Another week passes. The balm usually does its job, letting Delilah get out a bit more often. She always carries some with her. She wonders if the headaches will ever go away.

She starts taking the time to read up on the herbology books from their budding library. Their new Seer, Harahoshi, is also quite the fountain of knowledge. He is quiet but insightful and shares with her the goings on in Wuxia, but she can tell there's something more that he's guarding. He looks like a haunted man with a great deal of pain behind his eyes. But he's... Quiet. She can tell he's not ready to talk about it, so she doesn't pry.

Near the treeline of the Eastern forest, there is one particular pine that sports a new decoration. Hidden on the far side away from the light of the sun, a dreamcatcher hangs.

It is weblike, black twine threaded around thin branches in the shape of an eye. A large dark needle is strung taunt down the middle. Several black feathers, the large, primary flight feathers of both ravens and crows, are tucked neatly around the sides and through the twine... resembling the beginnings of wings. It hangs securely at eye level. Below it, a note in charcoal is carefully written. The first line is the largest and most poignant:

'The beckoning darkness illuminates true knowledge.'

'Provide a black feather to honor the God of Shadows and Memories. Blessed are those who grow his wings across Terra, insuring true evil is vanquished.'

Delilah wipes the charcoal from her hands as she walks to the river with a bucket. Absentmindedly fetching water, she returns to the keep and pours it out across the ground where the summoning once took place. A frost crunches under her feet as she returns to the castle.

She has a strange look on her face. Determined. Grim. It had felt a little strange making a shrine, but it made her new patronage seem all the more... Real. Substantial. She hadn't told anyone about making it, nor that she had supplies for more tucked away in her room. She didn't even know if these would do anything tangible, but she did leave it there with a blessing at least. Merely sreading his name was good enough for her.After a long night of meeting with the armies, putting out small fires and helping to clean up from the mayhem, Delilah retires to bed with an intense migraine. She didn't feel quite right since blacking out in the battle, and hoped some decent rest would alleviate the symptoms.

At least, she thought, they had successfully defended their new home, gained some seasoned fighters (who were now helping construct barracks outside the keep), and secured a foothold in the Korosvye Helots. It was more than any of them could have hoped for.

Delilah fitfully sleeps for almost 24 hours. That same fog and voice in her head plays over and over, punctuated by explosions. When she wakes up she feels rather worse for wear, her head swimming. Sharp, painful sensitivity makes her eyes water, and she groggily gets cleaned up.

Almost habitually now, Delilah snatches a handful of grimnettle from the desk in her room. Putting it in her mouth, she makes for the kitchen for food and the strongest coffee she can muster.

Finally she heads outside for the cool night air and to escape the deep pounding of metal down below in the dungeons. She grimaces at the sound, eager to retreat from it.

***

Several days pass with little relief. The best she can seem to do to cope with the persistent, ringing ache in her head is more concentrated salve of grimnettle. It's thankfully helped quite a lot. She figured it was something she could even market. But...

Somehow, the injesting of it was more pleasing. It numbed faster, and more of her than just her mind. It helped the aches in her body and her heart. Where once that effect was infuriating, now it felt... nice. But it was never as strong as it had once been, just a few weeks earlier. That was the point though, wasn't it? Her goal? But why was she still trying? Wasn't Cyrus dead? Or was he...? She didn't know for sure.

What about what happened to Hikaru when he drank it? The thought made her stomach turn and her heart ache. She did that. He almost died. That was her fault. Why couldn't she stop? She should. She could. She thought so, anyway. She felt so confused and tortured by it all. She'd just have to be more careful.

Nighttime was the nicest. No bright sunlight and not as much noise. When she did feel well enough, Delilah spent more time honing her skills. She'd go and hunt, enjoying the fresh air. She felt faster in the dark, somehow. She felt more capable.

Night was also when she'd try to sneak away to practice what Nerezza had shown her. She would climb up one of the pines in the Eastern forest, one of the cultist lookout nests. Sitting in the moonlight, she'd try to manipulate her shadow; pluck it from the wood, manipulate it with her fingers. It was becoming more natural to her each time it worked. She was determined to learn. To make him proud.

