//------------------------------//
// Solstheim: Helping the People 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

With the Black Book in hand, and their time in Nchardak was done, Wind and the others departed from the Dwarven ruin, as all of them figured that peering into the reading of it should happen in a safer environment, giving them time to see if they bumped into any additional tomes, since Wind seemed sort of against reading one of the ancient tomes. Amaryllis knew that while her mentor seemed to think she was ready for the trials ahead of her, and she kind of felt the same way since she had seen how powerful Wind had become, but there was something in Wind's way that only she could overcome, meaning until that time they would collect more Black Books and help the people of Solstheim. When they emerged from Nchardak, and were able to start the trek back to Tel Mithryn, they found a dragon resting on one of the tilted domes of the area they had walked through to reach the ruin's door, a white scaled beast that seemed to be watching them, who flapped his wings and took off as soon as they spotted him. Neloth, as per usual, seemed to believe that he had scared off the beast with the sheer power that a master wizard of House Telvanni was capable of unleashing, since he walked towards Tel Mithryn with his head held high and words that indicated that he was stronger than dragons.

"It would seem that Miraak sent that dragon to keep an eye on us," Amaryllis remarked, speaking to her group for a couple of seconds, all while they followed behind the insane wizard, who didn't seem to care that they were a few steps behind him at the moment, though she let out a sigh as everyone walked back to the mushroom tower, "he'll know we've found the second Black Book... whether or not he stays true to his word, however, remains to be seen."

"Yes, and in the meantime we should figure out where the other Black Books are hidden," Za'kera said, as she agreed with Amaryllis' statement, about the Dragonborn that clearly served Hermaeus Mora and was looking for a way to leave the realm he was currently living in, even though he could likely form a portal on his own, thanks to the damage to the Liminal Barrier, and the Prince of Fate was keeping him contained in his realm, "which means helping Neloth some more... he has one of the tomes, so we'll have to see what else he wants from us so we can get our hands on his book."

Neloth, of course, also made sure to escort the beaten Reavers over to his tower as well, though he made a detour so he could cage all of them in the ship that Ma'jera prepared for him, though there weren't any enemies in the area, the scene no doubt scaring off everyone, before they were able to return to Tel Mithryn, where they found Talvas hanging out in her new home with a sad look on her face.

"Varona, where are you? I'm hungry for apple cabbage stew, with canis root tea!" Neloth stated, speaking as soon as they entered the upper levels of his tower, though it appeared that his Steward had either returned to her part of the tower, as there were three other smaller mushrooms and one had to be her domain, or she had departed for Raven Rock, no doubt to gather supplies, before Neloth turned his head for a moment, "Talvas... no, wait, you're more of a 'Talva' in your new form... have you seen Varona?"

"N... No, Master, I haven't seen Varona since she left for Raven Rock." Talvas, or Talva as the wizard called her, answered, where it was clear that she didn't seem too happy about this situation, about being reduced to a mere research subject and having lost her position as Neloth's apprentice, among the other things that she had lost since they had arrived in this tower to get Neloth's help in tracking down the Black Books.

"Well someone had better find her... and tell her I want apple cabbage stew, with some canis root tea." Neltoh said, where he glanced back at Amaryllis and the others for a moment, no doubt informing them that this was their task to do while he did whatever research that was occupying his time, before he returned to the cage his former apprentice was in, no doubt because he was curious about something.

Za'kera sighed as she returned to the base of the tower, allowing her and her companions to head back outside, as there was no telling where in the world Varona might be, since there was a good distance between Tel Mithryn and Raven Rock, though what she did was have Amaryllis take on her true form once more and scout out the path Varona might have used to get to the settlement. Not a few seconds later she took to the air and found that there were a few Reaver camps, likely the same ones she had seen during her flights so far, quickly spotted the Dark Elf in the ash covered ruin, noticed a couple of Skaal in the middle of a hunt, and a few other things as well, but she didn't see anyone dressed as a Steward running over the ash. When she reached Raven Rock she paused in the air and thought about things for a moment, since it looked like she might have missed something, before turning around so she could head back to the others, though as she did that she discovered a trio of Ash Spawn near Tel Mithryn and pointed it out to Wind. Not a few moments later they lashed out at the ashen enemies before they were able to do anything, Za'kera cutting them down with her swords, Lydia smashing them with her battleaxe, while Wind blasted one with lightning, allowing Amaryllis to simply watch as she scouted out the rest of the area.

