Dalanesca frowned slightly as she tried to best decide the way to approach telling Jesgil the truth about who she was, and what it now was that she needed to accomplish.  She knew there was not going to be any easy way to go about it, and that the only way would be just come out and say it - but the tavern was not the place to do it.  Begrudgingly, she grabbed her cup off the table and drained what little liquid remained in it, before setting it back down on the table with a dull clunk.  "Come on, then.  I'll explain," she said, and leaned across the table, her hand laying across Jesgil's forearm.  The air around them seemed to ripple, and almost shimmer, before the two of them were suddenly no longer in the tavern.  They now stood in the sands of the Harena Desert, not far from Aestas Outpost.

"So listen," she said, dropping her hand from Jesgil's arm and taking a step back from her.  "I'm sorry that I didn't warn you this was going to happen, this teleporting thing," she said.  "I'm not even really a fan of it myself, but it's oddly convenient.  Do you see that pyramid over there, off in the distance?" she asked, gesturing in the direction of Aysut.  "It's beyond the ruins of that city over there…."  She allowed Jesgil a moment to process what had happened, and to find the pyramid she was gesturing to.   "That soul that I told you escaped from Inferos?  Well… it turns out, he didn't exactly escape," she began, though she paused and realized she needed to backtrack.  "When I froze up, back in the tavern, I was communicating with some of the denizens in Domus Tenebris in Inferos," she said.  "They informed me that there were many souls missing, and it turns out that some bastard in that pyramid is using some very powerful magic to draw the souls from there… as well as all across Revaliir."

She sighed, thinking how to best go on.  "See… I was not entirely truthful when we first met," she said, frowning again as she looked at Jesgil.  "I'm not exactly one of the Reaper's messorem," she said.  She raised her arm up in a pose of admittance.  "I am the Reaper.  I'm Dalanesca," she said and dropped her arms to her sides.  "I'm hoping you understand why I could not inform you of such beforehand… it's sort of sensitive information if you catch my drift," she said.  She grew quiet, allowing for Jesgil to take a moment to process what she had just been told - if she would even believe her.

"However, I could still use your help getting through the city and to the pyramid.. I won't have power over the undead in Aysut," she said, and waited to hear her current companion's thoughts on what she had just been told and what her decision would be as to whether or not she would continue helping her, now that the situation had become much more dire.

Teleportation magic was the weirdest feeling ever. No doubt. To feel yourself fade away from existence and into what you can only guess into an empty void before reforming back in another land was not only disorienting, but it made her body feel numb. Especially when it occurs without warning when you have no time to brace for it. By the time they found themselves in the sandy hills of the Harena Desert, Jesgil had found herself comfortable in a wooden seat. Now she had nothing to rest herself upon, falling flat on her butt as she tried to get feeling in her arms and legs again.

As she recovered, though, she did follow up of Ryalla's cues on where they were and what to look at. The pyramid… The nearby city of ruins… All of  it seemed to have been based with the escaped soul who stole the weapon… and more?! "Y-You mean who were after… was possibly the first of many?" she asked more in a shocked whisper before telling her not all as what she thought. Instead of drinking with a messorem… she was drinking… with Lady Death… herself…

The news alone brought her into an obvious cold, and frightful sweat at first, as if any more information beyond that point was hitting a wall. After all, she was enjoying a drink with the Reaper herself… Was it her last drink?  A way to make her enjoy her final moments before accepting fate and following her to the Underworld? But there was still so much more to live for… and what did she do to deserve to die? Was she already suffering from something fatal in the first place?! Her face was now as white as her father's ancestors until her final statement.

"I'll do what I can to help!" she found herself screaming. "Just please let me enjoy my time in this world for a bit longer!"

Dalanesca's first reaction upon seeing Jesgil stumble and fall backward as they arrived in Harena was to step forward and offer her a hand.  She silently chastised herself for not thinking of the consequences that form of travel would have on someone who did not regularly travel in such a manner.  Her divinity shielded her from any of the negative side effects that gate travel carried, so of course, she would not think about it.  "Oh, no," she muttered to herself, stepping back as Jesgil regained her footing.  

