With morning devotions completed, Isuelt was bathed and in the common kitchen with a cup of whiskey, flavored by a splash of coffee, and some files from the Watch regarding the murdered children of the Old Temple district. She was reading through the reports, trying to make heads or tails of the crimes.

The kitchen door SLAMMED open as Valkyrie entered. Dark eyes were glowing, quite literally, like white hot flames. The scorched arm of Val's held the door open as she narrowed her glare on Issy. She merely took three steps before she had lifted Issy from her chair with unnatural strength and right off her feet. "Why was Valkyrie not warned that this temple was being warned about murders before they happened and not doing anything." That wasn't Val's voice. Bum bum bum.

Papers went flying, police photographs, coroners" reports and as the table and chair were bumped, her cup was spilled and Isuelt's strangled surprise was the focal point of the room. Her dark eyes were wide and lashed by complete shock. Her muscled arms and corded hands tried to grip onto the diminutive Valkyrie's form to steady herself. She was coughing out her response, "What...what?s going on...what"!"

"Why wasn't anything done to stop Raven"!" That voice billowed out with such force that Valkyrie did not possess, no this force was greater. "You have been bestowed the rank of Priestess and yet you are letting innocents die according to him. He says you were warned!" Seems Issy's not the only one that has a lot of explaining to do. Hopefully Valkyrie will come to soon. "What happened to practicing justice?" That is one angry split personality....or maybe the anger tainted the wrong personality.

The words were spinning around in her head. She heard "Raven...Priestess...innocents die...justice" Her bare feet kicked as she sought the balance of the chair and the wall behind her. Those black lashes blinked as she looked at Valkyrie, her voice was hoarse as she stammered forth a choked response, "His...warnings...are ...the Watch has been stepped up....the Governor...is aware...more...guards....who are you?!"

Fingers finally uncoiled and Issy was set free as she hissed," I am the one Valkyrie vowed to serve and protect, as did you when you became a Priestess of the temple." Well isn't that interesting. "I swore to her that she could have faith and trust you and the sisterhood here, but watching one of yours receive tokens of affection from a murderer raises my questions."

Isuelt's strong form grabbed at the wall and the table for support as she stared at Valkyrie. These newest words caused her to go from shocked to stunned. The words sent an icy heated chill up her spine until her ears burned. What was she saying" First, she had met a man who she believed was CuCuhlain, and now this" It was almost too much for the priestess. Though as she was about to fall to her knees and prostrate herself before Valkyrie...or whomever this truly was, she caught the rest of the speech. Tokens of affection' She was vastly confused and her face showed it. Isuelt shook her head and began with a somber and quiet tone, "I...I don't know what you mean." Her eyes avoided looking directly at Valkyrie now.

"He gave the one you call Chi a token of affection, there is no other thing that it could be." Valkyrie's voice billowed and shook with otherworldly power. Narrowed eyes locked on Issy as she spoke," The loss of the gavel was Valkyrie's fault, of this I know, she got careless. However, the death and destruction of yesterday, from what I'm told, could have been prevented if the Sisterhood had taken action."

Isuelt's blood raced as the voice echoed within her ears. She knew nothing of Chi's token of affection, nor the death and destruction from yesterday. "Brian has given out tokens...of mocking. I know not of any token of affection that he has given to Chi. And...we cannot read his mind, Mot—" She paused and chanced a look to Valkyrie's face, having heard this voice only one other time in her life, "Mother. We know not where or when he will strike exactly. But the Gover— Has the Governor been assassinated?" Her eyes went wide.

"No, he made no attempt on an official's life. The place you call, the Market, is in ruins and several innocent lives were lost and several more injured." She calmed, her voice soft but still possessing such great power. "Valkyrie was stopped and saved by the same woman in her attempt to finish Raven. I do not know if she was acting out of kindness or trickery, but Valkyrie owes the woman some trust. If it was not for her the body I share with the priestess would be nothing more than a pile of ash and soot. She deserves explanation on Raven and you deserve explanation on why it is that I am in such a frail state. My faith in you child has not been hindered, however her faith in you and in myself has been greatly sundered. Help Valkyrie before she entirely strays from her duties."

The Market in ruins...again. Isuelt nearly rolled her eyes. Raven's movements were as erratic and as without rational motivation as she could imagine. It was like trying to follow the path of a butterfly. Briefly, her eyes looked to the floor, seeing her work all over the place, she blinked back to Valkyrie. There was a large swallow from Isuelt as she heard her Goddess's words, and her head bowed lowly, those espresso locks falling forward. "Yes, Mother. I am your blade to wield," she faithfully added in her Scathachian tongue.

