#i'm really curious to see how rakha ends up reacting to our buddy empy in act 3

[blackjackkent]

It is her first time trying to sleep in the shadowlands, and Rakha has a very restless time of it at first. The dark magic of the place stings and sizzles on her skin, through her mind, agitating the beast; its dreams and images of blood and blood and blood and blood are fiercer than usual tonight, ragged and raw.

But eventually, her exhaustion wins out over her turmoil, and she drifts into sleep, twitching and shivering...

...and her mind calms and drifts to silence as she wakes within the Prism.

For a moment she sits still with her eyes half-closed, simply relishing that silence. It has been some time since she was pulled into one of these dreams, but the peace that it provides is like the hit of some potent drug. It is the only time the beast and the tadpole (and, now, the caustic burn of the Shadowland's corrupted magic) are ever truly quiet; even Spaw's spores were not so thorough.

Eventually she looks up and finds the Guardian watching her. She's leaning against one of the pillars - out of armor this time, and instead dressed in a strange, short lavender garment, revealing long legs and bare arms. She looks utterly exhausted.

"The voice of the Absolute is strong here," she says - and the exhaustion is in her voice, too, heavy and sad. "And getting stronger. I don't know how much longer I can resist it." A pause, and then she lifts her head and offers Rakha a slight smile. "But it's good to see you're making progress."

She moves to sit down heavily at Rakha's side - carefully leaving a little distance between them. "You took an unexpected route here," she goes on, watching the half-orc sidelong. "You did a brave thing, saving those people in the grove."

Wyll said the same - that he was proud of her for what she did for the teeth-lings. She still doesn't fully understand it. "I didn't do it for them," she mutters. "The goblins were in my way, so I killed them."

Perhaps she expects the guardian, like Wyll, to disapprove of this harsh practicality - but instead the woman smiles. "I commend your efficiency," she murmurs.

Then she flinches suddenly, as if at a sharp pain in her head, and her breath hisses outward. "It just doesn't stop," she groans. "We are being bombarded by waves of telepathic energy. Wave after wave with hardly a breath between them. I almost dare not rest. Each wave, a set of orders to the infected." She flicks another weary glance at Rakha. "The order for your transformation has been given many times already."

"My transformation?"

She shudders involuntarily at the thought. In the daylight, her concern is often more for the constant growling of the beast than for the more subtle machinations of the parasite - but she is reminded abruptly now of that more hideous fate the guardian has been protecting them from. She remembers the squirming under her skin, the pain in her bones, as the transformation tried to begin once before.

"Yes," the woman says gravely. "But the orders are... oddly erratic. As if the Absolute cannot make up its mind." She frowns. "I don't fully understand." Her shoulders slump, again a slight sign of that inexpressible weariness. "In any case, the Absolute knows you carry me with you now. It wants to retrieve me."

There are so many answers Rakha wants - needs - from this woman. But for a moment, they all pale beside a sudden fear that this protection will break, that she will no longer be able to hope for these brief moments of respite and silence. "Can I still count on you?" she asks in a low voice.

The guardian looks at her steadily for a long, long moment. "Yes," she says, and her voice is oddly gentle.

Then she draws away, stands up abruptly and moves to look out over the starry vista around them.

"I am the only one who can resist the Absolute's influence. Hence its fear of me - its desperation," she goes on. "Unfortunately, that also means it is dedicating more and more resources to my retrieval. The task ahead is monumental, but we're all that stands between victory for the Absolute and freedom for all." She turns and looks down at Rakha. "This is not just about you and I anymore. It has become far bigger than us."

She waits silently while Rakha thinks through this.

Yes. Bigger... The presence of the Harpers makes that clear, as does what they saw at the goblin camp. They are not the only victims of these parasites. The leaders at the goblin camp were preparing for war. And the Harpers are doing the same.

Rakha does not have a strong conception of war, or of the threat to so many people beyond her own little group. But regardless - she wants to destroy this cult for what it has done to her personally, and all the better, all the more purpose, if it helps others as well. It is how Wyll would think of it.

She nods slowly.

The guardian returns the gesture and turns away. "You must infiltrate Moonrise Towers. Discover the secrets of the Absolute and put an end to it - so we can finally be free. Now I must rest... and you must carry on. Do not let my efforts be in vain."