It didn't take long for Dalanesca to realize she had made a rather poor decision in how to explain things further to Jesgil as she watched her become more and more shocked, coupling with terror on her face as the reality of her situation washed over her.  She hadn't thought that her reaction would be quite so extreme - hell, she was surprised that Jesgil even believed her - but believe her the girl did, as she broke into a visible sweat on her hairline.

"Okay, well, I did not think this one through," she said, with a bit of a sigh, and she held her hands up in a slightly defensive manner towards Jesgil.  She did not want Jesgil thinking she was going to attack her, therefore she made no move towards her what so ever.  "I'm not forcing you to help, Jesgil," she said, in as comforting a tone as she could manage.  "If you want, I can send you right back to the tavern we were just at.  Your life is not in danger - you're not slated to die anytime soon, at least not that I can see," she said, her voice carrying nothing but honesty.  

"You have been nothing but kind to me since I first came across you, and nothing but honest with me - I figured it was time for me to do the same.  I apologize for the fright that I am sure I have given you, but I must insist that you calm down.  Here," she said, and unhitched a flask that was strapped to her leg.  She offered it towards Jesgil.  "Take a very small sip of this, it will help to calm your nerves."  Regardless of if she accepted the drink or not, Dalanesca continued to speak to her, her tone remaining even and calm throughout.

"My plan is to venture to that pyramid by fighting through the city - there are undead and mummies galore - and confronting the lich priest.  I would very much like it if you would come with me - but once again, I will understand if not.  If you would like, I can send you right back to the tavern, and you can go right back to working for the Orc.  The choice is yours - but do know that if you help me, I will see to it that you are well rewarded - having Death on your side is not a bad thing," she added, trying to give Jesgil a smile as though in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It took a moment for Jesgil to break out of cold fright. Sure, she was still white and sweating, but at the very least her eyes were not tearing up in fright before she wiped the sweat away, taking a moment of heavy breathing to calm down her heart. "Its okay," she whispered to herself between its breath until she took the offered flask. She was told to take only a small sip, and man, was she right. A simple sip of the offered drink felt like she just downed two full mugs of whiskey in a single sitting, feeling her cheeks turn flush quick quickly.

Getting up, Jesgil took a bit of a stumble before getting herself properly footed before giving Dalanesca a large bow, even if she had already stated she did not enjoy such treatments. "Please, forgive my sudden outburst," she told the goddess before lifting her head. "There any many tales about you, I am sure you are aware. None of them are pleasant. If Lady Death had to visit someone herself, it is often assumed that you are at the end of your line. My mind went there, which made my lose my composure."

Holding her hands out, Jesgil found herself speaking in her dragontongue, "Awaken, my blood, and grant me thy steel. Hand to me your tool, and with it, fell those who stand against me." As she spoke, her skin was pressed under with scales, nails shaped more into talons as a beam of energy began to form between them. With her fingers wrapping around the item. the energy began to solidify into a handle, energy flaking off like a snake skin being peeled off except for the top end, which bulged around, breaking apart to reveal the head of the axe of her head.

"Now then, Lady Dalanesca, allow me to introduce you to Tillan," she told her, proudly holding the axe in her arms, almost like it was a child.

Dalanesca could not help but chuckle slightly as she watched Jesgil's reaction to sipping on the drink she offered her.  "Glad you listened to me with that one, this is crafted by the Master Artisan herself - knocks me on my ass if I drink too much of it, it would probably kill you if you drank too much," she said, giving Jesgil a smile that said all too well she would not allow that to happen.  She was glad to see that Jesgil was calming down some, though she frowned slightly as she sank into a deep bow before her.  

"You've nothing to be forgiven for, at all!" she said. "And don't bow.  You are a friend.  You do not need to treat me like your superior.  And you don't need to be afraid of me.  I know what people say about me.  But believe it or not, I am actually quite a bit more relaxed than you would expect the Goddess of Death and Darkness to be," she said, smiling in a very warm manner.  "Besides," she continued.  "Those parts of the tales are not true.  You wouldn't see me if you were about to bite it… I have people who do that for me," she said, dismissively waving her hand with a bit of a laugh.

