WHO: Esther Shaw → Essek Thelyss WHEN: Late evening of December 25 WHERE: Her bedroom SUMMARY: Esther dozes off while reading and visits Exandria, only to wake up and bring some magical destruction with her. WARNINGS: Mentions of violence. Spoilers through 2x77 of Critical Role.
Esther had always enjoyed the holidays. There was a finite number of people that she could spend time with that wouldn't drain her mentally and the people she traditionally spent the holidays with were at the top of that list. This year she had gotten to add a few names to that list, which was surprising for a whole score of reasons -- a niece and a librarian hadn't been in her plans for 2019, but she was glad of it nonetheless.
As much as she enjoyed spending time with her loved ones, Esther had to admit that her favorite part of any holiday was when everyone seemed to settle into contentment. The presents were opened, the cheer was shared, and it allowed her to do one of the solitary hobbies she loved best: reading or writing. Tonight it had been reading, having made herself entirely too cozy in her bedroom with a pile of blankets, some spiked apple cider, and her cats. Ahead of schedule, it felt nice to just fall into the holiday spirit this year, with no worries of word counts or looming deadlines to distract her. It also felt nice to just be able to read a new book for no reason other than because she could.
And yet, the coziness and warmth she felt eventually lulled her toward a doze, her chin dipping forward as she sat in her bed, back against her headboard. Rather than dreaming about wrapping Chase's gift or decorating sugar cookies with Ella or watching classic Christmas movies with her mother and Gabe or any of the other recent events in the life of Esther Shaw, she found herself in Rosohna.
Essek's face was as schooled and expressionless as ever while he closely watched the wizard and the Scourger just beyond him. He was surrounded by the other man's companions and the guards of the dungeon, but he paid very little heed to them as he watched the proceedings. While he could not understand the language being spoken between Caleb and the prisoner, he didn't have to understand to have an idea of what was being said. The tone, even the subtle shifts in body language, spoke volumes: this conversation was disappointing.
After expending far more political resources and favors than he perhaps should have for this wizard and his ragtag group, Essek was nonetheless willing to allow the conversation to go on for as long as the man needed it to. He had bought Caleb time and there was a potential for information to be gleaned that their techniques had been unsuccessful in collecting, but his buying time for the Scourger at the wizard's had been for more than just information and he knew it.
There was movement within the cell, the chains rattling as the prisoner moved, pulling them taut. Essek's brow furrowed only a fraction of an inch, not quite having enough time to react beyond that as the Scourger one last phrase in Zemnian before her arm, which should have been as tightly secured as the rest of her, arched out and she stabbed Caleb in the throat.
In a moment, everyone was moving. The woman moved to try to stab Caleb once more, but she didn't have the chance between the wizard and the tiefling -- Jester, Essek knew. The firbolg, currently disguised as one of Essek's own kind, moved forward just as the guards did the same. The crossbows were raised and fired in the blink of an eye, just as Essek lifted one of his hands. The Scourger did the same, his magic already beginning to crush her body and impede her ability to breathe even more than the bolts in her chest did.
It would take nothing at all for Essek to end this, but he knew that it wasn't his call. His gaze slid from the prisoner to Caleb, looking to him for permission. He didn't look to him due to hierarchy or because he and his friends had done so much for the Dynasty, but because he knew that this meant more to the other man in ways that he might never understand himself. Essek had done a great deal for the Mighty Nein already and had been making a mental tally of the favors owed, but this was one he would give freely.
Essek watched in silence as Caleb strode forward, until he was only inches from the Scourger. He lifted his hand, fingers curling into a fist. Not taking his eyes off the back of the wizard, Essek's hand did the same.
Crunch.
Esther awoke with a start, being pulled from the Dungeon of Penance to her bedroom. Her book had shifted from her lap and Arwen had moved from the end of the bed to a perch on the pillow next to her, letting Esther know that time had, indeed, passed. Neither of those things really caught her attention, however. Instead, her attention was drawn to her outstretched arm, head tilting as her vision drew along it to where her fingers were drawn into a tight fist. She followed the line to where she was pointing, right toward the Ikea dresser she had brought from Chicago to Dunhaven. It wasn't any sort of fancy piece of furniture, but it had been sturdy enough to do the job.
Now, though, it looked like it had imploded, as though a force of gravity had pulled it in, rendering the drawers and supports within to splinters. The clothes that had been stored within were visible, though it would take a thorough investigation to see if they were in the same state as the dresser itself.
Esther had known what Essek was capable of. She had been dreaming of the drow for so many years and she'd watched his magic grow as time marched forward. She knew as well as he did the power that Dunamancy contained. But as she'd practiced magic herself, teleporting around her home or storing her spellbook within the confines of a pocket dimension, she hadn't even thought to attempt something like this and the destruction made her heart race out of a mixture of fear and genuine pleasure at seeing just what it was possible for her to do.
Though, if she were entirely honest with herself, that pleasure was frightening in and of itself.
A soft tap on her door brought Esther's mind back to the present, pulling away from thoughts of magic, Caleb Widogast, and possibilities. Her mother's voice followed the tap. "Esther, honey, are you all right? I thought I heard something."
"I'm fine, Mom," Esther responded, pulling her fingers through her hair as she looked at the destroyed dresser. Though she hated lying to her mother about even the smallest of things, she forced herself to add, "I just knocked a box over."
"Okay." Half expecting her to burst through the door, Esther felt a pang of relief as her mother continued, "I'm headed to bed. See you in the morning, sweetheart."
Esther bid her mother goodnight, then huffed out a sigh. Tomorrow she would need to figure something out with the dresser, but for now she knew she should go to bed as well. But, as her eyes dropped back to her hand where her fingers flexing open and close slowly, she wasn't sure if that was the safe option for anyone.