***

The third week, Delilah manages to get up early enough that she can take a jaunt into Gravesford. The villagers and farmers had been recovering from the battle. Some lives were lost and there were many mixed feelings, but the overall energy in the air was positive. They had repelled the invasion of their home and protected their families, their children. They would recover and grow stronger, together. Even the Baron Bedegar had sought out a tentative alliance with their group. Delilah assumed he was just nervous to have competition so close by, but an strong ally was better than a strong enemy in these times.

Delilah has no problems navigating the forest. She merely stays on the path trampled down over the weeks of use, slightly pitted and muddy. At one point she thinks she sees something move through the trees, but nothing comes of it.

Arriving in town, she's greeted by several folk heading down the river. They exchange pleasantries and a good laugh at the cold, before Delilah makes her way up to Pinna's alchemy shop. She had dropped off a few batches of supplies already, and was eager to ask the girl how they were selling.

The spicy-sweet scent of boiled licorice and anise seed billows from the smokestack of Pinna’s dome-roofed hut. Other medicinal herbs hang by the doorway; long garlic ropes and branches of flowering barberry. Delilah happily pushes the door open to the tinkling of several bells overhead.

Inside is a boiling, brass cauldron right in the center of the room. The warmth from it is greatly appreciated, and awashes Delilah comfortingly as she closes the door behind her. Unkempt bookshelves overfilled with tomes, scrolls, and bottles line the walls, and both chairs in the house sag under the weight of unwashed clothing. It's obvious that Pinna’s shop is also her one-room house.

Pinna is busily clipping away at some herbs at her table, humming a little song. Delilah comes over and sets down a new parcel of herbs and furs for her; anything and everything she can find in the forest.

"Howdy, sweetie! Glad you're holding up in this weather. How're the potions sellin'?"

Pinna has been working on yet another healing poultice, trying her best to add something new to the mix. With the essence of the local mugwart mushroom extracted and added to the mix, and with the emetic wax melted down, she hoped to create a stronger, more vibrant healing poultice that would speed up coagulation in the blood of an open wound, and quicken the scabbing process, accelerating the natural proteins in the body to close up the wound quicker. She is currently working on this concoction when Delilah enters.

Startled by Delilah's cheerful greeting, Pinna drops her current vial of essence of mugwart on the floor, and it shatters on impact. "OH!!! Oh my goodness! Oh, I didn't see you enter! Ohhhh, dear, what a mess! I can't even believe this!" Pinna hurriedly grabs a towel and starts to frantically swipe up the spilled mugwart liquid and shattered glass. "Such a rookie mistake!" She finally hazards a glance up at Delilah, and smiles sheepishly. "I'm usually a lot calmer than that!" When she finishes wiping things up, she dusts her palms off on her apron, and turns to Delilah with her full attention. "Well, to answer your question, the potions are holding up quite well! I was just adding some essence of mugwart to the emetic wax in these healing poultices to see if they could speed up the healing properties of the body."

Delilah peers over, showing extreme interest in her project. "Oh my, how fascinating! You are quite the marvelous mind, Pinna! I'm always so impressed when I stop in to see you." She beams at the young lady, both with honestly and a little inflating mixed in.

Pinna laughs, slightly embarrassed, but mostly beaming at the compliment. "Oh, but let me tell you: this mugwart is so volatile! Haha, if you don't poor it into the mixture at the right speed, or use too much of it--the right amount, you see--it could have a...," she pauses, mulling over how to explain it best. She lowers her voice to a whisper, leaning a little toward Delilah, "it could start a serious alchemic fire that when you try to put out with water," she taps the side of her nose knowingly, "will only get worse!" She giggles excitedly, "isn't just wonderful though? This is exactly why I love this stuff!"

After a few moments of babbling jovially about her work, Pinna realizes she's been rambling on too much. "Oooooh, by Tarj, I'm so sorry, I was babbling again! How can I help you today, friend?"