What she discovered, however, was the fallen form of Varona, stabbed to death by the Ash Spawn by the looks of it, not to mention some heavy slashes across her chest, though to be sure nothing was stolen she did a quick search and found a list of groceries, a key, and a sake of gold, to which most of the group sighed as they returned to Tel Mithryn, finding that Neloth was still studying Talva's new body.

"Well, we found Varona." Za'kera stated, something that caused Neloth to stop in his tracks as he turned to face them, as he could see that they didn't have good news for him and it made him to frown a little more, but to be honest Amaryllis really didn't care about him, as the only reason they were helping the wizard out was so they could get his Black Book and whatever Wind had to do inside each of them, "I'm afraid she's dead..."

"Dead? Well that's annoying." Neloth said, his tone informing them that he really didn't care about Varona, seeing her as more of a tool and someone who could be replaced, either if she failed or was slain in the line of duty, which was running the tower, getting groceries, and whatever else Neloth had her do, "How did she die?"

"Ash Spawn, based on the looks of the scene we found." Wind replied, where she also noticed his total lack of care for his previous Steward, in fact he didn't seem to be troubled by Varona's death and the problems it might cause him, though he simply sighed for a moment as he took in the information that he was being told, allowing them to stand there and wait for him to say something.

"There are more and more of those things showing up around here lately. Oh well, I suppose you'll have to find me a new steward." Neloth stated, confirming that he really didn't care much about Varona's death, especially since he was already trying to replace her with someone else, causing them to keep a straight face, since it wouldn't do them any favors if he noticed that they were annoyed with him, "Try Raven Rock... they are in awe of me there. I'm sure almost anyone would be willing to serve me, once they learn that a position is open."

Amaryllis and the others glanced at each other for a few seconds, no doubt debating what to do about this situation, but said nothing as everyone headed down to the base of the tower and departed for Raven Rock, leaving Neloth to whatever his current studies were, though he didn't try to get his hands on the Black Books they had. As soon as they were outside the tower, and found that it was in the afternoon, meaning they had spent a good deal of time in Nchardak, Za'kera turned to their left for a moment before starting to head back to Raven Rock, allowing the others to follow after her as they kept their guards up. Once more they discovered that Amaryllis was right about what might be in their way, as there were next to no enemies for them to worry about, the Reavers were probably elsewhere, a pair of mages ended up killing each other in the distance, and some Skaal were hunting a floating creature of some kind for it's meat, so they were able to traverse the ash covered island with some amount of ease. They were fine with this turn of events, as none of them wanted to fight anything right now, though while they did that Amaryllis spotted a tower with a cart outside it's walls, a stone tower, but at the moment it didn't seem important and she focused her mind on making sure no one was going to attack them during their trek to Raven Rock.

It took a while for them to get back to the settlement in question, where they found that the guards were fine with them returning and said nothing as Za'kera lead them down to the street that cut through it, where they found Captain Veleth standing near what had to be the house of whoever ruled over Raven Rock, though upon seeing them he walked over to where they were standing.

"You've returned. So, what of General Carius?" Veleth asked, showing that he recognized them and that he was eager to learn if they had killed the person responsible for sending the Ash Spawn to attack Raven Rock, especially since he lost two members of his guard in the last attack they helped him repel.

"He's dead. You don't have to worry about the Ash Spawn attacking anymore." Za'kera replied, as that was what Amaryllis told her earlier, that she had taken care of her target and saved this settlement before it was attacked again, where they could see that the Captain was relieved to hear this information, meaning he could turn his attention to whatever else was out there, like all of the Reavers.

"I'm not sure how he managed to survive for two hundred years, but it's good to hear he's been eliminated," Veleth said, a smile appearing on his face as he realized they wouldn't have to worry about the Ash Spawn for the foreseeable future, or at least until someone else seized control of them and started attacking Raven Rock again, though in that moment, as the group started to head towards the market, he pulled out a sack of coins, "I told Councilor Morvayn about your promise to take care of General Carius and he told me to give you this upon your return... and that the General has been taken care of. It's far better than a soldier's pay."

