Riley Ellasandra
"The Quicksilver Witch"
A person of interest on Annu Adabra's list, in connection with The Alizarin Woods. When the party met her, she was searching for one of the Manifestations of the Mirage, going by the moniker "Mother Girth".
She particularly disliked Baxton Mandrim.
Alfalfa's Take
Alfalfa: Yeah, I've heard of this Riley. Dazki: What do you know about her? Alfalfa: Super charismatic. Ohmigosh, she could talk your ear off for a million years about stuff you just don't care about, y'know? Ice wizard. Dazki: Ice wizard, huh? Alfalfa: Yeah. Dazki: Particularly strong? Alfalfa: That, I'm not entirely sure. I do know that she had it really rough, but she seems to have really come around to it. I mean, she was even dealing in Ashport for a little bit. Dazki: Really? What was she doing in Ashport? Alfalfa: Mostly bothering the House of Crystal. Dazki: Ahh. Alfalfa: She doesn't really respect, like, personal secrets, so I haven't wanted to deal with her personally. Dazki: OK. Theran: Do you know if she tried to interact with Baxton while she was up here? Alfalfa: Oh, probably. I would bet so. She's kind-of younger, but I think Baxton was into that sort of thing.
Siraye's Story
Siraye: It... *sigh*... Riley is... interesting. She's had a difficult life, OK? And that whole "rude demeanor" thing is kind-of a façade. Dazki: Yeah, I can tell. Siraye: And I can tell that she's kind-of getting to you. It's just so that people keep their distance, all right? Dazki: Look, she is one of the people on our list of suspects that we were given, from people in Ashport. I'm just trying to suss out if there's any legitimacy to those accusations. Siraye: Of course she's probably on your list! She was "The Quicksilver Witch"! Dazki: I... I've not heard that title before. What is "The Quicksilver Witch"? Siraye: Listen, man. There was some evil ice mistress terrorizing the land, and then there was a change of heart, all right? And, as the story goes, that witch was """destroyed""" by a powerful ice wizard, and that "ice wizard" is Riley. You following? Dazki: Yeah. Siraye: OK. She has a terrible curse, and she doesn't like it. And she doesn't like anybody, really. She's had a difficult life. Dazki: I understand, and I'm not trying to make it more challenging for her... I just... Siraye: No, you're "just" doing that thing that you do sometimes. Dazki: All right. So, I'm going to level with you. I wasn't going to let on with this just yet, but, you see the cloak I'm wearing? Siraye: Yeah, dude — it's really nice, actually! Dazki: Yeah! It's a Embroidered Mantle of Spell Resistance, — Siraye: Very nice. Dazki: — and, we got it after we had a combat with one of these people. One of these "sycophants", as you call them. And Riley recognized it as soon as we walked in. Her façade broke for a bit. And she was seen in Ashport dealing with this person. So, I'm a bit suspicious, I will admit that. But I want to try and ask questions and figure out what's going on before throwing out accusations. Siraye: I mean, I'm not entirely trusting of her either, but she's really interested in reducing the problem in this area. And, you know, I really think that maybe I could rub off on her, and then she won't be as bitter! Dazki: Look, if she's really aiming to help — Siraye: She HAS helped! And, she's one of the only people down here who can eliminate the Turmoil! Why would she be doing that if she were working with the sycophants? Dazki: There was a small group working within "the sycophants"... so, there's a creature that is Turmoil-contaminated. That is causing all of this. That they called "Mirage". And a small subsection of them were trying to shunt Mirage onto a different plane so that it couldn't come here. But the way they were doing that was by pulling a separate plane towards this one, and there's a significant chance of the two planes colliding and everything just going wrong. So, she might be part of that sub-group. (If she's involved at all, which I'm not saying she is.) Siraye: Well, I mean, she probably was involved, right? But I'm sure she's trying to help now. Dazki: I mean, maybe? Probably? But... [...] Siraye: And for chrissake, don't touch her! Dazki: No, of course not! Siraye: No, I mean it! Not even, like, a little bit! Dazki: Not unless somebody else literally pushes me into her, I will not touch her. Siraye: No, not even then! Dazki: ...why? Siraye: 'cause of the curse. Dazki: Is that, like, an actual thing? Siraye: It's not a metaphorical curse! Dazki: Look, I didn't know if you meant it was an actual curse, or if the "curse" was just part of the story! Siraye: ...ehhhhhhh... "curse", "Turmoil", it's all similar. [...] Siraye: What do you think about the Riley situation? Is she still "The Quicksilver Witch"? I mean, you've already met three other of these. I haven't met a single other one! I've just got stories, man. Dazki: So, I'm gonna be honest: jury is out on that one. The first one we met, Baxton, like she said: he was a manipulative bastard and a horrible person. Siraye: Yeah, apparently he uses mind magic to charm ladies. Dazki: Anyone who he wants to work for him or can do anything for him. But yes, especially that. And, obviously, the horribly manipulative person had a great public image. Siraye: Oh, you don't have to worry about that with Riley. Dazki: All I'm saying is, people can have multiple