She paid close attention as Jesgil began to speak in the foreign tongue again, her body changing with the magic that she called upon.  Within a few moments, she was looking at a rather interesting looking weapon held in Jesgil's hands. "Very, very impressive," she said in a rather breathy tone, as she finally found out what this 'Tillan' was that Jesgil had spoke of earlier.  "Two things: Don't call me 'Lady.'  You will use my given name and that is it - you have earned that right," she said.  "At least, when you are addressing me directly.  If you're speaking to other people about me, of course, then honorifics are unfortunately necessary.  The other thing is… how good are you with handling Tillan?" she asked, smiling in a rather devious manner.  "I'd like to see you put it to the test against some of them," she said, gesturing towards the city in the sand where the undead could be seen milling about.

Friends with Death herself… What a strange thought to the young Draconian. After all, it almost felt a bit dirty… as if you had a special lifeline to hang onto if things went wrong. Then again, if she did deny her that. she would not exactly be fit for her job, now would she? Still, to think she was a bit of a jokester herself. "Ah, yes," Jesgil chuckled, "You do have your messorem." Maybe they were hired because so many people died that not one person could visit? Goddess or not, she was still one being… Or could gods and goddesses clone themselves?

"Forgive me, Lad– I mean, Dalanesca. Some habits are difficult to break," she chuckled, considering many of her connections were often kept as business ties than actual friends. Still, her eyes, turned over to the mulling undead that crawled over the sands, their damaged wrappings flooding the sands themselves. Luckily, they were not teleported in the middle of the chaos. "I can handle myself for a moment," Jesgil stated, "however, any warrior would have difficulty with so many numbers. At worst, I would also need to call upon my blood and freeze them to control their numbers and shatter those who dared get in the way." Then there was the unknown detail Jesgil was not aware of: their ability to recover.

"Aye, they're rather useful when it comes to tasks such as that.  Unfortunately, being a god and holding dominion over Death brings a sort of… stigma along with it," she said, and she frowned slightly as she spoke the words.  "That stigma makes me want to strive to have people understand that I'm not an unjust monster," she continued.  "Could you imagine?  If I was the only one who collected souls when their time was up?  I would be the most thing, the most hated idea in all of Revaliir," she said, her frown deepening.  "That's why I have decided that the messorem take on that duty, because then maybe I can work on my reputation," she said with a bit of a laugh.  "It's a laughable concept, isn't it?" she asked.  "Death being concerned about what people think of her."

She waved it off as Jesgil apologized for her inability to avoid using honorifics in her speech.  "It's not so much that it bothers me - but I want you to feel comfortable around me.  I don't want you to think of me as your superior.  I want to work together as level individuals."  She gave Jesgil a quick smile, though it faded as she turned to look at the hordes of undead that now populated Aysut.  "I think, between you and I, we will be just fine…" she said, grinning once more though this time it looked a bit more devilish.  "Follow me, and I'll show you what I mean," she said, beginning to walk down the sandy slope towards Aysut, gesturing for Jesgil to follow her.

As they moved closer to the myriad of undead roaming the area, a group of five or six of them caught wind of the pair and began shambling towards them.  "What you can't handle," she said, pausing to wave her hand at the grouping.  Within seconds, the shambling corpses disintegrated into a pile of dust and bone fragments on the ground.  Dalanesca turned back towards Jesgil and grinned rather devilishly.  "I can take care of them.  So what do you say?  Shall we head into the city and make our way to the pyramid?"