Amaryllis was surprised by the amount that was inside the sack, as from the outside it looked like a few hundred, like five or six, but inside it rested between seventy-five hundred to ten thousand coins, meaning the settlement wasn't falling on hard time, like that one Dark Elf told Gjalund earlier, though as the others stared at the payment she noticed that Veleth had something else to say.

"I take it there's more that you need from us?" Amaryllis asked, though Za'kera pocketed the coins before she and the rest of the group focused on what she was saying, since she could see and feel that the Captain wanted to say more than what he had said so far, something Wind picked up on as well when she realized what she had felt, but they remained silent as they turned on the figure.

"Second Councilor Arano was asking about you, and he wants to speak with you," Veleth replied, where he beckoned to a part of Raven Rock for a moment, no doubt meaning that the person they would have to talk to was out there, waiting to speak to either one or more of them about something, before he let out a sigh as he faced them, "I don't know what he wants to talk about, but it sounded urgent... it might be more important than taking out General Carius."

Wind and the others shared a glance for a few seconds as they informed the Captain that they would speak with Arano as soon as possible, where he went back to his business and allowed Za'kera to move forward, only to find the Dark Elf that wanted to speak with them near the path leading to the corrupted Stone, something she was going to deal with soon, and he turned to face her group as they stopped near him. Fortunately they were near a section of the path that wasn't used all that much, allowing Arano to inform the group that he had Veleth send them his way because he was worried about Councilor Morvayn being killed, that some of his enemies might be in Raven Rock and there was no way for the guard to move against them without someone learning of their actions. His suggestion was to check with Geldris Sadri in the inn, a place that went by the name the 'Retching Netch', as he might have something that would allow them to figure out who in the world wanted Morvayn dead, and that they check his leads before bringing them to his attention, since he didn't want to show his hand to their enemy before he was ready. With that conversation over Za'kera walked over to the inn, where they found that it did go down into the ground, as the main floor was the basement and the upper floor seemed to be one of the sitting areas, but fortunately most of the people were outside and a male Dark Elf, the innkeeper, was the only one near the bar.

What they discovered was that Geldris was amused to see that Arano had someone who was willing to track down their foe, a Ulen apparently, before informing them that they should wait in the Ulen Family Tomb to see who arrived, as there were no members of that family on Solstheim and yet someone was leaving offerings for them, to which they nodded and backed away to a corner.

"You guys should track down whoever might want to become Neloth's new Steward, as it might take some time before this Ulen spy shows themselves," Amaryllis remarked, as she had been trained to be an assassin and this seemed to be one of the most perfect opportunities for her to put her skills to the test, especially since it seemed like the ruler of Raven Rock was in danger, though she found that Za'kera nodded her head in agreement.

Wind sighed as Amaryllis left the group, following the directions that had been given to them so she could figure out where the tomb was located, though while she did that everyone else started to track down some of the residents of Raven Rock so they could figure out who might want to start living in Tel Mithryn as Neloth's latest Steward. One of the Dark Elves, the alchemist, turned them down as soon as the question was asked, informing them that she'd rather swim all the way back to the racist city of Windhelm, while another one, who happened to be one of the Severins, claimed that Neloth was just a madman and not worth working for, even if he was of House Telvanni. They then heard some interesting rumors from the rest of the people they talked to, as some claimed that he tore out the heart of his previous apprentice, even though they were unaware of what happened to Talvas, others claimed that he drank ash, one thought Neloth was crazy for wanting to transport a living white mammoth for his studies, and other rumors that surprised them. Based on what they learned the majority, if not the entirety, of Raven Rock didn't like Neloth and wanted nothing to do with him, even though they did find that the local blacksmith wanted some help with someone in the mines, who had stolen an ancient nordic pickaxe, before one Dark Elf, a male, jumped at the chance and left before they could stop him.

In the end Za'kera decided to just help out the people of Raven Rock, first by shattering the structure around the Stone on the outskirts so they could kill the Lurkers that emerged from two different patches of water, though even without the aid of Amaryllis the three of them were able to take them down, before heading for the mine and found two figures arguing about something.