Delilah shakes her head, chuckling. "No, no you're fine sweetie! You're a sweet peach. It's just been a bit of a hectic few weeks and I haven't had a chance to come down to Gravesford much, since all of the hullabaloo. Nasty business, but it's done with now. I wished to stop by and see ya."

She finds a relatively empty chair, seemingly regulated to holding coats and scarves, and takes a seat. "I had a few inquiries about your work, if I can bother you for just a few minutes? The first being," Her eyes twinkle. "How are the enhancement potions selling? Since I handed out samples to the workers up at the castle, I've been sendin' em all here to get more. Told 'em Pinna was the best supplier in town for 'em."

"Oh? Well that's really nice of you! I appreciate what you brought in! This will help greatly with my work!" Pinna picks up each item that Delilah brought in and inspects it carefully, smelling and tasting the herbs, and running the furs through her fingers. "Ah yes! These will all do quite well." She gathers the items up, and begins organizing them as best she can in her cramped space.

Suddenly, she stops, and begins smelling the air. "Hmmmmm...interesting. Veeeery interesting." Feeling her way along her counters and shelves, and smelling almost every herb, spice, sprig, and twig in her belongings with a "no" at each one, she finally turns toward Delilah.

"I smell something concentrated. Is it in this room? Maybe on your person? Very strong, and maybe a little bitter. Slightly earthy aroma, with a bit of a acerbic accent on the tale end. Tickles the sinuses with a sort of tingly sensation, you know?"

As Pinna describes the smell, Delilah's curiosity dissolves into mild confusion, then a rather anxious realization. "O-oh! Hum, really?" Her typical deceptive tone with it was difficult to maintain--the girl described the flavor scarily well, especially considering all of the other smells and tastes wafting through the air. Delilah swallowed a lump growing in her throat.

Switching tactics, she shrugs with a flustered laugh. "Haha, you are quite the perceptive one! Like I say, nothin' gets past you. I may have been... uh, dabbling with a bit of alchemy myself." She shifts uncomfortably on her seat, and hesitantly reaches into her satchel.

Withdrawing a small container, she hands it to Pinna with more than a little apprehension. She hopes to play it off like humble embarrassment. "Since we've arrived here, I've noticed the abundant grimnettle plants growing. Well... at least, more so during the early winter. It's harder to come across fresh now, given the snow. Anyway..." Delilah smiles, switching on a bit more of her old charm.

"From what I understand it's a noxious weed. Likely plagues some of the pastures in the spring, I'd imagine?" She leans forward, pointing in the container. "But I thought, what if something so... unpleasant, could be made useful? I've been suffering from rather intense headaches. As much as traditional healing herbs do help, as you've said, they are often best as coagulants. Not blood thinners. But this--you rub it on an ache, and it--it numbs the intensity, making recovery more pleasing."

As uncomfortable as Delilah was discussing it, she knew this was safe for Pinna to hold--even use--because it was merely topical. As long as it wasn't ingested or inserted into the bloodstream, it shouldn't have any negative repercussions. She used it often itself, and she knew without a doubt that it didn't have the same addictive quality that... well, that she was slowly admitting she enjoyed.

Pinna takes the container gingerly, opens it, and inhales deeply, taking in the full scent of the nettle. "Grimnettle," she remarks. "You know, you're absolutely right! With just a small dose of this stuff in an herbal topic, you could numb the pain of any headache or discomfort!" Her face lights up as realization kicks in. She slaps her forehead with the heel of her palm. "I'm such a dunce, sometimes! I could've been using THIS stuff for my numbing agents!" She hands the container back to Delilah, careful to close it. "And yes, this stuff comes in late fall/early winter, all the way through spring. Summer can be a little hard on it, but it's a surprisingly resilient plant."

Delilah sighs in relief. "Yes, quite. And I'm glad to have helped you with an idea!" She smiles and pulls out a small folder, eager to change the subject. She didn't want to stir up more trouble with this stuff, but maybe some good could come if it. Maybe it could help someone else.

