The Golden Ring
Little Fox…. The voice still echoed in her head as the Miqo’te put her satchel down. The sound of clinking glass could be heard, Poe frowning as she forgot about them. The last few days had been exhausting. She had worried endlessly about Ace and Rose, her heart saddened to see them at such odds. Her private conversation with Ace before he left the beach party had cemented her suspicions and for a moment a sad smile flashed on her face.Opening her satchel, Poe removed several small vials; she had been spending a significant amount of time trying to find the right mixture of herbs to offer others to help with healing. Her aunt had taught her a fair amount, but Poe had only just begun her training when she fled her family tribe. Lifting the vials to the sleepy sunlight that filtered into her room, Poe’s ears wilted. It’s cloudy…so it’s not pure. The female set them down on the table and turned to peer out the window. Her mind wandered to the other evening, the strange Lalafell and her singing oddly at Ace.
A sudden chill ran up Poe’s spine, remembering more than she had shared with the others. She had returned to Gridania the previous day, looking to do some fishing and drop off some items to the local inn. She had been approached quickly by one of the staff letting her know a letter had arrived for her. Her curiosity had been peaked and Poe had quickly gone to pick the letter up. It was a simple message from Eros stating he would like to speak with her. His behavior seemed odd enough but she had shrugged it off.
A little later, the rather naïve Miqo’te ran into him out in the Black Shroud. Oddly, he wasn’t dressed in his dark clothing, his pointy hat but was simply fishing in a place Poe was rather fond of fishing herself. He had been polite enough and after some small talk, asked her if she still had the two items her gave her. The stone he had given to her at the beach party and the golden ring he had dropped into her lap the night at the tavern.
Poe’s ears flattened with the memory. Why did he give those to me? She had handed them back over to Eros, assuming he simply had requested she hold onto these items for a bit. But when he melded the stone to the small ring and handed it back, she had been thoroughly confused. His explicit instructions still rang in her ear. No one else is to touch it or they will know true fear. She shivered again, remembering his expression. And the odd name he kept calling her, Little Fox. What did that even mean?
With this memory, Poe’s eyes started to mist up and she dropped her head in shame. It was all her fault that Ace was being hounded. He had touched the ring. It had all happened so fast, Ace demanding to see the ring; there was no way she would not have given it over. The female had tried to warn him, but it did no good. And then Keldion and Daevien…and Rose….and everyone else. It seemed as if she had brought something upon them all. And there was no way she would allow anyone to get hurt.
Refusing to cry, she wiped the tears from her eyes. The crew seemed to be in danger. She swallowed, pulling the shade closed on her window. Laying down on her bed, Poe made up her mind. She was going to find out exactly what Eros was planning.
