"Yes, it's true. To makes things clear for everyone here, I'll start from the start, I think you'll understand why I've put up my first story up at teh beginning." tells Rinaldo. Before starting, he sight, Rinaldo seems tired and even with his 23 years back, he feels like he had fifty.
"First, as I told, my name is Rinaldo di Senzio. I'm a merchant and I'm trying to create a commerce of magical items and spell components. I'm also a knight of Monemvassia. Me, Tenebrynn Glimmersight, a diviner from trained at the library of Orussus and Ashnar, an evoker specialized in fire magic had help the counter a plot of a black dragon and his half-human son against the crown, that's why we got our title. We also met hogarth during that quest. He is the last survivor of a small community that lived isolated on an island. His island was destroyed by the will of Gundar, with the dragon and the goblinoids inhabitant that had taken control of the island. It is after those events we were named knight.
I've frequented the RDI, popular adventurer place, but I've been adventuring to gather money for my business, but I've always chosen my contract so I would make better good for this world, that include the plot against the Monemvassia Prince and the actual problem. It is at the RDI I met Vanitri and Laynie. While we were chatting, a farmer entered the RDI..." and Rinaldo starts to explain why everyone have decide to go to the tower. He spoke about the ethereal creature that attack them, Xu, the changing mood library, Envy, the ghostly creature that curse Tenebrynn, the riddles, the sparks, the hidden aspects, the seal to the upper floors, the room of Wild magic, Love/Lust, the combat, Senex intervention, the Crux room, the sacrifice of Hogarth, the first contract, the second contract, his arrival at the academy, the meeting with Elktra under her disguise spell and how is misinterpreted the meaning of Elektra's word, the story he had thought and told to her.
"If I've lied to you in the first place, Miss Rayne, it is because of the contract. If you decide to go at the tower and destroy it, you'll forfeit my soul. If I've taken that soul contract, it is because I didn't thought it was Hogarth who needed to sacrifice his soul if a soul needed to be sacrifice. Hogarth would have died on his island if I didn't had convionce him to get out of there with us, but it wasn't to give him a worst faith. I hope for him to do good thing fo his life. I hope I'll have the chance to do some again too.
As I've told you, I've followed the path of hope. To a more litteral senses, I've followed Elpis, the major aspect that is in Laynie. All other aspects have called Laynie Elpis. But on a mmore abstractive way, I've followed the path that would bring salvation to Eleyna Valsice, Laynie's mother. Presently, I have no doubt Sin is evil, but she is not chaotic. She is cold, she has an intellutel mind and knows how to calculate her chance and her benefit. But Sin is not Eleyna.
The memory motes, they don't relate a memory, the make you live it. I've felt her arrogance and pride. I've never felt that before. It strong, you feel almost invincible... it's scary. My worst fear, it is to see that Eleyna would come back to that state. But that was before something came to change her life." Rinaldo starts to look at Laynie. "In these memory sparks, I've seen Laynie through teh eyes of Eleyna Valsice. The true one, and most likely, one you've not meet yet. And teh feeling I've felt is one I know deeply. One that is filling my heart actually, thinking that maybe, I'll never see my children again..." Rinaldo throat seems to twist, blocking all the words. He takes his glass of water and takes a sip.
"Sorry... but Laynie have changed her mother. Eleyna's love for her is true. And that gave me hope, hope for her redemption. But if that redemption should happen, Sin would need to feel these emotions again, but Elpis, Mo and Spira are hiding in Laynie. Joy is still hiding in the tower. Sin needs these aspects. If she merge back, she will gain back her body, Laynie will be free from Sin and the aspects that hide into her, and teh mother will be with his daugther. When I've followed the path of hope, it is that path I've followed. I can't give you any garantee it will happen like that, but I trust that feeling I've felt with the mote.
But it is not only that why I'm here and why I would suggest you not to destoy the Crux. chronomancy is something delicate. I must the the living man on this world who has see the most number of chronomancy effect. Sin must be the only chronomancer in this world, and she still have difficulty to handle this delicate kind of magic, even with all her knowledge and experience. Hogarth is now reincarnated as a previous incarnation. Handling teh Crux will not be an easy task. To neutralize it, it will take time, but that cursed tower might rip the fabric of this world, destroying Gundar's creation. If we destroy the crux, which we could have done while we were in teh tower, we would probably have wipe out the tower into piece, probably the villages surrouding it, maybe Orussus too, maybe the creation. Who knows, nobody have done that before.
If you go there and fight Sin, you will probably lose many good wizards. If you kill her, you'll still lose some wizard trying to destroy the Crux, as we lost Tenebrynn. You'll probably destroy the whole region too. The only person who has the ability and knolwedge to neutralize the Crux, it is Sin.
If Laynie's go back there, I'll satisfy my contract and me and my friends will be safe. After that, Sin will fill her part, or she will lose her soul to me. Once she has bound all the aspects, those hiding in the tower, those in Laynie, those absorbed by the Crux, we will have back Eleyna Valsice, Laynie's mother, the one capable of Love, of Hope." Rinaldo smiles at Laynie. He is out of argument. His soul is in the hand of four women, three are in front of him, the forth is in a tower, waiting for him. Somehow, he seems releived. He felt as if nothing more could be done and he had to let the river of teh evnt flow to his new destination.
"I'm sorry Elektra. I never meant you harm. I really thought I had in face of me Laynie who was overridden by Senex, who seem to want the destruction of Sin to all cost. Rayne, you can asks Gundar if I have told a single lie. But if you want to ask another question, ask him if Rinaldo's contract should be fullfilled. I'm not sure how precisse is your spell, but if we can have the thought of Gundar in that story, I won't be against. All this madness have cloud too much my mind. I feel like I had fifty. I'm burned, tired, and only wish to lay in my bed, my wife in my harm, and telling one of the many story I have heard to my three kids. Something I now doubt I'll ever do again."