4. Silvershield Estate

Aiwë enters the office, mouth open in surprise at the mess there. She grimaces at the scattered pages of arcane sigils deemed illegal by Mystra herself. Most are torn or scorched in some way but they aren't sterile.

She starts with the chair. She holds the leg in place with one hand and taps the wood with the other until the resonance sounds right. Then she puts the chair in its place and fetches all the books and desk things that had fallen. Lastly, she collects every stray piece of paper.

She does what she can for them as she picks up each shard of Stella's most treasured possession. Her magic can't return lost material, but it can mend tears and harsh folds, and clean up scorch marks and ash.When Aiwë is finished the office is tidy and she has two mangled but improved spellbooks tucked beneath her arm.

"Well... I suppose that's less copy work for us to do tonight," she jokes to herself, smiling wryly.

"Hi," Stella says awkwardly, tucking a lock of her hair behind her head. She avoids meeting his eyes. "I, um...I changed my mind. I'm staying. I want to help, and to be here for Aiwë, and for Dieter," She looks up at him. "And for you."

She sighs and shakes her head. "I've been so selfish...You said it yourself. Right when you needed me, I was about to leave. And I'm still scared of what might happen with my powers. But your father—and mine—helped me realize...you're all more important than what might happen. And it's time I show it."

As he listens, Aldous bites his lip. His eyes seem to be looking everywhere except at her.

When she finishes, he gives a little nod. "Yeah, it sounds as though you've done some thinking and considering of the rest of us, and I appreciate that." His brow furrows a little bit and he swallows hard. "I'm glad you're staying; we really need your help with this mission ahead of us." His eyes finally flick to hers, and then away again. "Um. Pretty soon we're going to all meet up and talk about how to infiltrate the Iron Throne. I guess you'll be there, so I'll share my ideas then."

He starts to retreat behind the door again. "I'm... glad you're staying," he says again.

The door closes. A moment later there's a soft thunk against it from the other side. Stella can imagine Aldous resting his forehead against the door.

Oh, that would have been young Aldous. Glad to finally meet the boy! He's going to take over the family business one day, after all. Which includes me... Kadmiel's last words seem resigned. I don't suppose he'll ever take me out of here either. Like father, like son, eh?

The shield hums an ambling tune in Dieter's mind, and he feels the thing vibrate in his fingers.

Say! You wouldn't happen to be an honorable warrior, would you? Feels like you've got a strong grip! It's been ages since I was used for anything other than decorating that wall there. And let me tell you, it's been terrible company. It never laughs at any of my jokes! Kadmiel chuckles, but the sound trails off sadly. I've just been a little lonely, you know?

"why are you trapped here, this is a prison….who are you really?" Dieter questions

That's what I'd like to know! Kadmiel exclaims. Why keep a celestial shield locked away in your cellar? Since I'm on this plane, I might as well be useful.

The shield sighs again. I don't suppose you'd mind asking those Silvershields for me? They've never given me a good reason.

(Arcana: Even with the help of his restored memories, Dieter can't tell much about this odd artifact. It could be a mighty powerful magic item, or just some junk metal magically imbued with some personality.)

Quote:

He starts to retreat behind the door again.

Stella raises her hand and opens her mouth to stop him.

Quote:

The door closes. A moment later there's a soft thunk against it from the other side. Stella can imagine Aldous resting his forehead against the door.

Stella glowers slightly, exhales, and knocks again.

"I know you're upset. And tired. I could see it even before I said I was leaving. And now moreso. I'd...like to say I know why. But I don't. Not truly. Can you tell me? ...Please?"

"….You’re avoiding the question." Dieter hangs the shield back up "riddle me this; You’re fighting a war and you come across an enemy messenger. The messanger is carrying a letter which says that one of your cities will be attacked soon. This leaves the enemy king vulnerable to attack. You only have time to evacuate the city or attack the king but not both" Dieter asks

"what do you do?"

No wait, don't put me back! I-

As Dieter rests the shield on the wall, its face animates and speaks out loud. "Oh Tyr, will I never be gone from this place?" Its eyes twitch slightly to follow Dieter. "And that's a silly question. What do I do? Apparently nothing, just sit on a wall!"

The fiendish face becomes somewhat pensive. "Though if I weren't a beautiful, angelic figure stuck within a cursed shield, I'd probably want to accomplish something. Go big, or go home! You know? Go and attack the other king, probably. But in all reality I wouldn't be the one calling the shots. I'd be the one obeying whatever wise being is in charge."

The face frowns sadly. "Won't you please take me with you? I want to see the world. Fight bad guys. Go camping! Please?"

"I see, farewell ‘Kadmiel’" Dieter says and makes his escape.

The noteworthy thunk from a moment ago turns into a softly-scraping slide down the door and to the carpet.

"Stella... I've been through a lot today. I learned things about my family that turned my world upside down. Things about my parents, and my mother's death. And then you announced you were leaving, without even talking to me about it beforehand, like my feelings and opinions aren't worth considering..."

He pauses. "I love you, Stella. And today I feel as though I've been treated as... irrelevant to you. It's shown me that I just... need some time to myself. By myself. Time to consider the things I've learned today." He takes a deep breath. "I've spent the last couple of months devoted to you. And right now I need to be devoted to my city."

Just as Dieter is about to leave the room, a curtain of red flame blocks the doorway to the staircase and his way out. He can feel its immense heat, threatening to char him to the bone if he passes through.

"I think you should reconsider." Kadmiel's voice is still cheery. "After all, nobody knows you're down here, do they?"

Dieter laughs

"This is your prison, not mine" Dieter says before melting into silvery mist

Dieter casts Misty step teleporting past the barrier and as far up the stairs as possible.

The shield's response is a feral shrieking in Dieter's ears and his mind. As the young fighter races up the stairs, he hears the dull roar of a fireball!

.

"Dieter!" Aiwe drops Stella's spellbooks onto the desk and begins patting out the flames on Dieter's clothes, healing the burns beneath. "What were you doing?"

Dieter licks his fingers and puts out the ember on his crown.

"I found out why this office is so well protected, I also found out why Entar was so uncomfortable about the knights of the shield… if I am correct he must be the grandmaster of their order."

Aiwë looks at the books she just picked up that are now scattered all over the floor. "And you were investigating this because?"

Dieter realizes he might have made a mistake

Due to recent events lying might also be a mistake

"I…..got curious, turns out I have a bit of a impish quirk" Dieter relents

"I wasn’t stealing, just doing some research"