"Pinna, I'm quite enamored with what you do here. And I have a proposition for ya." Delilah leans forward, a very persuasive look in her eye. (25)

"Allow me the privilege of being your benefactor."

Pinna's expression slowly changes to a look of utter delight and excitement, her eyes going wide, her mouth dropping open, and a smile growing on her face. "B-benefactor? Really? Really-really?" She hops up and down excitedly, and looks to Delilah. "W-well, what can I do for you?"

Delilah grins wide. "Here is my idea. I wish to see this town, this whole -countryside-, grow into a hugely successful place. A place where every merchant, every sage, every priest, every child, will want to stop to see the fantastic markets, the excitement, and the alchemy. Especially the alchemy. We're going to put you on the map."

She hands a sheaf of parchment to Pinna, beautifully labeled and notated with pictures. "These are recipes I've come across in my travels. Mostly collected, some I've tested. Like the nettle..." She clears her throat a little before continuing. "And of course, like the enhancement potions I've been sending you on consignment."

Delilah leans back, motioning with her hands as she speaks, "I would like you to continue producing these for us, and for the public. And to keep testing out new and better recipes. If you'd like, we even have an alchemy lab at the castle that you can use, with a growing supply cupboard. And," she adds with a laugh, "Much, much more room."

"I'll be happy to continue sending supplies. Things that you can't find here in Rend. Or even in the Helots... You will be able to test materials from all over Terra. Perhaps even some new plants you've never even dreamed of..." Delilah gets a curious look on her face. "In return, I ask that a portion of the profit is tithed back to the castle treasury. And that we can help test some of your new experiments. How does this sound?"

Pinna blinks for a second, the young woman barely able to take it all in. At first her expression is blank and unseeing, but then it turns to dumbfounded-ness, and finally to an overwhelming joy. "Y-you're g-going to p-put me on the m-map?! M-materials and ingredients from around a-all of T-Terra?! I'd g-get to work in the c-castle?! Y-you'd make this happen?!" With each sentence, her voice rises in pitch, and her breathing quickens. Her utter excitement is palpable in the room, and her indescribable joy at this whole prospect is infectious.

She pumps her fists into the air multiple times, and throws herself at Delilah in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, and again, thank you! You're the best, my lady! I will do my absolute best for you, and for everyone!"

She releases Delilah, and stands up straight, pondering for a moment, her forefinger tapping on the side of her nose. "Hmmmmm....I'm going to need a whole crew of alchemists then; -best- there ever was!" She counts absently on her fingers, trying to piece together everything that she'll need. "Oh, and when do we start?"

Delilah can't help but laugh along with Pinna, embracing the girl. "We can start this instant if you'd like! Feel free to continue your work here, or come to the castle at any time! Once you figure out your plan."

She grins wide. "I'll leave the logistics of how you'd like to start our new enterprise in your hands. I can see greatness in you." She says it before she really even registers it, and her heart hammers suddenly in her chest, like it missed a beat and is catching up. Her brain fogs, but the infectious joy from Pinna brings her back to the moment only a few seconds later. Blinking away the stupor and attempting to recollect her thoughts, Delilah pats her satchel, reaching inside.

"I-I have something extra special I'd like to get you started on as well. A very good friend of mine provided me some... rare seeds, of sorts." She hands Pinna a small amount of Emerald Shimmerleaf, trying to process what happened at the same time. "It's been extinct for... goodness, perhaps at least a hundred years. I've tried growing some myself but... I expect it needs a more refined hand than mine. I'd like to see if we can get a market on it. Something we supply here from Gravesford, the only place in the WORLD people can find it! Imagine the news. People will pay top dollar for something so rare that only you have. But of course, we'll need to keep you and your work protected. The castle will most definitely be guarded. Patrols are there now, actually." Delilah chuckles a little, thinking of the dragon-like Salamanders keeping tabs on everything in to and out of the forest Rend.

