abraxaslogs | ( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

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( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

WHO: Stephen, Thancred, & Yennefer
WHAT: Three individuals go on a quest to help perpetuate better magical monitoring of the Singularity!
WHERE: ALL OVER THORNE
WHEN: End of March into mid-April.
WARNINGS: Some eventual monster-related violence and injury! But nothing else for now; will add as needed.

(( quest info here ))

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[ For now, any talk of what the Singularity may or may not do is merely speculation. They will have to be ready for any possibility, whether it's yet another monster attack or something that might take critical thinking to solve. Or they're all simply being paranoid, but better paranoid than unprepared. Or so Thancred believes.

The watch isn't acting up thus far, and so while Thancred does not necessarily let his guard down, he refocuses on pinpointing where they'll need to set up the device. It should be where the road starts to narrow between the lake and the forest, which is a short ride ahead of them.

As Stephen brings up their future, which is returning to the castle and that lifestyle — both the good and the bad — Thancred shifts in the saddle to look back at him. ]

Neither of you seem too thrilled by that prospect. And yet none of us opted to move elsewhere during the summit. [ He's already questioned Yennefer to some degree on this, though that had been back when they barely knew each other. He doubts she'd given him an entirely truthful or complete answer at the time. ] I assume you both have your own reasons for that, and intentions when it comes to Thorne.

[ It's a means of opening that discussion, their final chance to converse on such matters openly before they're back in a gilded cage of sorts, where they can never be entirely certain that they're not being monitored. They will always have the Horizon, at least, but this feels even more open than that. ]

If fate could be tempted, Stephen, we've already crossed that line.

[ but her eyes do linger on the watch, on the curiosity she's built up around this entire quest. some of the devices had, indeed, interacted in different ways with the singularity. the distance, the readings, the chaos in the air. but this will be the closest they've come, though hardly the closest yennefer has been. of course, they also have to take into account that once this device is set up, they will have completed them, and then what? will their connection, their locations, all sync together? will the pattern have anything to say? it's interesting, that each of the points have been relatively close to borders, but...

thancred's question, though, tugs yennefer's attention away from whatever theorizing she may have fallen victim to, a kind of tension shooting back through her as she sits upon her horse. it's an old habit, to slip back behind that wall and to answer the question with flippancy and only partial truths, but. well. after all of this, after these weeks on the road and the lengths they've all gone to. after the way yennefer is dreading this, if only because she's not confident in what this, whatever this is between all of them, will remain at the same level once they return.

she supposes here would be as good a place as any.

her gaze shifts over her shoulder to stephen, to see if there is any way to tell what he's thinking, if there really is more to his decision, or if he too feels safe enough to really say it, before her eyes shift to thancred - the violet in them bright, the expression...well. ]

You asked me that back at the Summit. [ she starts, her lips curling up ever so slightly. it's only a partial tease, before that curl settles back into something more serious. ] And it was truth, though only one part of it. [ her attention turns back to the road, to the short distance they have left. she lets out a breath, her decision made. ]

You've both heard of the Summoned Relena, yes?

[Thancred’s implied question is not very veiled at all — why did they chose to remain in Thorne, when the weight of returning to the castle feels vaguely burdensome? The simplest solution would be to leave, and it isn’t like they weren’t given the chance to do so, free of consequences. In Stephen’s case, his choice was more complicated than that, and it stands to reason the same applies to the two of them. At the end of their long journey, he feels confident that their rationale may not be so distant from his own.

But Yennefer takes the reins of the conversion with a leading question, and Stephen frowns. Yes, he knows that name — it was floated to him by Sam, who was kind enough to summarize the ever-growing list of notable events transpiring before his arrival in Abraxas. The name Relena was hard to forget, given the story connected to it.]

One of the Summoned kept in the castle dungeons, right? I heard something about an experiment performed at the Queen’s request. An attempt to remove her connection to the Singularity and transplant it into a native.

[Needless to say… that’s troublesome. Makes him wonder what it would take for the Queen to get a similar idea into her head, even though she keeps no more Summoned prisoners.]

I also heard that didn’t turn out great for either of them.

