Thariel woke up, startled. She shook herself out of her drowsy stupor and sat up, the hazy fog in her eyes cleared and revealed the newly renovated dungeon. Had they done this while she was asleep? And was she seriously so tired that she couldn''t hear a single thing happening earlier?


    She stopped moving her head and stared down. The area had gone from a decrepit prison into a more respectable- but still grimy, - laboratory.


    All of the cells are now open, with most having tools, utensils, or crates of materials stashed inside. The cell she is on now looked like a bedroom, it even included a mirror despite its otherwise spartan nature. Besides that, she and Sylka were given drawers and hand held lamps next to their beds.


    Speaking of Sylka. The Kobold is on her bed, silently reading what seems to be a book about alchemy and necromancy under lamp light, Sylka''s calm expression told Thariel she hadn''t noticed her waking up. Is Sylka really that interested in reading about alchemy and necromancy?


    Thariel felt a pang of regret at not buying her those types of books while they stayed in Streamwise. She should have asked if Sylka was interested in magic, she did learn under their tribe''s shaman after all.


    Thariel closed her eyes. Virelith seemed to have kept her promise and had given them a lab to work with, it was a whole lot more spacious compared to the cramped shed they had in the past, though not by much. Unfortunately, the materials they received from Virelith weren''t any higher quality than the ones they can buy from Liora, even if they''re... Rare. So to speak.


    Illegality of their newly gotten components aside, there are also other things they had access to. Most of which are useful for the duration of their stay.


    Such as a cell modified into a small kitchen, that came with a magic stove. There''s also a room dedicated to crop plots? Thariel looked at the adjacent cell with extreme focus, she couldn''t tell if what she is seeing are actually crop plots due to the wall partially obstructing her view but that seems to be the case.


    Interesting, did Virelith expect them to grow their own food?


    "I think she wants us to grow mushrooms," Sylka said, grabbing Thariel''s attention. "You can open one of your drawers to check for the spores, they''re all in there. Labeled."


    Thariel checked the cabinet next to her bed to confirm it, she plucked out one tiny seed pouch and loosened the string on its mouth. She gazed at the tiny white grains at the bottom of the container. She closed it. Ember Caps weren''t unfamiliar to her, she''s cultivated plenty of them over time so she knew how to differentiate them based on quality.


    The spores Virelith gave her weren''t high quality but they''re good enough. Still, it would be great if she had access to high quality materials, she can only do so much with what Virelith gave her.


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    "I think we need to ask her if we can talk to Liora," Thariel suggested to Sylka''s numb nod, "we can''t work with this kind of materials, they''re not that good."


    "Low quality herbs aside," Sylka cut her thought process, "are you fine with living like this?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "She threw us in a dungeon!" Sylka exclaimed, "we''re not exactly alchemists in her eyes, but prisoners."


    "I think it''s fine," Thariel shook her head, she needed to be close to Virelith if she wanted to reach her goals.


    "Why?!" Sylka scowled, "we had a lot of money Thariel, we could have opened up a shop of our own in Streamwise if we just let your brood get killed!-" Sylka paused, she met Thariel''s eyes, "I didn''t mean that."


    Thariel sighed, "I know."


    "Thariel, I..." Sylka''s jaw clenched, "you''re not as bad as other vampires, it''s just..." She looked down, at a loss for words. "Can I ask what that meant?"


    "What?" Thariel didn''t bother to hide her confusion.


    "When you said you know," Sylka supplied, her voice mimicking Thariel''s confusion. "What did you mean by that?"


    "I know that I could have done better, maybe sacrificed other people instead of myself. I think we could have done something there. Maybe." Thariel smiled, why was Sylka even asking this? "But I don''t think that''s something that I wanted, it just doesn''t feel right."


    "I thought you were trying to say that you know you''re a vampire," partially at least- Sylka didn''t want to say. What would happen if she did? Would Thariel hate her more? She hoped not.


    "Isn''t that obvious?" Thariel mused, chuckling, "it''s not like I don''t know I''m part vampire, complaining about it is kind of useless I think."


    "I guess?" Sylka snapped her book closed and scratched her cheek, "I hated this you know," she still does, "being dragged here because you agreed to what she said but it''s not so bad I feel, I can endure it."


    "You sound like you''re forcing yourself to think like that," Thariel solemnly replied, was Sylka forcing herself? She could have just not gone with her.


    "I am," the Kobold muttered, "but like I said, it''s fine. It doesn''t really matter where we are right as long as we can make potions right? Sure our life before this was so much better and we had more freedom to do things and we had better income-" Sylka paused, the things she listed off just made her feel more depressed. "I don''t want to say that this is good because we''re together because I know that''s a lie."


    Thariel smiled, "thank you,"


    "For what?"


    "Being honest?" The Damphir shrugged, "I don''t know, I just felt like it was appropriate to say you know? I don''t really know why though."


    "Can we ever escape this place?" Sylka asked her.


    "I think so," Thariel nodded, "I trust Virelith to let go of us eventually, we can even go with her. Maybe as her friends?" She reassured, her knowledge of canon felt suspicious now that she''s in this situation but it can''t be all bad. "For now I think we just need to do what she says, she''s obviously not well. I wanna help her."


    "That''s not a good reason to accept this, and I don''t think you should feel bad for her." Sylka pulled her legs closer and wrapped her arms around her knees, she rested her forehead against her thighs. "I don''t think it''s a good idea to treat her like a friend."


    "I trust her," Thariel shook her head, I know that she''s doing this because her hands are forced.


    "Do you think so?"


    "I know so."


    No one talked for a moment. Sylka because she was thinking about the implications of Thariel''s reply and what that could mean for them going forward but also because she felt suspicious of why Thariel even felt like this in the first place. It didn''t make sense to her that her friend would just ignore all sense of reason the moment she saw Virelith. Sure, she talked about Virelith in the past but to praise the corrupt noble this much? What was Thariel thinking? Sylka wished she knew.


    Thariel on the other hand wondered about the original''s own path at this point in time. Did she also live in this dungeon or did Virelith take her in a more welcoming place? She doesn''t have an answer to that question despite her hours of playing Tainted Orchids.


    "I trust you," Sylka suddenly said, earning a small smile from the quiet Damphir.


    "I don''t think this is a prison," Thariel said for convenience, but even she knew that they couldn''t escape this place without getting cut by the guards and mercenaries outside. "And... Thanks, I trust you too."