Hanging her head backwards, Tessa let out an apprehensive sigh gazing upwards. "Just what have I gotten myself into?" Snapping her head back down, she made her way back down the sewers stone walkway the few feet she had to go to where she had first found Effy.

Much to her dismay, Tessa didn't see anything but the scuff marks she had made while bringing Effy back home. “I kind of expected that it wouldn’t be that easy to find answers to this mystery.” Using her shoes, she brushed away all the markings not wanting anyone to use them as a way to find her home should an artificer come down into the sewers after her.

While there may have been nothing else noticeable about the location, it was most definitely a familiar spot in the sewers for Tessa. It was a set of four intersecting tunnels that she normally looped around walking in random places to hide where she was going should she ever be followed.

Her gaze going from one direction to the next, Tessa stood there looking confused. “How is this possible? There were no footprints on the stone indicating how Effy came to be down here in the sewers.”

Scratching her head, Tessa looked back upon the bloody mark. "Well, ain't this odd? She couldn't have come through the sewage, or she would have smelled like it and been wet too. But how could she come down here without leaving any footprints whatsoever?” She paused trying to think. “I guess she could have been brought down here by some sort of magic. But was it her own…or someone else's?"

There was never going to be anyone to respond to her inquiries, the running sewage of the murky waters around her was all the answer she was going to get in return. No matter which path she looked down, she couldn't see any footprints but her own. "This is really fucking odd, nobody comes down here ever because of the rumors of monsters, and she just appears here randomly without a trace of whence she came?"

Kicking a loose rock into the waters, she shoved her hands into her hoodie’s pockets. "I guess I may as well check on it while I am out this way, it's the only thing down here that I know of that might draw someone's attention. Maybe that is where she came from?"

The path Tessa took distorted around her almost like it was alive. She felt safe coming down here where few tread to walk.

There had been a night a few months back that she had been followed down into the sewers and chased through them. At first she had thought it was dumb luck that she had managed to lose them and escape their grasp…but that was only until her eyes had caught glimpses of the runes along the walls.

Ever since that day she had felt at ease while walking this path knowing that if anyone had tried to follow after her they would have likely gotten lost following their own path instead of hers just like the mysterious figure that had come to chase her down into the sewers all those months ago had.

Running her fingers along one of them, it glowed a faint blackish purple before fading away once more. “Thank you for keeping me safe.” She couldn't tell where the runes began, nor where they ended but the walls were covered in them. Unless the light from above hit them certain ways you would never know they were there.

While she might not have known how they got there, she could have sworn they looked familiar even if she couldn't place just why she felt that way. She imagined whomever had made the runes had also made her hidden little sanctuary. "Well, at least until they very likely died."

Sighing, she continued on her way. The area around her grew dark very suddenly like all the light had been sucked away into nothingness. The sewers behind her vanished entirely leaving her in this odd darkness. While she knew this would happen, it was still a little unnerving as she kept walking calmly forward.

It wasn't long before the utter darkness began to fade and she found herself within a large circular cavern. Moonlight shone in from overhead illuminating the area far better than it had the sewers through the grates glinting off the dewy moss covered walls.

At the center of the cavern was a pedestal, laying atop of it was a cloth visibly hiding something beneath it.

Tessa stepped up to it, lifting the cloth unveiling what was hidden beneath. It looked like an ornate ceremonial dagger with a golden handle and a green gem adorned its hilt. The blade itself looked like it was made from ivory or bone but no less sharp than if it had been made from metal. Beside it lay a similarly crafted sheath.

Breathing a sigh of relief Tessa admired the dagger for a long moment. "I guess this isn’t where Effy came from then. There is no way someone wouldn’t have claimed this artifact as their own if they had seen this atop its pedestal."

Her fingers hovered over the blade's handle, a part of her really wanted to touch it, to take the dagger as her own. She couldn't help but think back to the night before and the question Dusa posed to her as she suddenly spoke to herself finally answering the question. "To be honest? I don't need it. I've managed to escape every artificer I've met so far without having to resort to fighting them." 

Covering the dagger with the cloth once more, her voice echoed oddly in the mostly empty cavern. "Nor do I want to really risk what touching this might do to me either. My life is fine as it is, I don't need this.” She paused for a moment before adding on as she turned to leave. “Nor do I need anyone in my life."

