man, but her investigation only went back fifty years. Could the two sai'mul have met each other in life? If so how did Gyanda get access to this information before the windlords?

Troubled with the notion that Gyanda might have been any number of steps ahead of her, she put the list to a Copy mantra and escaped the ship as quickly as possible. Though this list didn't say much about the Archknight's plans, what she found needed to be reported to Tir as soon as possible.

It Comes for Those Who Don't Run Part 16

Back to the Beginning

Previous

Aennin's day of drinking with Katim and Landah was a fateful one in that it seemed to start a tradition. From that point on, Aennin would be compelled to sit down at the bar for a round of flux whiskey whenever there was no work for him to do. This soon became a nearly weekly occurrence with mixed results. Even on the worst days, it was hard to complain because he was paid for his time and didn't need to do much besides stay conscious-- which was immediately paid into his family's debt. As he considered this during a particularly raucous occasion two months later, he thought to ask how much he and his sister still owed them.

Katim shrugged moodily. The flux wine had not been strong with him that day. "I don't carry the damned bill around with me! I only see on it pay days when I'm striking your month's pay from it."

Aennin frowned and slapped his glass on the table, which Landah quickly refilled. "I feel like I should know this information! Where do you keep the bill?"

Katim took a deep gulp straight from the bottle. "Gods damn! Why do we still drink this stuff? I'm not going to get it right now and you're not going into my office. If you want to know, ask your sister. She pesters me about it every month, so I can't imagine anyone more likely to remember your debt than her."

"It's about time for her shift," Landah slurred lazily. "You could-- you should go ask her now and check.. check on her. See if she's gonna be here."

"She'd better be," Katim growled before smashing the bottle behind the bar. "I'm not paying her to leave us high and dry in the week before Tey Bola ul Handeen. There are going to be hundreds of people pouring in! I might have to stick an apron to you two and put you both to work as well!"

"This one'd look good in the serving uniform," Landah said as he threw an arm around Aennin and pulled him in. "Imagine how much we could make with a red-haired version of Kana!"

Aennin ducked under Landah's arm and shot him a venemous glare while Katim said, "Those legs are for running, not for showing, you idiot!" Turning to Aennin, he added, "You seem to be doing better than this drunken lech right now. Maybe you could put those legs to work right now and get your sister. The first wave of celebrants will start pouring in any minute!"

"All I'm saying is if we're going to pay him to get drunk here, he may as well be making us money!" Landah protested. 

Whatever was said after that, Aennin didn't wait to hear. He darted out of the bar before Landah could start sizing him up for a skirt and jogged home as quickly as his drink-addled body could carry him. He took a shortcut he had discovered over months of repeating this route in order to avoid any nosy guards. He stumbled into the house to find Kana sitting on his mother's old armchair with a stony expression on her face.

"Have fun?" she said waspishly.

"Another day, another handful of gold," Aennin said weakly as he fell into the sofa.

"I'm not sure being drinking buddies with our mom's killer is what I'd call work," Kana hissed with hardly concealed contempt.

"Nor is getting your ass pinched by his customers," Aennin said a little hotly. "But we do what we must to get him off our case. How much do we still owe, anyway?"

"Nine hundred and fifty seven promises as of yesterday," Kana said with her face contorted in anger. "How much are you getting paid to drink with Katim and Landah?"

"Five a day," Aennin replied with a sigh. "Half what I make for each delivery. Fair, considering I don't actually do any work when I'm there."

"I wouldn't socialize with those two for ten times that much!" Kana snapped.

"It's not like I have a choice! We agreed that we'd do whatever they want until they wipe our debt," Aennin shot back. "Don't judge me for having a few drinks! I'm lucky they don't make me shuffle around the pub, serving drinks in the same uniform you wear! And considering what I just went through, I do mean that literally! Talk about something they couldn't pay me to do!"

"Yes, it's humiliating, but how do you think that makes me feel?" Kana shouted as she jumped out of the chair. "I'm angry every damned day! And I use that to motivate me to actually pay this damn debt and put this behind me! How are you supposed to do that if you become friends with these monsters?

"I'M NOT THEIR FRIEND!" Aennin roared, kicking the sofa over in a rage as he jumped to his feet as well. "I'm not getting close to Katim because I admire him, I'm doing it because I want him DEAD!"

Kana let out a gasp of shock. "You're not... planning to kill him, are you?"

Realizing his mistake, he shook his head. "No! I just--"

"I need to go to work," Kana said as she grabbed her apron from the coat rack and hurried to the door. "Whatever you're doing, forget about it! We never talked about this!"

Kana slammed the door in her haste to get away, leaving Aennin alone to contemplate what had just happened. Of course he wasn't going to kill Katim, he was waiting for Maula to do it! She wanted him to learn something from his employer, but the fact that Katim still drew breath meant he still had yet to learn it. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time by spending it in the way he had and what it would take to see his tormentor dead.