faces. I'm not sure yet which is the real one for her. If she really wants to stop this... Siraye: Well, how bad were the other ones, though? Dazki: Turmoil experiments on living people. Live vivisections. Wanting to restart The Serpent War. That level of bad. Siraye: I don't think Riley's that bad... Dazki: Well, Baxton didn't want to do that, but he had all sorts of other things that were bad about him too. It's not necessarily all just horrible, world-ending stuff. Plus, all of them wanted to do good things. They started with noble intentions. Just the power and Turmoil, this Mirage Prime, twisted them. They moved to a point where it's like, "well, I've already sacrificed this much... if I stop now, all of these previous sacrifices were in vain, so I need to keep going". I think if Riley genuinely wants to do better — if she genuinely wants to be a better person, to save the world — Siraye: But how much bad stuff is it OK to do, if you agree to change? How much is too much? Dazki: That... I don't know that that can be quantified. I do not know. What's some of the stuff that she has done? Siraye: I don't know. I just have suspicions. She can get very angry and vengeful sometimes, still. And that whole "ice wizard" business... pretty sure she definitely wrecked that guy. I mean, the way she says it, it sounds all noble and shit, but I don't know. Dazki: I think that's how she sees it, but I don't think that what she's telling you is entirely objective. So I would remain cautious around her, but you know me, I always like to see the best in people too. Siraye: I mean, she says she was tricked because she wanted to help a bunch of people, but it turns out that she's just subservient to just another person instead. She was tricked, she says. Dazki: I believe that she was tricked. But nobody is ever going to have complete freedom, and it sounds like she definitely chose her master poorly. Siraye: But, I don't know that the motivations for choosing the master were good. Like, she says she wants to do it so nobody gets hurt the way that people hurt her, but, like, ...I feel like then she just went around and hurt those people the same way anyway. You know what I mean? Dazki: Yeah, I... yeah. Siraye: Just, I don't know if revenge is a good motivator. Dazki: I don't really think it is. But I think, with time and help, she might be able to move beyond revenge. If she chooses to. The problem is knowing when someone is able or willing to make that choice and being able to recognize the people who can't. And I don't know her well enough to know that yet. Siraye: Well, I think she's really dangerous, but I think she's trying to help, you know?
Siraye's Story (cont'd)
Dazki: When she reached towards me, I saw a man. I couldn't tell his face. And he was strangling... "me"... but I'm assuming that was Riley, assuming it was her memory. Do you know anything about that? Siraye: I do. Dazki: Is it something that you would be willing to share? If you say no, I will respect your answer. I may not be happy about it, but I will respect it. Siraye: No, I'll tell you what you need. At least, what I've been told, and what I've figured out here and there. Riley, from a very young age, has had a very difficult life. No parents to speak of, really. You're aware of trafficking, correct? Dazki: Yeah. Siraye: She never really had any power over anything that happened in her life. Abused and discarded many times (apparently), she learned to take control where she could. But I could tell, as she was telling me that, it never quite cured that helplessness that she felt. The man from your vision, I don't believe she ever officially knew his name. Every time she would accompany him, it would be under a different moniker. Usually companionship or simple menial tasks, the man was cold and manipulative. But it was one of the only individuals who made her feel like she had a choice. Abusive relationships get like that, apparently... Siraye (cont'd): And then, one particular evening, this oh-so-charming individual had seemingly had enough of their relationship. It is in that moment that Riley's curse befell her, I believe — though she's a little flaky on the details. She insists that she never killed the man, but the man was a powerful ice wizard... and now she's a powerful ice wizard... so, I'm skeptical. Dwardazik: The way you're describing it, it almost seems like in a moment of crisis, she developed a power to suck away the other person's power? I'm just saying, that's what it kinda sounds like. Siraye: She can, indeed, do that. There's a reason why I haven't Sent to you. [...] Dazki: So, do we have any idea where Riley may have gone? Siraye: She gets like this sometimes, though she seemed quite rattled this time. Dazki: I think we both relived that moment. I'm keeping it together the best I can, but it's not easy. I imagine it's even worse for her. Siraye: I do still wonder what happened to that man, though. Dazki: You said you didn't have any kind of name? Even the aliases he used? Siraye: Well, she took up the moniker "The Quicksilver Witch", specifically because of him. Dazki: I guess that's one place to start looking. Siraye: She fabricated this whole other story for his disappearance, but I don't think that's what happened. [...] Siraye: I just hope that Riley's not too far gone. Dazki: I think if anyone can help her, you can.
