"And such a weak human... shouldn't have..."
"...even found his way here..."
A trace of unconcealable confusion flickered through Tilda's inhuman, narrow eyes.
Yet when her gaze swept over Fivik, the halfling behind He Xi, and the oddly styled black cloak He Xi wore, that confusion swiftly turned to wariness.
"Let them come over," she instructed the guards blandly.
As the group approached, Tilda's gaze shifted away from He Xi at the front and finally settled on the halfling behind him. Her tone was inscrutable. "Welcome to Tilda's Curio Cabinet... guests from afar."
"Madam Tilda." He Xi gave a slight bow and chose to get straight to the point. "We have come for that... exhibit. May I ask why he is imprisoned here?"
Tilda's brow arched slightly. Clearly, this question surprised her even more.
She stared at He Xi for several seconds before drawling, "He broke his promise."
"A promise?" He Xi pressed. "What promise did he make to you?"
"He doesn't even remember it himself." A distinct note of displeasure entered Tilda's voice, as though Fletcher's forgetfulness itself were an enormous affront. "It has even lowered his value as an exhibit by quite a bit."
Apparently too lazy to explain further, she merely snapped her fingers casually in the direction of the cage.
An invisible restraint came undone.
"Now you can speak. Tell your companions what you promised me back then."
Fletcher in the cage seemed to awaken from a dream. He opened his mouth, staring blankly at He Xi and the others before looking in terror at Tilda in her chair. His voice trembled. "I... I don't know... I don't remember anything."
"How boring." Tilda gave a soft snort.
A wisp of Ghostly Light spilled from her fingertips and rapidly spread through the air before her.
Light and