Tessa's hands slid down into the front pockets of her hoodie. "This is a dead end. Hopefully Dusa or someone that goes to her bar might know something about who Effy is and where she might have come from."

Walking back through the darkness, Tessa still couldn't help the lingering feeling of guilt that she had something to do with Effy's injury. Sighing, she made her way back through the sewers toward her home.

Standing just outside her home with her hands still in her pockets, she was hesitant to enter. Taking a deep breath she pulled her hands out of her pockets lifting the veil covering her home.. As she did a scream hit her ears and she saw Effy panickedly writhing on the pillows and bedding. "Shit."

Tessa ran over, kneeled down and began shaking Effy firmly. "Hey!" Not getting a response other than more screaming she shook her again harder this time. "Wake up, it's just a dream. It can't hurt you, c'mon already!"

When Effy's eyes finally opened she let out a gasp immediately recoiling from Tessa's touch skidding up against the wall with her arms wrapped tightly around her shaking body.

Tessa looked taken aback by Effy's reaction. Letting out a sigh she spoke softly. "Adishesha damnit...I am sorry, I am not used to being around someone with the kinds of trauma you likely have." She paused for a moment before adding on. "Hell...I'm not used to being around people in general."

Effy's lips parted, still visibly shaking. Her ears wilted as she mouthed words that failed to escape her lips. When she finally found her voice the words came out squeakily. "I-it's n-not y-your f-fault..."

Sighing again, Tessa sat down away from the pillows. She motioned with her hand for Effy to come back over. "Take your time, I know these kinds of attacks don’t always pass easily.” She paused for a moment looking at the girl with concern in her eyes. “The pillows are yours for the night and if you feel it would help to talk about what happened…I am here." A gentle smile parted Tessa’s face, her ears wilting at being unsure of how to help her ease the torment she could see held within those blue eyes.

Tears streamed down Effy’s cheeks as she shakily moved back to the pillows. Raising a hand, she wiped away the tears that kept streaking their way down her cheeks. The look she had on her face was one of pure terror, her hand drifting down to her face to touch along her throat. "J-just a bad dream I t-think, o-or maybe it was a memory of the past? I-I really don't know..." Hiccing, her eyes closed as she sniffled. "I-it felt like someone was c-choking me, I c-can still f-feel those clawed fingers g-grasping around my t-throat…b-but the sensation is e-easing a b-bit."

Sliding her legs to her left side, Tessa's hands began fidgeting in her lap. "I don't think there is anything I can really say to help you with something like that, but you're safe here. I hope it was just a bad dream, but if it is a trauma from your past causing it the dreams might stay with you forever." Reaching into her hoodies pocket, she pulled out a cloth and handed it out towards Effy. "So let's hope it's just a dream."

Giving a little nod, Effy took a hold of the cloth wiping at her face. "Y-you sound like y-you're speaking f-from experience..."

Tessa responded with a wry smile. "Maybe." Her expression took on a sad visage as she shuffled her feet on the cement beneath her.

There was an awkward silence between them for a few minutes. Tessa eventually got up and moved over to the opposite corner of where Effy was. Sliding down to the floor, Tessa's hands went back into her pockets as she let out a yawn. "I know it might be easier said than done but you should try and sleep again. It's still a few hours before we go topside and you have some healing to do."

Beginning to regain her voice, Effy spoke softly. "D-don't you want some of the pillows and blankets?"

Shooting her a grin, Tessa let out a soft chuckle. "Nah, I'm fine. Hoodie's plenty warm and I've slept in far worse places." Shifting in place, she got herself posed against the corner. "You just worry about yourself and getting better, I'm good here."

The uncertainty creeped back into Effy's voice as she burrowed underneath the blanket laying against the pillows. "I-if you are sure..."

Pulling her right hand from her hoodie long enough to pull the hood over her head, Tessa gave her a grin before her face vanished underneath. "I'm sure." Exhaling audibly, she rested her head against the wall. "Goodnight Effy."

Peeking over at Tessa, Effy's ears perked back up as she quietly responded. "Goodnight Tess."