<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/5e/Clarisse_by_bilopsis-d5xgb49.png)</div><div align="center"><strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Aelys Wimpenny (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=159096)</span></span></strong></div><br/>Draped in a soft, silken cloak the color of wet stone with a sheen like tarnished silver, the slight woman with faded grey eyes quietly makes her way along the main road into town with a solemn air.  Her hood is drawn up and casts a shadow over her porcelain face, turning her delicate features into a cameo of ivory against the velvet backdrop of her ebony hair.  As she moves toward the crowd of mourners, her slender hands turn an odd white object over and over between them, her slim fingers absently caressing the contours of the talisman as if memorizing the shape, or drawing comfort from the surface.  If one watches closely, the nature of the item is grasped through glimpses.  A hollow socket there, a curved beak here, and the rounded, fragile dome above them, all coming together to form the skull of some smallish, predatory bird.<br/><br/>She pauses briefly as her eyes scan the crowd, coming to settle on the vaguely familiar woman at their center.  A hand dips into the pocket of her cloak, secreting away the skull before she continues toward Kendra, whose face holds hints of her late father and, thus, awakens a small ache of sorrow in Aelys's breast.  She'd rather liked Lorrimor, and ever since learning of his death, she'd found her mind returning to moments spent in the dark around the fire, discussing the wonders they hoped to find, or sharng tales of adventures taken while they were apart.  A tiny, bittersweet smile touched her lips as she remembered the afternoon when, while they were making the trek toward a ruined temple meant to contain the remnants of a long-dead religion, the professor had shown her a miniature he'd had made of his daughter when she was only a child.  It was hard to fathom that smiling, pink-cheeked girl as the woman with the red eyes and somber aura she saw now.<br/><br/>She let the smile slip from her lips as the pleasure from the memory faded, and she approached Kendra, murmuring softly.  "Excuse me, Kendra Lorrimor?  I'm Aelys Wimpenny.  I apologize for the delay in my arrival, but I was in Caliphas when I received your missive to come.  I'm very deeply sorry for your loss.  The professor was...quite a dear friend."