One night before the slaying of the Gaint Ethelred finds a moment to talk with Ezrin.
“Ezrin, you come to us with some knowledge from the Collegium. What do they say of Alexis? I am curious how I will be received when we return. And knowing more about how Alexis is viewed might be helpful.”
One of the many days working on the ballista Ethelred ask Alexis a question that has been on reds mind for a while now.
“Much have we spoken on what to do, or not to do, with regards to Telosh. When I do come before the Collegium, what will I say about my journey to magic. Not only is it directly tied to the story of Telosh, but it also has elements of a chaos birth, of feeling my way. And while I a more… Disciplined that Telosh I am still not… Legitimate. Ezrin has .ade it very clear that I am not… Right.. proper.. and that it will take some serious treasure to make things right.. or at least make them passable.”
Shortly after Ezrin joins the group, Alexis finds himself alone with Gustav and Ethelred.
“Just so we’re clear, we’re not saying anything about Telosh and his penchant for magic meddling. If you have any questions, say nothing and send them to me.”
Alexis makes it clear with body language that he’s talking about not talking to any member of the Collegium about Telosh’s use of magic.
Alexis looks between the two of them and then settles his eyes on Ethelred. “Is that clear?”
Upon arriving at The Tree Fortress, Ezrin is rather wide-eyed, but takes it in stride and unrolls his bedroll in a spot on the second floor.
After things settle down and a bit and the Aegirian ranger and… apprentice are busy, Ezrin approaches Alexis.
“I have so many questions Colleague… perhaps though, I should start here… what is this place?”
The Sutheroni mage gestures expansively at the massive trees around them.
After asking Telosh about his theories on the forced bird connection, Gustav privately goes to Alexis for his opinion:
“What happened there. Why do you think Telosh forced a connection between me and the bird against my will? I didn’t want that troublemaking bird to follow me or rely on me for anything. Telosh already knew my feelings of the crow, Do you think he was possessed by a demon who cast spells against his will? Or did he let in the demon?”
Gustav seems to be seething thinking about it again.
“It seems like it might not have been his choice, but he wanted a connection between me and the bird before the possession. Maybe the demon stole his desires and spilled them all over the veiled world.”
Gustav looks at the crow which is cawing nearby and kicks a rock near it.
During one of the meals after the group has retreated from the “chaos river of rage and eternal hunger”. The group is discussing the significance of the white owl, while it is not around. This discussion is some time after Alexis has studied the owl with Avv’s sight.
“There is a strong possibility the owl is tied to Hood. And given the weird alliance between Hood and Ty-Lin, if your near-death dreams can be believed Telosh,” Alexis says with obvious good-natured humor in his voice “then perhaps this owl is also connected to Ty-Lin, although hard to imagine how.”
“The dreams I had seemed to have little to do with what scholars and priests call ‘Hood’ and ‘Ty-Lin’.”
In a moment with Alexis, when Ethelred is busy elsewhere.
“Alexis, we need more than just the ballista. We were successful with both the dragon and The… Pit because we worked together and because we used more than one…tool.
“we need need to do more that just one thing. Immobilizing it, or at least slowing it down would be good. Spike traps, deadfall, and giant-sized snares too, I bet there are other things we could to do too that I’m not thinking of, but
I’m getting ahead of us though, what do we already know about the giant?
It ignores us if we play dead? At least as long as there are other things for it to worry about. It stinks. It has three arms. It has a lair. What else do we need to know? It’s movement pattern? Where along it’s path is best to set our ambush?
“Alexis, what do you know about sleeping gods? I overheard mention at the Five Winds that TyLin is sleeping? The Hungry Voice said She had abandoned me… She’s certainly more distant than… Others, but…”
While the group is at the spring talking about what to do regarding the four horsemen.
“The last time someone wanted me specifically, rather than The Crimson Calling as a whole, was Creepy Doll and the undead wanting my key. Before that was Barra because of my memory of giving the eyes to Lady Sofia.” Alexis gives a nervous shrug.
“With the eyes retrieved, the key seems to be the most likely culprit. Any other ideas?”
Sometime during the first week after the closing of the pit-of-three-evils Alexis approaches Gustav.
“Thanks for being there, when things were looking the darkest with the Arru-Noroth.” Alexis clasps Gustav meaningfully on the shoulder and locks eyes with him for a moment to let him know how much it meant.