Pinna gently takes the Emerald Shimmerleaf seeds, and sets them carefully on her counter. She plucks one of the seeds out of the bag, and inspects it. A clockwork monocular device on her forehead descends over her right eye, and she closely inspects the seed. "Hmmmmm," she thinks. "Hmmmmmm, yes, very interesting. The shell is bespeckled with little humps here and there, belying a multi-chuted specimen. It has a rougher exterior, indicating it is hardy and can withstand most elemental upheavals, and yet the slight layer of delicate fuzz on top denotes a biennial." She looks up from her inspection, her face a mask of certainty and seriousness. "Where did you say you found this?"

Rather impressed with Pinna's investigation, Delilah is a little taken aback when asked the question. Trying to think quickly as to not seem suspicious, she responds, (28) "My comrades and I have traveled quite far. These were found in a... very high altitude, cold, climate. Up in the mountains." She smiles benignly, giving a little shrug and a wink. "I can't say I remember exactly where, so we should be careful with the ones we have."

Pinna's face breaks into a wide smile, and she carefully places the seed back into the pouch. "I'll take good care of these. I may borrow a couple of them to perform some cross-breeding for more interesting and unique specimens. I'll have to find out their alchemic qualities though...," she taps the side of her nose with her forefinger, thinking again. "It'll take some patience, but when these things bloom, I'll test them out and see what they can do." She begins to pack up her things, organizing her shelf as best she can. "Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"You've done all I've needed and more. I'm looking forward to a very fruitful partnership with ya, young Pinna." Delilah stands, reaching out to shake the girl's hand. "Call on us any time. I'm sure we'll be seein' one another soon."

With a wave, Delilah heads back outside. The rush of cold air, combined with the blinding white of the morning sun on the snow, is a bit of a shock to her senses. Rubbing her forehead to ease the tension, she stops at one or two of the shops in town before heading back to the castle. All in all, rather happy with their new associate...

***

After spending that accidental time in the shadow realm, Delilah was forced to take a few days to rest and recuperate. The shadowstepping back to the material plane and constant stunning made her migrane much worse. She felt like her head would crack right open. Even the strongest grimnettle salve she had didn't help, so... she'd gone back to drinking it. It at least allowed her to drift into sleep, where she'd experience snippets of shadows, whispers, and the occasional Bryxxni.

She somewhat dreaded practice again, knowing she'd have to. She didn't dare bother Nerezza any more with questions about it. Whether it was the breaking of magic or her own ineptitude, she didn't know. Probably both. If only they could get magic fixed once and for all... But she'd still need to practice. To get better.

Hikaru was more up and about now, but Delilah still felt a sincere amount of guilt regarding the whole thing. As much as she hated to, she avoided him sometimes--wanting to dodge his questions and avoid feeling the shame of continuing to use grimnettle after what happened. She still had Cyrus out there, didn't she? She had to be ready. She had to. There was no way around it. She didn't want to die again. Soon the grimnettle would have no affect... Right? Didn't she want that? She both looked forward to and dreaded the thought.

During the rest of the free time she had, she worked on other outfits, other disguises to blend in. The snow wad piling up and the cold was getting bone deep. She needed more appropriate gear and worked to fill that need. Construction was slowing down due to weather, but the Salamanders tried to keep it moving by melting the snow around the keep. They'd become paramount to the safety and construction of Castle Rend. Delilah couldn't imagine what they'd do without them.

She also continued to train, hunting in the forest and working with Pinna. Some of the income from the potions, furs and feathers she funneled right back into their new business, hoping to help it thrive. With any luck they would have new funds pouring in with each passing season.

By the end of the month, a few new dreamcatchers--totems to Nerezza--have popped up in the forest as well. One even existed in the outskirts of Gravesford, and one further still near Bedegar's barony. Delilah carried a personal one with her now too, a small one woven with silk, wrapped in her scrap of shadow from that first night. She'd reverently placed each of Nerezza's feathers within it, carefully weaving them in the webbing. Oft she reached for it, keeping it hidden, but... It has become a solace to her. A more tangible replacement of comfort than her old pendant of Tarj.