What they discovered was that the elderly Imperial, a male called Crescius Caerellius, was here looking for clues as to what happened to his ancestor, especially since the mines had collapsed at one point and the Empire shut it down, but he had found a letter and a key recently that sparked his interest in the matter. Even though he didn't trust them Crescius, in the end, handed over the information he had and asked them to track down anything that might be use in his quest to make the East Empire Company pay for their lies, though his mood did sour when Wind asked about the pickaxe that he took from the blacksmith, who handed it over before leaving. Za'kera was interested by what they might find if they explored the mine's depths, as there was no telling where the Black Books might be located and a little exploration would do them good, since it would cross off a location from their list, as she was sure that Ma'jera had one to keep them going, and Wind agreed with her idea, causing Lydia to rush down the wooden steps as she descended into the mine. At first all they found were a few Skeevars and a few spiders, most of which Lydia crushed with the edge of her battleaxe, since none of them were worth her Thane's time, before reaching a boarded up wall that, upon being smashed to pieces by Lydia, brought the three of them to a locked door that the key went to.

On the other side rested a nordic ruin, which had to be why this place had been locked off, though Za'kera unlocked the door and they headed into the first part of the crypt, or at least the part that the people of Raven Rock dug into, all while Ma'jera floated behind them, allowing the three of them to focus on their mission, as she was observing and making sure her apprentice improved on her own. Sure enough it wasn't long before Za'kera, Lydia, and Wind found some Draugr that were waking up, ranging from the basic ones to the deadly Deathlords, and attacked them accordingly, though they had to be careful when facing the stronger enemies, since their Shouts were enough to knock most of them backwards if one of them were caught by such an attack. Wind discovered that if she threw up a Ward in front of her and her companions, one of the first spells she learned thanks to the starting lessons of the College, it would block the majority of the Shout, which was Unrelenting Force since that seemed to be the only one these enemies knew, though her spell allowed them to stay safe for a while before her companions lashed out at the undead. She also channeled some of her other spells while they fought the Draugr, hurling Fireballs and Ice Spikes through the air, weakening her foes to the point where they could be finished off by either Za'kera or Lydia, all while her mentor studied her movements, no doubt making sure she lived up to her grand expectations.

After a few moments they found a passage leading to a circular chamber, which had a number of Deathlords waiting for intruders, though this time none of them let the undead strike first, as Wind lashed out with some Thunderbolts as both of her companions cut down their enemies, before they were overwhelmed by foes. Once the undead were taken out Za'kera took a moment to collect any ebony weapons, just like she had seen Amaryllis do in the past, before finding some gold and weapons inside a large chest, though once it was empty they continued through the door in front of them and kept their guards up. The passage on the other side allowed them to pass by some coffins that didn't open up at all, which they were fine with, before spotting one that had a bunch of ice covering it, Stalhrim based on what the blacksmith had told them, as the pickaxe he wanted them to recover was said to be able to break through this stuff. A few seconds later Lydia, who told her Thane that she would do this task, walked away from the coffin with several chunks of Stalhrim and discovered that the carved pickaxe was just fine, meaning it might be useful in the future, to which they resumed moving deeper into the ancient nordic tomb.

They then passed by two soul gems that were set up to hurt whoever got near them, which Wind dealt with thanks to two well placed Wards, before they entered a chamber that was partly filled with water, had a short walkway with a Deathlord on it, and what looked like a pedestal that had a lever on it, to open the way for them to continue moving. Sure enough the undead attacked them and Wind lashed out with a Thunderbolt, blasting it off the walkway that it happened to be on, but she also used a second to take it out, allowing Za'kera to move forward and see what else might be waiting for them, which lead to Lydia slaying another Draugr with her battleaxe. That allowed them to reach a chamber that had a pedestal with a tome on top of it, an Ice Spike tome, though Wind claimed it, as it was never a good idea to leave spell tomes behind, even if no one would be following them through this ruin, before they found a way up to the upper level and crossed over to the top of the chamber that happened to contain the tome in question. After that they found their way to a walkway that was above everything they had passed so far, thanks to a metallic cage around it, and not a few moments later they found a tunnel in the left side of the passage that seemed to be what they were looking for, as it lead to a decent sized open area that required them to jump down to the ground.

The chamber in question had a massive structure on one side, the side they were facing, and there were a number of red runes on it, though the group did find a skeleton that had a greatsword resting in front of it, a weapon that seemed to be the same color as all of the runes and had a few short spikes on the sides, though Wind did find a journal on the skeleton and collected it.

