Adrienne sat stiffly in an iron chair, her hands folded together in her lap as she waited.

What exactly she was waiting for, Adrienne was not certain.

It could have been a something, or a someone or perhaps the broken blade were just playing games, Adrienne could not tell.

The blindfold had been taken off, though that did not make much of a difference since Adrienne currently sat in a room encased in pitch darkness.

There was not even a single strand of light that seeped through, and Adrienne could not begin to tell where exactly she was.

The dwarf had lead Adrienne for over an hour all through which Adrienne had seen nothing of the path they had taken.

All she knew was that they had gotten into a carriage and travelled through a forest.

When they had stopped, they had walked for a little while before they entered a door and then down a hallway till they had arrived in this room.

The dwarf lead Adrienne to sit at this chair on arriving here and then took his leave without saying a single word.

Adrienne was not familiar with the rules of the broken blade and so all she could do was wait.

It was hard to keep track of how long had passed, Adrienne could not sense anything in this dark room, not even a single sound of movement could be heard from anywhere.

But Adrienne was certain she was being watched, they could not have left her completely to herself without keeping eyes on her.

The broken blade were extremely cautious in their dealings, Adrienne knew this much.

And they had to be as the slightest mistake on their part would expose them to the knowledge of the dragon lords which would be the end of the organization.

Adrienne guessed they took their time to ensure she was not a spy and had truly come for the purpose she claimed.

Though Adrienne understood, she was already extremely displeased and her patience quickly ran thin.

Adrienne would need to return to the citadel before anyone took notice of her absence, had she been in the Keep, she could not have even dared stay out this long.

"I have come to seek your services and I will pay whatever gold you demand! This reception is rather inappropriate!" Adrienne called out into the darkness.

Her patience had run it’s course and the eerie silence of the room was unnerving.

"What would you have us do for you?" A voice echoed in the darkness as a silhouette moved in a corner of the room, stepping out from the shadows.

It was only then Adrienne realized she had the company of a man with a tattoo covering half of his face,

He had been there all the while, and somehow Adrienne had not noticed at all.

Adrienne was quick to compose herself, she could not let it on that she was intimidated or scared.

"I wish to consult the seer." Adrienne said in a firm tone.

The tattooed man was quiet for a moment before he chuckled lowly.

"You are aware divination is considered an art of dark magic? For what purpose would you require a divination?" The tattooed man asked as he also took a seat.

"Am I to entertain your curiousity? The answers I seek have no relations to the Broken Blade. I will pay the fee, you need only guide me to the seer." Adrienne replied blankly.

"He is not one you can easily meet with just because you wish to, girl." The tattooed man replied.

"I must see the seer immediately, I will pay triple your fee." Adrienne offered.

"You do not even know what fee we shall ask of you yet, and you make such a bargain?" The man asked.

Adrienne paused at that, she did not know of any other fee but gold. What else could the broken blade ask of her?

"You must believe gold is enough to buy our services, well it usually is but not this time." The tattooed man continued.

"What is that to mean? If not gold, what do you want in exchange?" Adrienne asked with a deep frown.

"We will do you a favor and in exchange for our favor, you must give one in return." The tattooed man replied.

"A favor? What favor exactly?" Adrienne asked with a raised brow.

"When the time comes, we will let you know what we need. Do you agree to our terms?" He asked.

Adrienne thought over it for only a moment, before she nodded.

"Very well, I agree." Adrienne accepted the bargain.

"Your word, you must seal it in your blood... for formalities as your identity is unknown to us." The tattooed man said, placing a blank parchment of paper on the table.

Adrienne got up to her feet and walked over to the table, pulling out a dagger, she pricked her finger with the pointy end and pressed it down on the blank parchment.

"Will that suffice?" Adrienne asked.

"Certainly, come with me." The tattooed man replied with a grin.

He took the parchment and stored it away in his coat.

He then turned and led the way out of the room and down a hallway till they reached it’s end where they took a left turn into another hallway.

They soon arrived at a wooden double door and the man pushed open the door, leading the way in.

They stepped into a large hall with a high ceiling, other than tapestries along the walls, there was nothing else in the hall.

The man led Adrienne to the middle of the hall where there was an open space and a stairwell leading down.

"He awaits you down below, you will go alone." The tattooed man said.

Adrienne nodded, pulling her cloak tighter around herself, she stepped down to the stairwell, descending slowly.

Just as Adrienne got down halfway, the opening she had just passed through closed up, rendering the cave like room in pitch darkness.

There was a trace of light coming from the center of the room, Adrienne cautiously made her way down the stairs in darkness and though she tried to maintain composure, she could not shake off the feeling of unease.

Perhaps coming to the Broken Blade had not been the best option, but Adrienne could not consider that now, this was the only way she could think of.

Adrienne clutched her cloak tightly, she was ready to defend herself if it came down to that.

Just as the tattooed man had said, divination was considered an art of dark magic, especially when performed by those who did not adhere to the morals of good and evil.

Adrienne knew just how terrifying dark magic could be, not even her was confident enough to face it.

Adrienne approached cautiously, her eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger.

As she drew closer to the light, Adrienne hesitated for a brief moment.

Adrienne had never cared much for morals or the concept of good and evil, as long as she could get her way.

But this truly was the first time Adrienne would directly involve herself in affairs of dark magic. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Of course, Adrienne’s hesitation only lasted for a moment.

The cave was dark and dank, the air thick with the smell of damp earth and musty stone.

Adrienne’s eyes slowly adjusted to the now brighter cave as she got into the area that was cast by the light,

It was only then Adrienne could fully see her surrounding, the cave was filled with strange runes and even stranger objects.

There were piles of glittering gems, a few ancient scrolls were stacked up high on a flat rock, and the strange runes engraved into the cave walls gave off an eerie glow.

But all of that moved to the back of Adrienne’s mind as her attention was drawn to the figure sitting in the center of the cave.

The seer was not at all what Adrienne expected, sitting cross-legged on a slightly elevated platform was a young boy that looked to be just about ten summers by human age.

His head was bald, completely devoid of hair and on his scalp, a large rune was drawn in black ink that even reached down to his forehead.

His eyes were purely white, with no pupils are all.

Adrienne glanced around in confusion, it was hard to believe this was the great seer her aunt had once spoken of.

Adrienne could not tell what specie exactly this young boy was, there was no discerning feature that could prove he was not human.

The young boy was dressed in tattered robes, worn down with years that seemed even longer than the years he had lived.

His eyes were wide open but was fixed ahead on the wall, as though he was oblivious to his environment.

Adrienne shook her head slightly, something was surely wrong here, that was the only explanation for this.

Adrienne turned to take her leave but froze up in her step when her name echoed through the quiet cave.

"Princess Adrienne of the Fae... Greetings..." The young boy called to Adrienne, his gaze moving to settle on her.