"I give her unto your care now..." She was gone the moment those words were uttered. Valkyrie's body fell forwards, dark strands of hair falling in her face as dark eyes fluttered shut for a moment. There was a harsh rasp for breath then a cough. It took a bit out of Valkyrie to maintain such a power, and it showed. Her burnt arm was now dribbling bits of blood on Issy's paperwork.

Lunging forward, still in a state of divine awe and shock, she reached to catch Valkyrie before she hit the floor. "Val" Val, you okay' Is that...is that you in there, Val?" Her voice softened as she eased her Sister into a seated position on the floor, all care for the police paperwork gone for now. She lifted her fingers to brush a few stray tendrils from Valkyrie's face. Isuelt's mind was racing with so many questions, namely who was the woman to whom Valkyrie owed her life"

Another rough gasp for breath before Valkyrie spoke hoarsely," She did it again didn't she?" Her head shook as dark eyes looked towards Issy, once again acting unaware of the state of her arm. She gave a bleary blink or two before cursing. So the secret was out. "Great."

A great exhale as Isuelt cradled Valkyrie and deposited a delicate kiss to the woman's temple, "You great woman. You...you're a vessel?" In her life, Isuelt had only seen one other: the Seer, Mila, back on the Island. She continued to rock Valkyrie and push her hair from her face, wondering if she had the knowledge that the voice had spoken. What...what happened last night' Do you remember?"

"Last night?" It was coming back to her in spades. Valkyrie started to turn a few shades of red, more than a few shades, she was a burnt cherry. "I was kissed." Of all the things to remember.

This really wasn't what she was expecting. "What?" Her tone was deeper and more cynical than she meant.

"Repeatedly." Okay so that has nothing to do with what generally happened last night....on a need to know basis, but that was how her mind was working at the moment. Then she paused, the wheels turning a bit before she lowered her head. "Katt's dead." Yeah she had remembered that bit of news too.

There was a definite pause. A decided stop to the beating of Isuelt's heart. She stared at Valkyrie, as if she had become frozen. "WHAT!?" Her dark eyes flashed in a wild manner as she scrambled to get up, all the blood had rushed from her head, she felt sick...dizzy...and completely off balance. "WHAT"!" Her volume increased as did her panic.

"Raven was in the inn." Start at the beginning, finally. "He was trying to get close to Chi and I stepped in. Well before I know it he's going on about how we've been warned and stalks out of the Inn promising to give Chi his present later. Well I follow him to the Market because I was going to stop him from killing more people and Katt followed him. He hit her square in the chest with an attack and....there was a battle that tore up the place. Arts tried to stop me from getting Raven in the back, then saved me when reinforcements came for Raven." Her burnt arm twitched. "She got burned bad so I used some of the goddess' power and healed her. But I couldn't save Katt. She was gone. And then Green boy made off with her body."

Isuelt was leaning heavily on the wall. For a few moments, she simply stared at Valkyrie, not wanting to believe her. Slowly, Isuelt's long legs gave out and her body slid down...down...down along the wall until she was on the floor as well, her dark chocolate eyes still staring at Valkyrie. "Katt..." was the only word she could bring her lips to utter. She moved towards Issy, one hand slipping to her shoulder as she whispered. "Raven said you've been warned about each killing he's done....is that true?"

She couldn't think straight. She felt like her world was tumbling and crumbling apart. Isuelt's hand gripped her head, "I....I don't know. He's taken to speaking in riddles...and tossing tokens. He's..." She shook her head and then looked to Valkyrie, "Katt's...Katt's dead?" Her voice seemed small, as if she were afraid to say the words too loudly, lest she herself will this terrible news into existence.

All Valkyrie could do was nod in confirmation. Her head lowered and she slid to sit beside Issy," I couldn't help her....I tried. But I was too late." She swallowed weakly. "He fought her, said he was gonna kill her....I tried to get her to move out of the way, told Chi to get her to safety, but it was too late. Then he turns around and gives Chi some sort of crystal flower." She shook her head lightly.

Isuelt was trying with all of her might to wrap her head around this. Her gaze was boring a hole into the kitchen floor as she listened. Those espresso locks brushed her shoulders as she shook her head. "What?" her hushed tone was whispered. She didn't know what was harder to grasp: Katt's death or the fact that Brian did it or the fact that he was now giving Scathachians flowers. "It can't....this can't be happening..."

"It happened." She said bluntly. "Why' Who knows." Valkyrie pursed her lips and looked over her arm. She turned her gaze on Issy, not trying to change any sort of subject, but she did have questions. "Who is Raven" Who is Arts" Who is the Green Boy?"

