Illwei

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It was getting dark outside, but Avanae wasn't scared for herself. She entered the pyramid and turned a corner, quietly sliding into a room not many knew existed. It was small, but they had only a few people here. Everything would be better once they got rid of the others, and could then use the pyramid as it was meant to be.

"Elk's definitely done for. Backing up Hael so much might have been the reason they suspect him so much, but I guess it doesn't really matter now." She pulled out her charts and a new sheet of paper before taking a seat to review them.

"We have the Korathi killing themselves, but I don't think that's going to work much longer with the numbers dwindling. We might be able to pit the Jeskeri against each other, but I'm not sure anyone trusts me enough for that to work. I'm not even sure they distrust me enough for that to work. I also haven't seen any more notes just lying around, so either someone is picking them up before I find them, or it was Kiean leaving them and it's good we took him out of the picture." She turned from her papers to look at Ashen. "So, I think the best option we have right now-"

She cut off, noticing Ashen still asleep in the corner.

"Of course, I've been talking to myself."

Letting out a sigh, she quickly scribbled a note to leave for Ashen before grabbing her pack and heading off to find Reolene.

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Avanae left the meeting tent with a sour taste in her mouth. Mancia had pulled her aside to talk today, as she had been doing these past few days to discuss how to find the remaining Jeskeri among them. Avanae almost wanted to laugh at that, as who the "Jeskeri" and "Korathi" wouldn't matter before long- if things went right. Unfortunately, for things to go right she needed Mancia on her side. Until then, it meant long hours talking about jeskeri tells and pretending to be Korathi. She kept telling herself that it would be all worth it in the end, when they would be free to be themselves without these imposters around pretending they knew what was right, shunning the Mysteries and their followers.  All day all she heard was people scared of the "Cultists", scared of the "Jeskeri". People saying "Merciful Domi will guide us."

Ashen was wasn't in the room when she got there, nor did he return at all during most of the night. Eventually she decided to make her way to the tent where Sevat slept, but not before leaving a note on the table, just in case. 

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They had found Ashen yesterday, but he knew what he was getting into, and he knew his sacrifice was not for nothing.

Avanae checked her pack for her knife before heading off in the direction of the entry doors, through passageways the party never got to explore. Out the doors that they had just figured out how to open there was a collection of tents. She headed into one of the larger tents, not caring this time about making noise or people seeing her.

Once where the majority of the people stayed, now only Mancia remained, sitting in the corner of the empty room, piles of papers scattered around her. She seemed to be frantically searching for something.  The wind blew in from the now open tent flap, rustling papers and causing Mancia to look up at Avanae.

Despite obviously knowing what was going to happen, Mancia appeared to be...smiling?

Avanae told herself that she didn't care much. Mancia would be dead before long and whatever she believed wouldn't matter. She could tell herself that.

Mancia didn't protest as Avanae took out her knife and plunged it into the Korathi's heart. She barely even made a sound.

Avanae left the knife there in Mancia's chest and walked away, leaving bloody bootprints all over the girl's meaningless work.

She started back into the Pyramid but took a different path this time, heading into the very heart of the build.

The last of them were gone and she was free to be herself. Alone, maybe, but herself.

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