4. Silvershield Estate

Dieter shrugs and gives Aiwë a casual salute, his right fist held at chin high with his elbow by his side.

His knife mysteriously gone.

It felt better to have the team back. Stella hadn’t hurt Dieter like the others but she had hurt the team which was more harmful to him than anything else.

Stella's stomach still churns, and she can tell Aiwë's going to still hurt for a while...but it was a start.
Stella winces. "Ah, you...heard that? You don't have to—I mean, I can—" She clamps her mouth shut and nods. "Okay. I'll...Mend the chair later, though."

Stella turns to leave, looks back for a moment, gives a weak smile then leaves.

She arrives at Aldous' office door, hesitates, then knocks.

"I got it, Stella, don't worry," she reassures, returning the smile.

After Stella leaves Aiwë stands still for a moment before she turns to Koveras.

"How was that?" she asks. Her joking tone doesn't quite land through the exhaustion and warble in her voice. "You reckon I unloaded enough splinters?"

Dieter decides to check out Entar’s office while Aiwë talks to Koveras.

While in the office he feels a tingle in his crown. He looks around and realizes that he is in fact alone

Dieter decides to look around in more detail. The conversation about the shield organization has been setting off alarm bells with Dieter ever since it was first brought up. He’s careful there’s probably magic traps guarding sensitive information but then again they’re probably all tripped from Stella’s ursine rage

"Just a moment..." Aldous calls from the other side of the door.

"I've been thinking about the infiltration, and-" A disheveled Aldous opens the door and sees Stella. "Oh, I - Oh!"

He shuts the door.

A moment later he opens it again, his hair slightly more kempt, his vest straightened. "Um. Hi..."

Koveras gives a thumbs up. "You now both know that you're on the same page. It can only go up from here, right?" In spite of her poor attempt at a joke, he seems to be trying to cheer her up.

"You know, sparring's not off the table. I can be a training dummy, I just won't hit you back. You could blow off some steam?"

Dieter looks to the left then right

He slides the bookcase open just enough for him to slip through then closes it behind him.

The look Aiwë gives him is equal parts touched and heartbroken. "Thank you, Blood, but I couldn't do that. No one should take their anger out on you ever again." Then, entirely spent, she begins to cry.

In the darkness Dieter focuses on his breathing, for a second he mistakes the pulse in his ear for the sounds of wolves’ pads on the damp stone.

"You’re a failure, Dieter!"

He grits his teeth.

He slowly puts one foot in front of the other walking single file with the previous footprints towards the door. He closes one eye to protect his dark vision as he peers into the new light.

It takes a moment. A long moment. But then Aiwe feels Koveras' thick arms wrapping around her. "I'm no old, oversized orog uncle, but I have a feeling this is what he would do right now if he were here. But if this isn't okay with you, please tell me."

Face in her hands, Aiwë had been considering through her tears whether she should escape into the hall, or if Koveras would exit and leave her to her embarrassment. When he touches her she flinches in surprise but doesn't pull away. Her body is tight beneath his arms, but it has been tight since she found the holes in her mind the night before.

She stands there for a moment, then she rests her forehead against him, almost bracing it, and grabs the front of his shirt. Her hands are vice-tight as she fills her lungs to scream.

The scream has no sound, nor does anything else, wrapped in Aiwë's silencing magic. After a remarkably long time for a scream Koveras can feel her ribcage relax just before the sounds of her crying return, quieter and already drying up. Her hands become soft on his shirt and she rests her head instead of bracing it.

Then she clears her throat and pulls away gently, the storm come and gone in minutes.

"Thanks," she murmurs, not quite meeting his eye. Her voice is husky through her orcish accent as she curses and reaches out to brush his shoulder with the back of her hand, drying the tear stains there with magic.

"I need to... I need to see to that office." She hurries towards the door, pausing only once to look over her shoulder and say, roughly toward his feet, "Thanks again."

Dieter pauses as the door opens.

That’s not good.

He sees the shield

That’s also not good

Considering Entar uses a Rapier a shield of this size was abnormal.

Dieter turns to leave but hesitates…

He is a prince, what is to rule but the power to take what you will? To dominate the weak.

He turns to the shield. He catches himself reaching out to take it.

Entar is weak, how could he challenge me? He can’t even protect his own family.

Dieter studies the shield. He sees his reflection and admires his crown how it accents his strong and noble features.

He smiles but the reflection doesn’t smile back. He realizes he is looking at the face of his father, his future.

He recoils back striking the shield with his fist causing it to clatter to the ground

"I-I hate you! I am nothing like you, you will die by my hand!" Dieter yells.

Suddenly aware of himself he grabs the shield to put it back on its display before making his escape.

Koveras releases Aiwe as soon as she seems steady. His mouth opens, but he doesn't manage to form any words before she leaves.

Oh don't worry about me! No harm done.

The voice sounds in Dieter's mind as he lifts the shield from the floor. It's a resonant, masculine voice. For coming from such a demonic visage, it's surprisingly cheery.

But where are my manners? The telepathic voice clears its throat. Somehow. Ahem. Greetings, little boy! My name's Kadmiel. What brings you down this way? I don't get many visitors...

Dieter jumps

"Kadmiel?, while it might be true you don’t get many visitors, you do get visitors. What does Entar have to do with you" Dieter asks.

Kadmiel mentally sighs, and Dieter feels the shield actually shift in his hands. Entar? Oh, that sad man. He's the latest of my caretakers. He used to come and see me regularly, but now I've only seen him twice in the last decade or so. Terrible business with his wife, just terrible...

Dieter pauses

Only twice?

"Then who else has been here. Someone has been here recently, who was it?" Dieter continues