Continued from here...
Thoughts of being watched, followed, or otherwise harried by her past dogged at her heels. Whatever the reason, Winfreda woke up feeling a bout of paranoia, as she made her way toward the lessons she'd be giving young Escur.
Subtlety was better advised when traveling incognito. A fact that had become all too obvious in her visit to Viden. Winfreda thus saw to the acquisition of a weapon that wasn't conjured from pure shadow. She got it from a place there called Copper's Forge. It had been with her since, with the exit from Viden necessitating a change of face into the bargain.
Thus chastised by circumstance, she refrained from utilizing the power of shadow blade. All it took was for one sighting to spread unchecked, and her identity would come out to light. While it wasn't necessary to have people not know where Woe was, it put her mind at ease. Knowing that nobody would follow or look for her. Save those especially equipped to do so. Her thoughts turned to the Captain of the Black Cats, who knew very well how to track those who changed their faces.
Yet she shook thoughts of the mage from her mind. He would come around. Balthazar was many things, but he'd not begrudged mistreatment by them in the past. Nor held a grudge for long.
Winfreda had arrived at the gates of Escur's family home, amidst the architecture of the greater Black City. She trekked inside, unchecked by the guards as unsuspicious. Black, muted colors, and earth-tones were the norm in this place. Whereas in many other places, black clothing hinted at a sinister profession. Winfreda's black leather greatcoat was appropriate to Imperial fashion sensibilities.
She wandered the courtyard, garden shrubberies all around. She took up conversation with them, a light sort of exchange, where she didn't need to vocalize even. Her skills at communication had transcended the need for spoken words, and so she traded information from the plants, speaking about the bees and birds and pollinators. Wishing the bushes well on their flowering. In exchange, they informed her of the young man's practice sessions in her absence. It was good that he was keeping up with the exercise of getting used to the weight of a sword in his hands.
He awaited her in the clearing part of the courtyard, where there would be few obstacles to their tutor session. Only a set of chairs propped up to the one side, with refreshments for either one of them.
