Embric’s eyes narrowed slightly at Ermir’s odd reaction to his silent question, noting the pause as the other man collected himself before providing an answer. Since he hadn’t informed Xan of his underground activities, he had been more interested in knowing whether the room was empty and they were truly as alone as it seemed than he had in actually wanting to move the conversation there. But Ermir going pale and then redirecting him to the kitchen had the inklings of both suspicion and worry creeping into his mind.

What was that about? He asked Aine. I didn’t say anything strange, did I?

“No,” She confirmed, lifting her head from where she was cleaning the plumage along her back to peer over in Ermir’s direction. “You didn’t.”

Do you hear anyone back there?

“No.”

Odd. Embric eyed Ermir for another moment before requesting his usual and wrapping his hands around the offered cup. “As long as there’s no one else here,” He said slowly to Ermir. “I don’t see why we can’t stay at the bar.” His concern only grew as he watched the tavern keeper immediately down one drink and then pour himself another. Raising an eyebrow as he took a swig of his own drink - ale, and of a higher quality than it had been during his last visit, courtesy of their redheaded captors - Embric addressed his apprehension with a wry, “Rough week?” The question was almost unnecessary: every passing minute in Elderkeep was enough to drive any man to excessive drinking. It was impressive any of them had lasted this long without becoming raging alcoholics - or it might have been, if they weren’t all painfully aware of the fact that to do so was tantamount to suicide.

When Xan spoke up, he turned slightly to face her, eyes not leaving her face despite his keen awareness of the way she was lifting her hands to each for her drink. As she asked Ermir what he did when the tavern was empty, Embric swallowed more of his ale and offered his own opinion. “I don’t know, Xan,” He said lightly, humor evident in his tone as he glanced back at Ermir. “Perhaps he enjoys the peace and quiet, and only now has he started counting down the minutes until we leave.”

“Don’t have much to say. But I thought someone other than me should know he can heal.” As with any information, redundancy was key to making sure it wasn’t lost. Perhaps it wasn’t the most useful knowledge - after all, it really only reinforced that if they were to attack any of the Eldouir or their lackeys, they would have to ensure that their victim was unquestionably dead before walking away - but it was information all the same. Every little bit of knowledge they could find was better than nothing, and with enough time, perhaps they could figure out a creative way to twist such a skill to their advantage. “She hasn’t said how he did it, just that he did.”

When Xan mentioned Tribute, Embric covered the tightening of his lips by taking a fortifying drink from his glass. Apparently, it was still more of a sore spot than he had imagined, which he was less than pleased to discover. When had he become so brittle?

I’d say Tribute went quite well for him, He sniped at Aine, because he had to say something but resurrecting that fight would accomplish nothing except garner Xan’s suspicion. Only lied to the Eldouir’s faces and received two marks for it.

She sent him the mental equivalent of a conciliatory pat on the shoulder.

Once any talk of Tribute finished, he swallowed down the bitterness with his alcohol, turning to look at the young woman. “See, Xan, you say that,” Embric pointed out. “But you only ask Savi for his opinion, and he’s not the epitome of impartiality on matters like these.” After a moment, he added, faint humor evident in his tone, “Compared to the two of you, I’m apparently rather selfish. Though I have it on hood authority, Ermir—“ He jerked a thumb in Xan’s direction, casting a glance toward the other man as he did so “—that I can’t cook, so you probably wouldn’t want me back there anyway.”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Embric resisted the urge to shrug, instead taking another sip of his drink. Hiram Eldouir had long been associated with blood-related magic, but he had neither any ideas of what the redheaded monster was fully capable of nor anywhere to even start looking. Luka, perhaps, would prove helpful in that regard. Until they could come into contact, however, Embric could only guess – he never would have thought anyone, let alone a creature like Hiram, would have the ability to heal someone else.

With an amused huff, he response to Ermir with a “That’s probably for the better. You keep cooking; I’ll keep enjoying it.” before taking another sip of his drink. As with the other times he needled her, Embric had expected some sort of reaction from Xan, but when she remained uncharacteristically silent, he glanced over to see her looking at him with an expression that had a quiet alarm bell begin to ring in the back of his mind. In any other circumstance, the part thoughtful, part suspicious look on her face would not have been remotely troubling, but he did not want her to have suspected that anything unusual would have happened when he and Ermir were even in the same room.

He knew Xan, and he knew how hard it was to get an idea out of her head once it had been planted. She had had a habit of puzzling out mysteries, and there was a very large mystery – from her perspective, at least – that he did not want her puzzling out. With another sip of his drink, he watched as she walked around him to approach Ermir and began trying to figure out what she suspected, why, and how to resolve the situation if it was what he feared it was.

That could have gone better.

“What did you expect to happen? You know she’s perceptive.” A judge mental pause. “You can’t hide this from her forever.”

I can try, Embric snapped back before he could stop himself. He sent a silent apology toward Aine a moment later. I had expected Ermir to be acting a little more like himself.

And, if he was being honest, for Embric to feel a little more like himself too. Whether it was Ermir, or Xan, or Echo, or Luka in more danger than ever with the Eldouir, or Zevran and Kezia off chasing some far-flung dreams or dead in a shallow grave, or even just the increased redhead activity around the city, something had changed since Tribute. In all of them, apparently. They had done this song and dance in front of others many times before; he had no idea why it suddenly seemed so difficult for them - the other man especially - to play their parts now.

With Xan gone, Embric turned back to rest his elbows on the bar and rubbed a tired hand over his face. “She’s changed, since Tribute,” Embric offered as his own part apology, part explanation for Xan’s rebuke. It was hardly surprising, given what had happened, but it was just as likely that he was witnessing the effects of Coheed and the Eldouir as a whole; the lone week before Tribute wasn’t nearly enough time to have seen the entirety of ways their experiences had impacted his former student. “Become more restless, more…” He paused, looking for the word. “Unforgiving, in a way.” Even if she had decided against acting on it, Xan had voiced a desire to kill Tazmin; Embric was confident the thought would never have crossed her mind before.

“What he did - she said it gave her a lot of energy. Rejuvenated her, maybe.” It was a boon, so why did he sit here now, worrying that she would do something foolish - like going after Tazmin alone - with the sudden burst of energy that had been granted to her? Perhaps because the idea still lingered in his own thoughts, and Xan had always had a way of picking up more than was good for her from him. Embric shook his head to clear them away. “She doesn’t know about us, but I know she shares our views.” Xan had said so herself, though not in as many words, when they had first reunited.

Aine was right: motivated and trustworthy, she would be a useful addition to their group. But… With a quiet sigh, he downed the remainder of his drink and looked over at Ermir. Xan hadn’t been wrong - something was off with the typically chatty man and his lack of reaction to Hiram’s apparent healing abilities was strange as well - but Embric wasn’t about to pry. He’d said what he’d come here to say, regardless. “Thanks for the drink, Ermir,” He said quietly. “I think I’ll head out as well, before the weather gets any worse. Take care.” Unless the other man stopped him, he slid the empty cup back across the bar, held out an arm for Aine, and made his way to the door.

[EXIT EMBRIC]