KHAZUUL

The sun is setting as the party returns to the Black Skull camp. The prisoners are still tied to the pole, though if there is still life in them it doesn't look much like it. Other Black Skulls are filtering back in, removing their fearsome masks as they enter the gate.

When you go to collect on your hard-won prizes, word quickly spreads that you've found a Black Lotus on the first day out in the wilds. There is a mix of cheers and disgruntled mutters. Tunny explains, with a wild-eyed smile, that his crew of cutthroats had taken bets on how many of you would die before finding a Lotus. When you reveal the beastmens' heads, there is a more resounding cheer.

"Seems like we misjudged you lot. That's a good turnout for the first day. Hey Wilmot! You're back on latrines!"

The Black Skulls jeer in unison at this Wilmot's expense as Tunny pays out your daily wages and earnings. He hands over glass beads that he explains can be exchanged up with Dario in Vanguard Bastion for gold pieces - it's too dangerous to keep any gold down here. He hands you each your daily payment (5 beads) plus 10 more beads for the heads and another 35 for the Black Lotus plant.As you are collecting your pay, the gates open again, the black Anzu returns to the camp with the Ruin Sage astride it. It is hard to believe he travelled to Vanguard Bastion and back in this weather, as he was rumoured to be doing.

"Is it different elsewhere?" she asks with a sigh. "Not that I have seen. They just hide their knives better."

A deafening thunder clap interrupts the conversation, and sudden gusts rattle the canopies. When it quiets down, Saffron answers Sow's question, but she doesn't volunteer much.

"We arrived two weeks ago," Saffron begins. You hear notes of refinement in her speech. If you closed your eyes and imagined her in perfumes and silks, she could pass as an aristocrat, or more.

"We joined the Black Skulls shortly after. It was Samir's idea - safety in numbers, he said."

She suddenly turns to you, animated, urgent.

"Sow, will you tell me a memory? A fond one? The dreariness of this weather is making me doubt there is any good in the world at all."

"Fergus the Cat sounds like a beautiful beastie. I feel better already just imagining him."

She hesitates as if collecting her strength, like she's preparing to leap off a precipice. "I do. I remember my mother's smile. "

Her voice, though soft, carries the weight of a thousand memories. She looks into the distance, as if trying to grasp a moment long gone.

"It was a simple thing, you know? The way her eyes crinkled at the corners, the warmth that radiated from her. In those moments, everything felt safe, secure."

She lets out a quiet sigh, her gaze returning to the present. "Life has a way of eroding even the most cherished memories. Yet, those smiles endure, tucked away in the recesses of my mind like precious artifacts. It's what keeps me going, a flicker of light in the shadows. So, yes, I remember my mother's smile, and in remembering, I find the strength to face what lies ahead."

"How about you, Cutwell? Do you have a happy memory to share?"