In the backwoods - near Lord Pike's estate

"Or purrhaps noht such a shaym. Dhis iz where ay weel be also. Ay weel mayk dhe prepirayshuns, andh meet yu dhere?"

"Perhaps it would be best if you used a messenger to deliver the message and the location on the first night of the operation, rather than come yourself? This would avoid arousing suspicion from the Seekers."

"Heh. Iz dhis konsern for me, ohr for yu, my frendh?"
She nods in agreement.
"Ay kan sendh a message tu yu, dhis is shure, buht ay weel needh tu be dhere tu...mayke dhis happen. Ay weel wayt for yu out ov syte eef dhis maykes yu feel bettr?"

"Thank you. I would rather my friends did not know about this, and I know some would not take kindly to you 'altering' me. I will be able to slip away and meet you, of that I am sure."

"As yu weesh. Buht shudh we be suksessfuul, ay dhink dhey myte notice, yes? Iz dhere noht won ov dhem dhat yu wud trust widh dhis? Yu myte needh someone tu watch for yu, or tu mayk exkyus wen yu are noht tu be foundh."

There is not even a moment of hesitation.

"Hans. I can trust Hans. He can cover for me when I leave. When I get back... well, it will be too late for them to have tried to stop me."

"Hans?" She repeats- more of a statement than a question. "So he survyvd. Guud. Yes, ay dhink yu arr ryte."

"Well, in that case, as you have things to do, I will depart, unless there is anything more you wished to discuss?"

She shakes her head.
"No, Sesseel, dhe rest ov dhis nyte iz myne aht least."
Syuzanna looks at him, and can't help but notice the smallest hint of hope she feels.
"Nao, eef yu are noht too bizy, ov kourse, purrhaps yu wood tell me wat ay haf missed syns lahst nyte?"

Cecil opens his notebook, flicking quickly through a few pages before readying himself.

"I'm not completely sure what actually happened, some of my notes are slightly... incomprehensible. It looks like I was very panicked. From what I can tell, I had learned that some of the servants, including the one you were concerned about, were in fact dopple-gangers. Then there is something about the banquet hall burning down, yet... it was standing in the morning. When I awoke in the ritual circle, I could only see a small fraction of the Seekers and Trade, the Celestial. After conversing with her, she informed us that we had been split into the various... dimensions... Yes that's what I think she called them... the First, Spirit and Underworlds. To allow us to communicate with the others, she gave me the power to speak across the worlds to the others, to use her voice, in exchange for a favour to be called upon at a later date. In hindsight, this may have been a mistake. We managed to learn that, to reunite the worlds, we needed to fix the servants, who had each been split between the worlds, and were thus preventing us from fixing the problem. My group, in the Underworld of all places, had to collect the souls, those in the First world, the bodies. However, those in the Spirit world had to destroy the creatures that had possessed them.

We moved the parts to the nearby Wild Magic sight, but something had sealed it - the 'Matriarch of the Nameless Dark', and it was she who had controlled the dopple-gangers. After Hans forced her to leave, using the guns he is so proud of, a ritual was conducted to reunite the souls and the bodies, overlapping the worlds again and reuniting the Seekers. After that, we all travelled back to the camp, finished the contests, and claimed the spoils."

He goes to cough as if he was clearing his throat after the story, but his head simply makes the motion, with his throat remaining silent. Looking down, he slumps slightly.

"Yu kud see dhe flames, ov dhis ay am shure. Ay stayed widh yu for a whyle."
She takes a seat again.
"So, yu veesited dhe planes agayn? Andh Trade, she iz dhis Dwarven luuking won, from dhe hall last nyte? Why a miztayke?"

"Until she appears and asks me for the repayment of my debt, a favour, I am partially bound to her. This gives her a level of control over me. I don't like that."

"Hmm." Syuzanna considers something for a moment. "Yu kno, ay deed noht speek widh dhis won az much az ay may haf lykd, buht from wat ay saw ov her, there arr much worse dhings tu be bownd tu."

"That is true... I can think of a few."

The statement is quite loud, and it is clear that it carries a great deal of bitterness.

"Ov kourse, yu know dhat eef ay du dhis...yu weel also be bownd- tu me."

"In a way, I already am... and as you've said, there are worse things to be bound to. Perhaps, then, we should talk about an exchange? It hardly seems fair you doing this for me with no repayment, does it?"

"Ha. Ay tayk dhat az kompliment." she laughs. "Paymenht? Wat du yu suggest?"

"I was leaving that up to you. You have done a lot for me, and I would like to compensate you. It is your's to suggest - a favour, money, an artifact, I just want to repay you for your kindness."

Syuzanna laughs again, actually pleased.
You could almost forget what she was- except for the sharpness in her smile.
"Ay lyke yu, Seseel. Yu arr a guud man. Lyke yur frendh Hans."
She places her hand on Cecil's shoulder.
"How abowt dhis- ay wohnt azk for a fayvor, syns yu alredy sayd yu owe won tu dhis- Trade. Andh ay dohnt need yur money, so yu shud keep dhat. Az for ahn artifakt, ay am alwayz curioz ov wat yu Seekrs fynd lying abouht, buht most ov eet iz noht much use tu me, so..." she trails off.

"Don't worry. I am prepared for almost anything. To be honest, it will make things more exciting for me."

"Guudh. Andh ay weel help yu." she nods. "Tu be honezt, ay enjoy our konvirsashuns. Eet mayks a change tu haf company...eet haz been a while sinz ay had somwon ay kan talk tu."

"It is much the same for me. Other than the Seekers, I cannot really communicate in person with anyone. So, what is it you would like?"

"Yu steel wanht tu du me a favour? Dhen ay haf won for yu. Dohnt die...agayn- tah- yu know wat ay mean."

"I can only try. One of my comrades is training me to hide myself. This should help."

"Guudh. Hm. Eef yu dohnt mynd me tu ask- wat else iz eet dhat yu du?"