"Hm, so this is the 'Bloodskal Blade', and it seems connected to the door," Wind commented, taking a moment to read the journal and found that it also had some information that the elderly Imperial would want to see once they returned from this place, though she smiled as Lydia picked up the greatsword, as she found a passage about the power of the blade and what happened when it was swung, "by that it looks like if one swings it in a certain way they'll release a wave of energy, one that might be able to open the door in front of us."

Lydia, appearing to have no need to listen to the rest of the explanation, switched to using the Bloodskal Blade and swung it at the wall in front of them, releasing horizontal, vertical, and diagonal waves of energy that sliced into the wall and they watched as each one sunk into the wall before being replaced by new ones, hence why she continued her movements for a few moments. In no time the runes were no longer in their way and the door opened, revealing a number of swinging axes that they had to avoid, though these ones were easier to avoid than what had been in Miraak's temple, allowing them to move down the passage before Za'kera head the chanting that came from one of the Word Walls, meaning they were close to the guardian. At the end of the passage it was easy for them to find a water filled chamber, save for the outer ring that happened to be where the Word Wall rested, though on the inside they found a coffin that was under the water, only it unlocked when they entered the chamber and they discovered a Dragon Priest with different robes than what they were used to seeing. This one seemed to have a metallic robe on, or a robe covered by metal in some places, while appearing to be somewhat dark, like he was a master of shock magic, though as he faced them, allowing the group to see that even his mask was different from what a normal Dragon Priest wore, Wind drew her staff and stepped up, knowing that they would have to face the creature in front of them.

Of course Wind happened to be proven wrong, as the Dragon Priest either recognized her Ayleid staff or realized that he was in the presence of a Demiprince, because he allowed them to move and floated by Ma'jera, giving Za'kera a chance to learn another Word of Power while Ma'jera found a lever that opened the way to where a Black Book rested, which just so happened to be the Winds of Change... though as they figured out how to leave Wind had to wonder what Amaryllis was up to and if she would be done when they returned to Raven Rock.





Amaryllis discovered that an hour went by inside the Ulen Family Tomb, though to be sure no one suspected anything she had hidden herself in a place where no one would see her and took on a Dark Elf female disguise before heading into the tomb, where she made it look like she was praying while she waited to see if the plan would work. Based on the time that went by she was sure that Za'kera and Wind had found someone to be Neloth's new Steward, plus do whatever else they might do to pass the time while they waited for her to come back with news about who was trying to kill the First Councilor of Raven Rock. When the first hour was up she discovered that someone else came in and tended to one of the ash tombs as well, where she found that it happened to be one of the Severins she had seen earlier, Tilisu if her memory was correct, but she said nothing as she emerged from her hiding spot and exited the tomb without revealing herself. Once she was back outside, however, Amaryllis made her way back to the private area that she and the others had spoken to Arano in, who happened to be there still, and carefully reverted back to the form she had been using when he last saw her, and the moment they were back together she informed him of the trap she had laid.

"I suspect that one of the Severins, Tilisu, might be your culprit," Amaryllis said, where she leaned against the wall for a few seconds and noticed something interesting as she did so, the Dark Elf in question left the tomb sooner than she thought, even if she wasn't an Ulen and had to be leaving the offering in their place, sending up red flags in her mind, "the plan you were told about worked, just as Geldis said. I also suspect that you'll need proof, so what would you have me do to see if she's truly the culprit?"

"You'll have to search Severin Manor," Arano replied, to which he gestured across the way, without drawing attention to what he was doing, to a house that was on the outskirts of Raven Rock, giving her an idea of where she had to go next, but after that he pulled out a set of keys and handed her one, "that key should help you get inside, in case the door is locked, but I'm hoping you're wrong about it being the Severins."

Amaryllis nodded and stepped away from where she was meeting Arano, where she silently and carefully approached the building in question, discovering that no one was looking this way and no one happened to be walking towards her, hence why she unlocked the door and headed inside Severin Manor. What she discovered was that no one was inside the place, as she felt no emotions coming from the first floor or the basement, to which she embraced the shadows and studied the chambers that were in this place, looking for anything that might be out of the ordinary. That lead her to discovering that there was a smithy in one of the rooms, complete with a tanning rack, meaning the Severins made their own things and didn't buy items from the blacksmith, save for materials, and there was another chamber that served as a room for one or more people, even if there was only one bed right now. After that she found the grand bedroom, one large enough to hold a bed for two, several display cases, a few mannequins that were bare, and a safe that happened to be unlocked, which had to be a mistake and would cost the Severins dearly, especially since she found a letter that definitely incriminated the family in the plot to kill the First Councilor.

