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[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Now that you mention it, he seemed rather protective of his memoirs. If we read them, perhaps there might have been something in there to explain what Vaster was hiding. Still, I doubt we'll get to see hide nor hair of it, now that we can't go back there for about a year."

[Lucus Casius]

  "Damn it all.  I should have kept ahold of them.  But he seemed too eager to confront Mordo to have something to do with what you describe.  Unless..."

Martyn frowned, resting his chin in his hand.  Unless?  Most of the reasons he could think of seemed far too far-fetched to be plausible.  Certainly not if one only expected to achieve economic sanctions.  He shook his head, discarding the notion.  Save one, at least.

  "The people of Viterine are known for their craftsmanship.  It may be that they supplied the weapons to Mordo in the first place, and possibly have the means to produce more.  It wouldn't surprise me if their king was holding on to some as a tool of last resort."

  "Regardless, a few men might be able to move in Mordo without attracting notice, even armed as we are.  But even if we were to succeed, we wouldn't have the resources to act much beyond it; this man's estate may be well defended, but if they have black sites where they're continuing this research, we couldn't assault them alone.  We still need allies."

  "Even if only of convenience."

[GiglameshDespair]

"All this talkin' of yer murderswords 's all very well. Ain't much' elp, though, iffn we can't do anythin' 'bout it. They got any 'andy weaknesses, then?' Sides from the 'ole kill-yerself-usin'-'em thing."

[CrimsonEon]

Kaldach's scowl creased further for a moment.
: "They were well aware of the problem of them seeking out blood, even if it was their owner's. Along with empowering the user to inhuman heights, like they tried for me, they wanted to reduce the risk of using them as well. They didn't make it far on that front while I was still there."
: "...At least, I don't remember the bright idea of feeding them a steady diet of the wielder's blood getting any results."
: "That doesn't count out the chance that they found something, though." The swordsman paused apprehensively, eyes focused on the sword in front of him for a moment, "As far as weaknesses go... They weren't generous souls looking to hand out power like it was nothing. They were also looking for a method to ensure compliance. Something that would force their soldiers to their will, or at least snuff them out if they defected. Like with tamping down the self-stabbing, they didn't get far while I was there. But unlike the other projects, their progress wasn't nothing."

[Lucus Casius]

  "I take it, from your tone, that these methods were more extensive than taking the victims' loved ones hostage."

[CrimsonEon]

Kaldach mouth altered between his grimace and a grit of his teeth a couple times, before he closed his eyes and settled with a heavy sigh.
: "...And here's what I meant when I said I need to keep you up on all the risks of keeping me around."

Lifting up his hand underneath the bangs hanging over his right eye, he seemed to take a few moments adjusting something about his eye underneath. A few moments later, he pulled the hair in front of it to the side of his face.
: "...Their 'contributions' weren't just about the weapons."
Underneath, at a casual glance, it would appear as if the entirety of his right eye was replaced by a hole of blackened skin, as if only an empty void backed by charcoal remained. But the flickering of the fire in front of them made apparent the gloss of an intact eye, the sclera nearly as black as the iris itself. Kaldach struggled to keep his eyelid open during the few seconds, the lack of moisture on the surface doing nothing to keep the stinging air away. Settling his hair back onto his face and taking a moment to settle away the irritation, he continued.
: "Mordo is one of the best places to learn Light Magic. It's also somewhere where its properties are merrily explored. They didn't manage to get to where they could control someone's loyalties outright or kill themselves if they were taken. But they settled for the next best thing. With a burst of light into a prepared mind, they could, for a few seconds, drive the target mad."

[GiglameshDespair]

"So we gotta watch out for yer goin' nuts iffn someone flashes yer."
She paused for a moment and then snorted.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"How long were you holding that one in for?"

[GiglameshDespair]

"Dunno what yer talkin' 'bout, blueberry."

[CrimsonEon]

Kaldach heaved a sigh at Roux's summary, but continued anyway.
: "...Right. Anyway, Mordo possesses a large number of Monks and Bishop among its number. And I can't even guarantee that they haven't developed some way to actually control those they put this curse on. It'd be a massive risk to keep me around by the time you start dealing with them in full."
: "So. If at any point I look like too much of a liability, say the word. We'll go our separate ways, you won't have to deal with me again, and there won't be any hard feelings."

[Lucus Casius]

  "That bridge can be crossed when we come to it.  But we won't drive a man away for fear of tyrants."

Martyn rolled his shoulders and stood, starting to pace around the fire.

  "I'm ill inclined to allow Mordo to tamper with the minds of anyone.  Particularly not if they think to drive them beyond the point of insanity and thus force them into slavery.  If they have made advancements in their efforts, and if they think to use our people as chattel for their experiments, then we will need to make haste."

  "They must not be allowed to continue."

[Stirk]

"..."


In a rare moment of what could be considered clarity, Brock remembers a conversation from what feels like a lifetime ago.

"Mordo really does know how to control minds. At least a little. Enough to drive a man mad with their accursed magic. You don't need fancy swords to go crazy in a fight, I'm living proof of that. Could they be using this curse for something more? Something like... turning a king mad and causing him to invade a country?"

[CrimsonEon]

Leaning back, Kaldach looks aside at Brock.
: "Maybe. But they were only barely able to use it on me, and even then for only seconds. I don't think they would've managed to do so on the late King for long enough to lead a war. We don't have any evidence on it right now, but who knows."

Slanting his mouth, the swordsman exhales steadily.
: "Anyway, that's about everything I know. What you do with that knowledge from here is up to you all."
: "And, Sharne..? Sorry for taking up your time. Thanks for staying to listen."

[Swordstar]

Sharne stared at the ground for a few long seconds before finally speaking up,

"The explanation is appreciated. But if you expect people to be able to trust you and want to work with you, you can't shove them away until you're basically forced to explain yourself. That doesn't do anything to fix the gap that you created before all of this."

She stood up, still not looking over at him, and walked away, not trusting herself to say anything more without falling apart. It was all too much. Why hadn't he said something before now? It wasn't like she hadn't asked. Like she hadn't pushed for him to explain what was going on. But no, from the start it had been a secret and who was to say there wasn't more being hidden still? Just because he seemed to be open... No. It was too late. She would keep on protecting him, because her honor demanded it, but that was it. If he wanted to let himself be killed by that stupid sword, so be it. She was done trying.

[CrimsonEon]

Kaldach remained entirely silent as Sharne walked away. Only when she was safely out of earshot, a bitter-toned mutter escaped the swordsman's throat.
: "...I'll still never get you. But if you're still alive at the end of this, I won't need to."