[ Yes, Thancred has heard the name. Himeka had told him about this incident back when they first met up at the summit, though not every detail. It hadn't felt safe to speak openly then. He straightens in his saddle, the only sign of any shock he feels as Stephen adds the missing details.

They'd experimented on that young girl, one who Himeka had taken under her wing. They'd tried to shift her connection to the Singularity to someone else. And apparently it had failed. ]

I hadn't heard the full story, but I was aware of it, yes. I know she was also involved in arranging a means of escape for those other Summoned who had been locked up by Thorne.

[ It spoke of a great strength, especially in one so young. It's how Himeka and Estinien had been able to escape to Solvunn, along with countless others who had either gone to the settlements or the Free Cities. Not Yennefer, though. She'd opted to stay.

Because of this Relena, and what had happened to her? Did Yennefer want to get to the bottom of what the Queen had planned, or did she want to ensure such a thing was never done again? Thancred watches her, even as he brings his horse into a slower trot so that he can dismount. They're just about at the spot where they need to set up the device. ]

[ it does not come as any sort of surprise that they both would have others to tell them of earlier events. there were still a number of summoned who have been here since the beginning, though the number did seem to keep dwindling as time went on. without really trying to, she thinks of jaskier and geralt, of their few close related summoned who remained.

she's thankful, in a way, that they at least know the basics. that she doesn't have to go that far, with her explanations. as they come close to the spot they have left to set up the final device, yennefer continues, the flippancy to her tone a bit forced. ]

That had been only a couple of months since the Summoned had first arrived- already, the Queen was undergoing experiments, proving that her loyalty has always been, and will always be, her people over us. [ they continue to slow, their horses moving from the trot to a walk. yennefer considers, for a brief moment, exactly what all she wants to say. what she is trying to say, that she had so obviously failed to communicate to geralt just a few weeks prior. she takes a breath. ]

The other factions have their own ideas of the Singularity and how to treat the Summoned, yes, but Thorne at present is the only one who is motivated to study, to use it and us as a tool. Queen Ellya has already proven that the Singularity, and the Summoned's direct connection to it, is of interest to her. And, at present, she is the one with the most power and capability to do something with that interest, whether it's at the expense of her own people, or us. [ power. that is what it comes down to, isn't it? the power that she has. the influence she holds onto. how her hands reach across borders, across the continent, in a variety of ways.

they come to a stop, finally, and yennefer gets down off her horse. she could continue, if she wanted to - about the theories she has, the fears she harbors, the half-truths of why she'd chosen to remain in thorne twice now. twice. even, as they both can put together, at great risk. ]

I- [ i have others who i care about. but even then the words get caught. this is harder than she imagined, and for a brief moment yennefer just. pauses. ]

[Power is often what it comes down to. Power and control. In a sense, he is aware that they are perpetuating that Thornean desire by agreeing to this mission in the first place. What else are they doing, after all, than aiding the kingdom in its study, helping it garner information that may instigate further troublesome decisions from the Queen in the future?

But again, he suspects the answer as to why is shared between them all. Yennefer doesn’t even have to finish her statement; he thinks of the people he knows from his world. Those who remain closer than others, those who are still distant, it doesn’t matter. They do not need to be caught up in this power struggle, much less fall victim to the newest covert line of experimentation the current royalty might warrant for them.

At least in Thorne they can remain informed. At least they have a better chance of seeing it coming.]

It’s the “us” part that bothers you, isn’t it?

[He urges her on, gently.]

[ Yennefer speaks with familiarity of Queen Ellya, even calling her by name, and Thancred can only assume that she's had direct audiences with her. Perhaps even more than one. How close has seen been able to get, thus far? To what lengths has she gone to prove her "loyalty"?

The real question is why the likes of Ambrose and Queen Ellya would assume that any of the Summoned would ever truly serve them. If they have any sense, they must assume that all of them have ulterior motives. You don't kidnap someone and then expect them to simply forgive and forget. Or if they do, then they are truly foolish.

The worst possibility is that eventually these factions will find means of making them comply, by threatening them or those dear to them. It's what the Garlean Empire had done, taking prisoners of war and then forcing them into service, leaving them with little other option.

