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Bright Dusk Soft
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>What do spirits do? What do shamans do?
In truth, I know very little of all there is to know. I have met many kinds of spirits in my time, and there are probably countless more. Most common are those whose nature is bound up with certain fixed objects, such as those of forest, mountain, or bog. But I suspect you are among the spirits of the air, Skirihi as we call them, moving freely but without power to move aught else, or to observe except by the medium of a shaman such as myself.
In theory, a shaman, or zahukiki, serves as the clan’s ambassador to the other world, maintaining the good favor of the local spirits. The work is dangerous and even in the absence of catastrophic failure, constant exposure to the outer realms takes a toll on the practitioner’s sanity after a time, as you can see hehe… In practice, there is a great temptation to go further than what is prescribed, to seek to bargain for knowledge and power. Which leads me to the next question.
>Why am I in prison?
Not for what I have done, so much as what I might do. Rishira began to doubt my loyalties some time ago, and rightly so. I should have hidden my activities more thoroughly. No one can serve two masters, and a warlock’s loyalty is sold beyond hope of redemption. Still, my talents are useful enough that I am worth keeping alive.
>Explain your designs for the human.
We were locked in here apart from the other prisoners. I doubt it was chance, for I could not persuade Rishira to spare him without admitting the cause of my interest. We were probably placed together and kept under surveillance, in the hopes that I would reveal more. It seems like something Azirak would do.
The human’s arrival here was foreseen, I do not know how. He is important for some reason. Important enough that I was promised release from my pact, in exchange for persuading the templar to seal one of his own. It is a rare thing for a warlock to be released, especially so close to death as I am. He has been reluctant, but I can sense his curiosity and ambition are getting the better of him.
>How do I plan to escape? Is there a waste chute nearby?
We tried to dig our way out earlier. The plan was to hide the excavated dirt in yonder chamber pot, thus getting the slaves to carry it out for us. They caught on and thereafter they learned to just dump the refuse in the hole we’d dug. It was an effective deterrent, and we have not attempted it since.
Perhaps an opportunity will present itself once we are nearer the surface.
>Can you help solve magic puzzles?
Well, there is…
wait...
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