"Raven....Raven is Brian Ravenlock. A one time ally of this temple and once my dearest friend. I....I have no idea what has happened to him, or what has driven him to this place. Where he hates, he kills and destroys. I have no idea what?s taken him, but he's....he's declared war on everything good, it seems." A very heavy sigh dragged her shoulders down, as well as her spirit. "Arts..." She rolled her eyes heavenward, "...is someone that I don't think we should trust, but she's inserted herself into our business a few times here and there. And the Green Boy, I have no idea." Isuelt couldn't think to deduce who that could be. Were her mind clearer, she would have offered some sort of a guess, but at the moment, she was a blank. A reeling, falling blank.

"Arts saved my life." She stated softly. "Then kissed me." That was still being processed. In fact her whole night involving Arts was being processed. "Do you trust my judgment?"

Isuelt shivered, she was struggling to stay composed, to stay in control. Her eyes, shaky as her vision was right about now, looked to Valkyrie. She had no words that she could summon. Instead, she blankly nodded.

"Arts wants to help me. Said she would. Does that count for something?" She asked as if there was something a bit more personal than she wanted to note.

All Isuelt could think of was the other night when she had let Katt go off on her own to deal with Kain. She had even tried to stay Leo, and let Katt prove herself. Although Katt had managed to do what everyone else could not, and apprehend and detain Kain, Isuelt wondered if it was this that had spurred whatever melee was had with Raven. She put her face into her hands, blaming herself, of course. She couldn't even bring herself to answer her Sister.

Her face turned towards the table and stayed, that was where she stared. Eyes dark and stoic studied the wood as she processed what to say or do. In her year of wandering aimlessly and traveling without rest or relief she had all but numbed herself to death, it was a fact she faced frequently in her life. "She fought Raven like a true Scath warrior. Wouldn't hear otherwise either when we tried to stop her. She had cut at him, gut him down, I tried to finish him while I could. When he left he was bleeding badly. If he survived he's not a natural human. However, she did show me one thing..." She looked to Issy. "If Raven wants death....he's killable."

Her hands rubbed over the top of her head and smeared down her face, coming to rest over her mouth and nose. Her eyes, while not looking at Val, were aware of her words. She waited for her Sister to continue as she fought for her iron-like grip on her emotions. So far, so good. But that was slipping.

"If he's killable....we need to find out how to do it and do it before he can hurt another person." She finally grimaced, the numbness in her arm fading. "Without him getting reinforcements."

"Killable..." Isuelt's voice didn't feel like her own. It felt far away and under water. Her head felt as if it were splitting in two and she could do nothing to stop it. How did things get here" How did it get this bad" How had it come this close to home" Her espresso head collapsed into her hands, she defied the shaking of her shoulders as her world came tumbling down around her.

"You don't mean you want him alive after all he's done, do you?" The question had forced her brows to rise and her eyes to narrow on Issy.

What she wanted" She wanted all of this to go away. She wanted to curl up with a bottle of whiskey and her razor, that was what she wanted. But we don't always get what we want, now do we" A sniff of an inhale before she lifted her dry eyes and looked to Valkyrie. "Brian Ravenlock is the beloved of Jenai Angelique, a Scathachian, and the father of her children. And I want him dead. Yes." Her voice was sheer ice, the venom in her eyes would have stunned most citizens on the street as she spoke from between clenched teeth.

"We have a duty Issy." She said softly. "To uphold justice and sacrifice everything else." She twitched a little at the thought of that. "Even our love life."

"You don't think I know that?" Isuelt turned a sadly sardonic expression toward Valkyrie. But how could the woman know of what Isuelt had sacrificed" "Believe me, I know more about that than anyone in this Temple." The bitterness of her tone left a sour aftertaste in her mouth as she struggled to stand. As she had done for over thirty years, Isuelt used her pain and bitterness to propel her into motion.

"Celibacy?" She asked curiously. What the goddess as far as she knew didn't condone it or forbid it, but those devoted enough had darn well plum forgotten that part of their life.

"No," decidedly celibacy was not something that Isuelt deemed necessary for the worship of her goddess. However, the sacrifice of more than one relationship and the impossibility that it created to live a life of "hearth and home" had been repeatedly felt over the years of her life and her service to Scathach. "And I'm talking about it further. We have to see to Katt's...Katt's arrangements and make sure that Ravenlock pays for this atrocity. And as far as his behavior with Chi" Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"Katt's body is gone though." She said softly before blinking. "How would we use his behavior with Chi?" The bleeding in her arm had formed a dry crust of scab over her burns as she popped up the next bit. "Uh, don't tell people about the vessel thing."

