Swamped

You're having a real hard time saying no. Even as you list all the reasons in your head why you should never let a prisoner just do something, especially something that's probably magic, all your instincts are telling you this is Elmin and she's on the level.

And that means she can take care of one of your problems way faster than you can on your own. Real tempting.

But you didn't get this far by being stupid. You're not letting her do anything before you get some details, at the least. And preferably find out what she's doing here.

"Ferref?" How are you going to do that?

"Sko. Ether. Tallat."

Ringing.

"She's asking for the mask so she can cast a counterspell and wake everyone up," you tell Ringer. You had a hunch it might be something like that.

Two rings.

"Yeah, sounds sketchy as hell to me too," you agree. Even as your feelings tell a different story. "What's stopping you from pulling some other magic to escape?"

"Taratchie."

Hells. She would say that. You're completely thrown off, and Ringer can clearly see it.

"It's hard to explain what that means," you say, finally. "It's... a promise, almost an oath. Not a word to be uttered lightly."

Two rings. Ringer's clearly determined to do the sensible thing here. You appreciate that.

But to refuse a Taratchie... that ain't no small thing either. It'd be like killing her all over again, and you still haven't figured out how she survived the first time.

So. What are you going to do?