Thancred hops down from his horse, a bit forcefully, but then turns to slide his hands over the beast's flank, calming it. He looks up to where Yennefer sits, his eyes tight and his mouth pressed into a thin line. ]

Thorne is the greatest threat to the Summoned, in your eyes. That's why you haven't left.

[ It's not as if she's wrong, either, from what Thancred understands. The Free Cities may have a strong military force, but that is for waging war against Thorne, rather than against the Summoned. Solvunn may wish for the Summoned to take on their beliefs and respect toward the Old Gods, but as far as he's aware, that hasn't turned into a threat as of yet. ]

[ it always does come down to power. power and control. those have been the deciding factor's in yennefer's own life, absolutes that she has followed, that she works within, whether it be the courts or her own magic or the chaos of a budding war. here, too, it comes down to those simple elements - those simple truths. thorne wishes to study the singularity, to understand its power, for what will in the end by their own gains. yennefer had made the direct decision to join the queen's court to remain close to her, to have that connection with the woman with the most power in the castle, so that she would at the very least remain informed.

because thancred's not wrong - yennefer has had many direct audiences with the queen. has been brought into conversations of court (though more as a listener than anything else). has been forced to prove that loyalty in a way that even now, yennefer cannot stop thinking about, that she sees every night when it gets too quiet. when she does her best not to think of geralt.

stephen is not wrong. it is the us that she is most worried about. but it is more specific than that, and when thancred looks to her with his tight eyes, his heavy tone, she holds the eye contact - her own mouth pressed into a thin line. this is the decision she has to make - because here, she could simply stop, her reasons and her theories and her why already explained. she knows the queen to be the biggest threat to the summoned, so she has decided to remain close. to keep an eye on it, on them, on thorne, when so many others chose to run.

yennefer holds thancred's eyes for another moment, geralt's voice still ringing in the back of her mind. not everyone has to offer power before you find their help worthwhile. stephen, thancred, they've offered her something arguably much more important than power. much more rare. they know of her magic, they know of her choices, they have spent the last few weeks with her, and not lady yennefer the venerable.

her eyes glance over to stephen, and then back again. takes the risk. ]

There is someone here, in Abraxas, who is very important to me. [ even now, yennefer can't help the way her chest tightens, the fear of even mentioning ciri making it a little hard to breathe. but this is also the first time she's talking about this, the first time she's giving words to this at all, to someone who wasn't geralt. ] She has great power, power she's brought with her from our sphere, power enough to rival the Singularity, at times. The exact kind of power that the Queen would want for herself. [ yennefer's hands clench at her side into fists, her jaw tight. is this even the right decision? is this even the right point? she doesn't know, but it's too late now.

( and if she can't trust stephen and thancred, who does she have left? ) ]

I will not let Ellya get to her. I won't. [ a beat, and then. ] That is why I haven't left.

[He's hopped off his horse by the time Yennefer presents them with the full explanation, and even as he momentarily breaks his gaze away to smooth down the mane of his mare, he can hear the weight behind the words. The flicker of hesitation; he knows, then, that they are being taken into confidence, and that this cannot be easy for her to admit.

His gaze slides back over to Yennefer, only briefly looking at Thancred before returning. Stephen's own reply is measured.]

It isn't a precaution that anyone can blame you for. And not a burden you have to share alone.

[Stephen doesn't ask for the name of who Yennefer is referring to. There's no need. Her reasons are enough, and they're valid as-is. He exhales faintly, turning again to dig into his horse's saddlebags, removing the final device. Strange how empty their load of supplies feel now that they're reaching the end of their journey.

Even as he looks down, prepping the thaumametor, then casting his gaze out to where he needs to go to plant it firmly in the ground, he continues.]

I've stayed in this kingdom because it's where all the research is. Where we have the highest chance of actually understanding what's happening with this world's magic, and where I can be of some use in unraveling that mystery. [But-] Not because I want to help Thorne gain more power, but because I don't trust them to not make some irreversible mistake -- one that we will suffer the most for, because of it.

So your goal isn't that far removed from mine. Consider it a shared one.