Speaking of Chi, the girl had silently slipped up behind her sisters, listening to the last bit of conversation she caught. "Katt's Body?" she asked slowly, confusion flickering across her face. Her fingers also tightened around the crystal stem of the rose she had been given the evening before. She had gone back and retrieved it after everything had passed, guessing it might be of some help towards figuring out what Brian wanted. And of course she'd ask about the whole mentioning of her and Brian's behavior....Just not now. News on Katt was more important.

There was a stern, if not steel expression that was shot to Chi at that moment from Isuelt. She was standing along the wall, letting it help her remain standing. "What the f*ck is Brian Ravenlock doing giving you gifts" Didn't I tell you he was dangerous?" Her tone was an exasperated mother, yet there was an underlying plea in her voice. She wanted to run over and hug Chi, thankful that she was alive, now that Isuelt knew what Raven was truly capable of.

At Issy's words, she held up the crystalline rose to Issy. "I don't know who gave it to me. It appeared on my shoulder in the midst of fighting." she shifted, and sighed softly. "You did." she mumbled, a frown forming on her features. "But he hasn't given me a gift. Not yet. Unless the flower's from him."

Isuelt's heart felt like it was broken and going a million miles a minute....in separate directions. Her dark eyes looked from Chi to Valkyrie and back again. Her hand reached out to grasp and lightly squeeze Valkyrie's hand, and she hoped that the woman knew it was an answer to her question regarding her secret. In the meantime, she looked to Chi and her tone softened from her previous first attack, "Chi...are you alright?" "Other than a couple of bruises....Yeah. Although I'm confused about almost everything. " she paused for a brief moment, before continuing. "I know Brian and Renna are who we're up against....But what?s their goal" What game are they trying to play?" she asked softly, eyes never wavering from Issy. "And why is Brian toying with me, out of all of the sisters?"

Like a denial expert, Isuelt squashed down her ravaging emotions and crossed to Chi to put her arm around the girl, "I don't know, cher. But we'll figure this out. I have no idea what their aim is, other than to cause us pain and this city destruction." Her dark eyes looked to Valkyrie.

Chi leaned into Issy when her arm went around her, before she exhaled slowly. "I heard something about Katt too, when I got here. Is she alright' She looked pretty bad last night too." she mumbled.

Patting Chi's shoulder, Isuelt knew that a general disclosure was in order. For all of them. She nodded toward Valkyrie and knew that it would have to be soon. "Go fetch the others, Chi. We will discuss everything..."

As Chi retreated to gather the rest of their Sisters in Arms, Valkyrie sighed and let her frame slide down along the wall. Her hand moved to clutch her arm as she spoke softly. "Doesn't seem right that Katt dies and I get my arm torched."

"I'll have a healer come and take a look. Until then, I'll have Phin get her salve together," it would be the same salve that was smeared over Isuelt's arms after her run in with the fire dancer from Temple Bhaal. "We'll get to the bottom of everything. And all will be righted." There was a balance in her tone that was not there before; it was the absence of emotion and the furtherance of her duties. She had no idea how any of this would be "right" or even righted, but she had a duty to the city, to her Sisters and to her Goddess. Ravenlock must be taken out. Period. And she would take it upon herself to see that job done.

She turned her gaze to Issy as she spoke. "Funny....Arts said the same thing. She also said she had no regrets for what she did yesterday." She shifted a little. "I need to speak with you about the relics while I have you."

Isuelt's dark eyes followed Chi down the hall as she went to fetch Phin. She then turned back to Valkyrie and nodded, seeing as they were alone once more. "Go on." This was a topic that she was hungry for.

"Are you aware of why relics are scattered throughout the land?" She asked first as she sat up, her eyes still on her arm. It was strange that this scorch mark hadn't healed the way the other injuries had after the Alley fight.

"To protect them?" Isuelt took an educated guess from the sparse information she had, though from what exactly she wasn't sure. All she was sure about was that the Temple of Bhaal knew that the relics were up for the hunting, and that made her feel uneasy from the very base of her soul.

"And when they are gathered?" She asked curiously, her eyes locked on Issy. Dark gaze keeping steady on her sister. "Why would I spend a year gathering them?"

Isuelt's brain searched for the Scathachian lore on the great relics of their Goddess, the fabled tools of their very mythology, the holy weapons that Scathach herself was said to have wielded long ago. "I....I don't know." She sounded more than defeated. The day had already brought such a blow to her heart, she was afraid to press on and see what else lay in store for her.

"I am not long for this world as long as I remain a vessel." She said honestly. "The goddess is weak in this form and I have weakened because of it. The relics are key to returning her to her rightful status and rightful health. Without them she and I will die." That was putting it blunt, to the point. With the Gavel gone that was one step back to saving her goddess.