Jesgil could hardly blink at the sudden act that Dalanesca performed. With a simple wave of the hand, it was as if she took their souls and sent them back to where they once belonged. A shocking power, but one that should be expected. After all, Death was her domain. It was her job to ensure the souls were guided to the right place.Even if she used the messorem to guide them en mass, she was still the one to make sure they stayed where they were… Did she? After all, wouldn't necromancers be her sworn enemy, stealing from her? What a confusing thought…

"Excuse me," she said, drawing Dalanesca's attention while there was still time to breathe, "Umm, sorry if this is awkward… but how do you feel about necromancers? I mean, they call the undead to their side, so does that mean they steal from you, or do you have some kind of contract with them? The only other solution I can think of from there is that their forge a soul that obeys them… but how does one even forge a soul?"

Luckily, she was able to get her point across soon as more of the shambling forces came up, Jesgil's eyes turning a yellow-gold before swinging her axe out, pushing out the handle to give more reach to help keep them back, slicing through their worn-out wrappings as the only real resistance. There was hardly any flesh that resisted it, and the bones seemed quite brittle. She doubted they actually held much strength, but the numbers were the main issue. Stamina lasted only so long.

"Awaken, my blood, and grant me my breath," she chanted, her voice altering as the scales shifted under her skin before blowing out a large flurry of wind, freezing a nearby wave of the crumbling undead. She was sure to catch her breath from that quick act, but behind her, the bodies she chapped up began to reform…

Dalanesca raised her hand up, rubbing at the back of her neck as she contemplated the complex question that Jesgil asked regarding her stance on necromancers and necromancy itself.  "You ask a good question, Jesgil," she said, nodding her head.  "One would expect the Goddess of Death to have problems with those that raise the dead… but I see things a bit differently.  My spheres also encompass darkness, and that makes me see things in a different light.  As long as the necromancy is practiced in the proper channels, I have no problem with it.  It is when sacrificial blood magic comes into play that I begin to take issue with things," she said.  "I hope that helps to clear some of this up for you?" she asked, giving her a comforting smile.

She stood back and watched as Jesgil channeled her powers once more, still finding the draconic embodiment to be rather interesting, even though she had already witnessed it a few times.  She freezing wind she sent towards the undead seemed to have a decent effect on the opponents, though they soon came back to their original formation.  Dalanesca snapped her fingers and they crumbled once more, and she turned back to Jesgil, making sure she had enough time to recover.

"You're still getting used to your powers, aren't you?" she asked, turning towards the direction of the pyramid and the center of the city as she heard another moan.  A larger hoard was headed towards them.  "Why don't you try out Tillan and see how that fares against them?  I will be by your side should something happen, and I can help take them down easily - think of this as a learning experience," she said, urging her to summon the axe and use it against the undead. 

"I am used to the power," Jesgil stated, spinning her axe back into her arms, "It is the shifting of the body that gets uncomfortable, that's all." Though she did try and laugh it off, there was still a hint about being uncomfortable when using it. She never had any worry calling her healing magic, but when it came to her ice, she had a bit of an ill will when it come to it. It never stopped her from using it when needed, but she always questioned when the next time she used it would be considered "too much."

Still, she did have an ally by her side to help with the numbers. She could not help but question why Dalanesca was focused on what she already took care of. However, when she turned to her to ask, her eyes grew wide as the goddess  waved the souls back to her realm. The bodies… were able to regenerate? That would mean the detail of their numbers was meaningless. It may as well be an infinite-sized army if they could not find a way to deal with them like Dalanesca was able to.  It have her a bit of a nervous sweat, giving thanks under her breath on what kind of ally she found herself with.

Swallowing her fears down, she turned her head back towards the shambled bodies before charging into the frey, dancing with her axe against the forces. Her swings were carefully paced, as each body gave very little resistance when it dug its blade into them. All she had to force through was preserved flesh, brittle bone, and torn wrappings, but it did not mean she could be at ease. Their numbers were surely straining, and it still only the out edges of the conflict. IN the background, bursts of magic flew everywhere as more who lived in the area aided in fighting off the forces the best they could.

However, there was one unit amongst them that stood out as it shambled more towards the city as the rest of the mummies headed towards them: an undead dwarf that dragged behind him an unfinished hammer, horribly wrapped up to be kept together.