[They don't need another Relena on their hands. And if whoever Yennefer is talking about is that powerful, all the more reason to aid her in preventing anything... problematic happening in the future.]

[ There's a heaviness in the air, though it has little to do with the clouds gathered overhead. Thancred can sense that Yennefer is on the precipice of telling them something, and how it sits on the tip of her tongue before she finally lets it free.

She speaks of someone, a she, with great power that the Queen might wish to take for her own. While Thancred can only assume that this person is not in Thorne or he would have noticed her, that doesn't mean that she's out of danger in Yennefer's mind. Yennefer is here to keep an eye on things, to assure this person's safety, and Thancred can relate. Himeka also possesses great power, though how much the people of this world know of it he couldn't say. They'd locked her up, seen her as a mistake, so maybe they didn't understand just how much she is a force of nature, one capable of immense feats.

Stephen speaks up first and Thancred glances over, his gaze drawn down to the thaumametor, the final one before their long job will have come to an end. Once he's said his piece, Thancred moves over, intending to stand watch and keep a close eye on their surroundings while Stephen sets up the device. With how the last one went, he'd rather not take any chances. ]

Consider it shared with me, as well.

[ He lets out a breath, a wry smile forming as he realizes that he's willing to tell them more of himself, of his skill set. Yennefer has trusted them far more than she does most, in his understanding. It's only fair to return the favor. He squares his shoulders as he addresses them. ]

I may not have magical prowess of any sort beyond some knowledge I've gathered over the years from my companions, but I've done plenty of sneaking around in enemy territory and gathering intel. With the three of us working together, I suspect we'll be able to keep a close eye on the likes of the queen and ensure that our fellow Summoned are not put into danger.

[ After working with his fellow Scions for so long and knowing without a doubt that he could trust them with his life, it's strange to now be extending his trust and his services to others. Yet he's been through enough with them that he believes that both Stephen and Yennefer have the ability and conviction to carry out their shared goal. ]

[ not a burden you have to share alone. she knows he says that to bring her comfort, to help her feel less like she’s carrying this weight and more like she’s sharing it. but all it does is make her think of geralt, who doesn’t believe her trustworthy enough to withstand the pressures. who had looked at her like someone else, with distrust and betrayal. and of course there is jaskier, alongside him. ciri, who can protect herself. alone. the comment, for only the briefest moment, makes yennefer pause. consider what it is she’s done here, telling them both.

despite the dangers it opens up, despite the risks she takes by saying this aloud, she finds she does not regret it.

thancred moves around stephen, then, to keep his eyes to their surroundings. to make certain they don’t have another run-in with the local fauna. yennefer, meanwhile, keeps an eye on stephen - on the way his hands work confidently, almost in spite of the scars that mar them. they’ve done this enough times, now, that it feels almost habit - how to set the device, how to check the watch. yennefer’s jaw is tight but she keeps her eyes on the movements, part of her wondering if this last device, if the connection between them all, would be what finally does it and shows them what this all had been about.

I don't trust them to not make some irreversible mistake stephen says, and yennefer agrees with him. nods in that agreement. feels...well, honestly, she does feel relieved by stephen’s agreement with her, can’t help but feel relieved to know that for all she may be without her own magic, stephen’s strength in chaos and magic was admirable to begin with, and seems to only grow.

thancred’s exhale is what draws her attention first, and then his wry smile. she is curious, because his loss of his magics had been something they discussed early on, but it is the sneaking around in enemy territory that has her brow arching, some of that earlier tension easing with the shared, understood fact that they are all on the same side. or at the very least, aligned. ]

So you’re some kind of spy, then? [ it’s mostly a joke, lighthearted, as stephen finishes up with the last of the steps, waiting for the device to calibrate.

it is yennefer’s turn to let out a breath, then, her hands loosening from the fists they’d curled up into. ]

No one else can know of this. [ it feels obvious to say, but she says it anyway, a kind of tone attached that this isn't her first time keeping secrets in a rumor-filled, politically driven court. ] I assume I can trust your discretion, but it has to be said.

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( closed; quest ) the long and winding road

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