Arannis was going to close the portal when Vinsue rejected the offer of disposal. However as she engaged with the assassins he decided against it. Instead he rapidly drew a primordial rune of stability next to the translucent violet vortex, moving his concentration to the rune as he placed a small gemstone in the center of the structure. The gemstone began to glow with a faint light and Arannis relaxed. The portal maintained its stability as Arannis sat back down at the table to observe what happened. He kept a finger on his power, ready to draw upon a paralysis curse at a moment’s notice if things got out of hand, but to an outside observer he appeared completely relaxed.

As he relaxed and observed, his fingers drew more primordial runes in the air, tracing out arcane patterns. His movements were nearly indiscernible, but they were sufficient for the sorcerer to draw upon the latent arcane energies that permeated the area. Arannis used his meditative technique to slowly rejuvenate the energy he had utilized in his spellcraft this evening. Healing always took a lot out of him, it was far from his specialty. The illusory horror he had inflicted upon the intruders took less energy than the healing, but far more than his portalcraft. Arannis smirked slightly as his mind began to crunch through calculations and models of his spellcraft tonight, searching ever more for optimizations and improvements to his formulas. The arithmancy filled his thoughts as he attempted to find any further refinements to his portal.

Despite his seeming inattention, he maintained a focus on the events as they played out before him, ready to grasp his power and intervene should it become necessary.

Vinsue stood there as lighting ran down her arms with a soft glow in her eyes. The men looked at one another with a nod. They malted into shadow in the shape of ravens as they left the aria. Vinsue took a deep breath as her eyes returned to normal and the sparks stopped. The walls stopped and disappeared as she let out the breath. 

Vinsue went back to the table and sat down. This was going to be a long night of planing her next attack. And she may owe the mage a story in the least. If not more. "Probably better if we go inside were people will be less likely to attack." 

As Vinsue released the pair, Arannis held a hand towards his portal. It silently closed, the energies smoothly dissipating and collecting in his palm. The sorcerer bent down and plucked the gemstone from the ground, placing it back inside a pouch. He then leaned over the chalk markings he had drawn. He quickly swept a hand across them, sweeping up a small sample of blood that had been left on the ground by one of the assailants. He quickly flicked the sample into a vial and pocketed it. In the same movement, the mage waved a hand and a slight wind picked up, erasing the runic markings he had drawn. With the evidence of his spellcraft gone, Arannis followed his companion back inside.

“So what’s the story then? Regarding the attack?” Arannis asked with a half smile, “Any reason you allowed them to leave?” Arannis never did understand the taboos so many people had against killing. When your own life was threatened, you had every right to remove that threat, even if it was a potential threat. Arannis had learned this through his decades of negotiating with monstrosities across the planes. Mortals were the only creatures who seemed to have such qualms. Even the celestials that many mortals worshiped were perfectly happy to strike down threats to their holy mandate. Abstract ideas of ‘honor’ were foolish, in Arannis’ opinion. Honor was nothing more than a perception one could use to be held in higher esteem by one's peers. That sort of esteem was not worth allowing threats to survive.

The story's she could tell was more than a night had time for but there were ways that she has simplified it. "The story is sample, I upset a pirate captain who put my head on a poster. The shadows thought that they could take me on with whatever poison they had. Though once there plan felled, thanks to you and i thank you for it, they knew not to change me head on." She said as she smiled. "I let them live because I do not like giving the goddess of death new people in her circles. I let them live because the one who hired them is not known to be kind twords failures. And I let them live because they are the second to actually poison me. I mean many have tried and the last only got as far as he did do to a curse I got and removed a while back.""I am wanted dead by almost all pirates and slavers for my work. Freeing slaves and sinking ships do that. My last name is feared by some and hated by others and I have spent years making it that way. Though my hands are not clean if any of my men are in danger I am not above a death or two to get them safe again." She stated as she sat down then went silent. 

She thought of the man, what she had done and the last few mouths and everything that she knew of his crew.