Isuelt stood there, staring at Valkyrie, for quite a long time. Her eyes finally moved, looking to the floor, still strewn with spilled papers from the Watch's report and Valkyrie's blood. After what seemed like an eternity, she walked to the table, its surface still sticky with spilled whiskey and coffee, and sat down without a word. Another eternity passed before she turned those espresso eyes to her Sister. "We have to find these relics. Do we have clues as to their whereabouts?"

"I told you when I arrived here. I have them, they're hidden and I need help getting them here." She said as she stood there, chocolate eyes locking with the espresso ones while she clenched her fists.

"Okay," she nodded, needing desperately to find something to do about this situation. Isuelt needed some sort of action course to take, instead of sit around and wait. "Okay. We'll get them." She paused and gave Valkyrie a hard look, "Does anyone besides you have any knowledge, any whatsoever of the whereabouts of these relics?"

"Not unless they have relic bloodhounds." Valkyrie said honestly. There was a small breath from Val as she whispered. "Last night I was confused....tormented....All of what happened to me yesterday was a bit of a shock for me. I....I trust Arts if you don't. She was there for me as I tried to work this through."

"Relic bloodhounds..." she repeated, thinking it was totally conceivable that the Bhaalites did, after they happened to show up and take one of those relics when Valkyrie had happened onto the scene. At the last of Valkyrie's statement, Isuelt only looked at her. She was processing what she knew of Arts, and the fact that Arts was known for her beguiling manner did not put this priestess's mind at ease.

"She will help me." At least that's what Val felt. She didn't want to explain in too much detail how she knew that matter. Val was still trying to work it out. "She will help me with this task. Have faith, please." It was the words the goddess had told her countless times being repeated.

There was a heavy sigh, there was so much weight pressing down on Isuelt, it was more than she could bear. An elbow on the table, she rested her forehead on her hand and shut her eyes. Katt was dead, Raven had killed her, Valkyrie was a vessel, the holy relics were what would rescue Valkyrie from certain death and return their Goddess to her glory, and Arts was supposed to help them. Her world was spinning. "Okay," her voice was little above a whisper, in fact, she had to repeat the word, for she herself barely heard it. "Okay," without looking to Valkyrie, she continued, "We'll need more help than just Arts though." Isuelt would be damned if she would put all of her eggs in that woman's basket.

"Who else is there to trust' You. Yes, I trust you." Although her resolve had been shaken. She swallowed. "I don't want this to be that much of an outside business."

"No one must know that you are a vessel. That knowledge alone will have you as a top target. As for help securing these relics" I think it best if we have some help, don't you think" There are people here that I trust with my life, Val. You've met them." She paused, "I would trust these people with my life. And have, on several occasions. We don't have to tell them why the relics are so important. But I believe that if they knew that they were important to us, these people would help." She nodded looking now down at the puddle of drying whiskey mixed with coffee on the table.

Both arms folded over her chest, the burnt one still as ugly as ever. "Relics can do strange things to people. These relics can do strange things to people." She wrinkled her nose a little, a small breath leaving her lips. "If you trust them then I suppose I will have to trust them as well." She nodded again and pursed her lips. "I am sorry you had to be the brunt of her rage." If that could be considered rage of a goddess.

"It's not the first time," she quietly answered as she looked up to her Sister; although this time seemed much nearer than before, being that Scathach's voice cam from Valkyrie's petite frame. "And as for the trusted" They are few, but they've been here. They will be on a need to know basis. But...but all things will be under your judgment, Val." She bowed her dark head to her.

Valkyrie shook her head softly. "It won't be under my judgment....it will be under hers."

"Mar sin, go mbeadh s"," Isuelt's Scathachian tongue came as easily and as cleanly as the day she was initiated. So be it.

"I do not like this any more than you do Issy." She said softly. "I've been living like this for well over a year now."

Somberly nodding, Isuelt looked to Valkyrie, "I know. We will mourn the loss of our ally and get revenge for her lost soul. But for now, your health and the power of our Mother is our first concern." She sighed once more, as visions of a quick and quiet death mocked her from that sober corner of her mind.

Valkyrie waved her hand as she stood there. "No. We will do both. Revenge for Katt and health of the goddess." She didn't care about her own health. "We have to get the pot churning and stew boiling. If we are to get Bhaal to show us its hiding place we have to get Bhaal to rear its ugly head."

"Agreed," Isuelt was mostly numb now. And the details of the night were still to come. She thought her head ached now.



((Many thanks to Valkyrie))