With the letter in hand she heard the front door open and felt two sets of emotions, finding Tilisu and her mother, Mirri, had returned, though both seemed to realize that someone had invaded their house and claimed that House Hlaalu would have it's revenge against Morvayn, though she wasted no time in drawing her blades from their scabbards and cut them both down, allowing her to return to Arano without wasting any time.

"I have the evidence you wanted, plus Mirri and Tilisu are dead, as they tried to kill me," Amaryllis remarked, handing over the information she had recovered from the manner, something that caused the Second Councilor to raise an eyebrow as he read what was on the letter, as it had to be hard for him to accept that the family in question wanted his boss dead for something that happened so long ago, "Want me to take care of them?"

"Just you? They have an army of assassins!" Arano said, as he noticed that part of the letter, about the hidden forces that were in Ashfallow Citadel, and had to wonder if Amaryllis had a death wish, since he had no idea who she was and the fact that she was the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, not to mention it's leader, but she wasn't about to tell him that, since it usually made people afraid.

"Indeed, but I'm better than them." Amaryllis stated, because while she wasn't one to brag, in fact that was something she usually didn't do, she knew that whoever the assassins were wouldn't stand a chance against her and her powers, hence why she was so confident in the fact that she would be able to take down whoever was in Ashfallow Citadel, causing Arano to raise an eyebrow for a moment.

In the end the Second Councilor agreed to send her, and her alone, to Ashfallow Citadel, as it would allow the rest of the guard to remain here in case an attack was on it's way from House Hlaalu, though once she knew where her destination was she excused herself and departed from Raven Rock without delay, knowing that it was only a matter of time until the assassins realized the Severins were dead. Once she had some distance between her and Raven Rock, to the point where none of the guards could see her, she shifted into her true form and took to the skies, heading to the east, as Arano told her that Ashfallow Citadel was near Tel Mithryn, the tower she had spotted earlier. It wasn't hard for her to track down the tower again, nor did it take her long to find two figures wearing chitin armor, a deeper color than what she and the others had seen so far, who happened to be moving like they were keeping an eye out for enemies and glanced around like she would have if she were in their position. They were assassins, possibly the Morag Tong based on what she had learned in the starting days of her time with the Dark Brotherhood, one of the many conversations she had with her Family, and they were keeping an eye out as they waited for their boss to give the order to attack Raven Rock.

Before either of them could do anything she dropped out of the air and removed the head of the first assassin, before she drove her blades into the heart of the second, killing her before she had a chance to retaliate, though Amaryllis paused for a few seconds to be sure that no more were out here, finding that the area was bare, allowing her to collect the arrows her targets had, as they were elven, orcish, dwarven, glass, ebony, and even daedric, before heading inside the tower.

Once inside she carefully searched the ash covered area and found a way down into the depths of the buried citadel, even though she found no one near the entrance, another mistake in her books, before heading down a set of stairs and kept an eye open for enemies as her senses informed her that there were many between her and her target. One assassin was leaning on a wall near the bottom of the stairs, where she stepped through the shadows before stabbing him in his back, allowing her to head down a short passage that brought her to a tunnel, which seemed to connect the start of the citadel to the end, even if she would have to deal with some traps along the way. Sure enough she found all of her enemies in no time, as they were standing along the tunnel and in all of the side rooms, though with some of the shadowy areas she had a way to make them come to her, as all she had to do was make a noise and the enemies in a certain area would come out to see what was going on, allowing her to lash out and kill them before they could arm themselves. Of course some of her enemies proved that they were willing to listen to what was going on around them, but in the end it didn't matter as she cut them down, giving none of them a chance to defend themselves, while opening the raised walls that were in front of her, removing the defenses that were between her and her target.

In the end she found the head assassin in the final chamber, with two guards no less, though none of them stood much of a chance as Amaryllis stabbed one in the back before removing the heads of the other two, especially since she included the leader in that, though once she was done she made sure to loot the place as she wondered what would happen when she regrouped with the others.