&. SILVERHEART.*

"Ah, Zya --- Wait a minute, please." With a hesitant smile on his face, Rhys approaches the other priest. Despite feeling embarrassed, he is determined to ask her the question that has been on his mind for a while. "I wanted to ask you something." Even though he's not sure if she has the answers to his questions, he decides to keep hoping. "I have been searching for my mentor --- he's also a cleric of our Lady of Silver. I was kidnapped on the Nautiloid while looking for him. Maybe you've already met him; his name is Ruvyn." He hopes that maybe his instructor met her before she was taken too, as he knows that his mentor has had a lot more contact with other clerics than he has.

Standing in his tent, he can feel her impetuous glare on him. It pierces through his clothes, flesh, and bones like they're made of paper, burning his back as he attempts to concentrate on his drawing. Though he secretly knows he can't avoid the awkward conversation, Rhys still wishes he could ignore her. Minthara is an inquisitive person who consistently gets what she wants—he can not leave her without answers to her questions. He closes his notebook at the end and throws it on his bedroll before moving cautiously in the direction of her tent. "If your eyes could throw daggers, I'd be dead." He wonders if, now that she's not under the Absolute's enchantment, she still wants to kill him and his companions.

"You can feel it too, can you?" His gaze stays fixed on Withers while he converses with his companion. Despite being aware of his shortcomings in many areas of his cleric training, Rhys's instincts have always been stronger than those of most of his peers. "Withers… He's neither skeleton nor man." The gears in his head are whirling slowly but steadily --- one day, he's certain that he'll find out the truth about the dead monk. He cannot make any valid theories because he does not know anything about the gods of death, but Feanor is not like him. He heeds Kelemvor's instruction, thus if anyone can discern Withers' actual nature, it's him.

"How do you feel right now? Being here must be difficult for you." Walking more slowly to be by Fable's side, the cleric inquires with genuine concern. If he finds the shadowcursed lands to be poisonous already, he can only imagine how awful the druid must be feeling right now. Mother Nature has no control over those particular regions, so for his companion, it must feel like they are strolling through a cemetery. He gives her a small but encouraging grin and puts a consoling hand on her shoulder. She doesn't have to go through those trying times by herself.

"You know, in a way, I think that vampires are also the children of my Lady of Silver." Rhys has been considering Astarion's confession for some time now. He questions whether the protection of his own goddess shouldn't also apply to vampires, even though priests and vampires typically don't get along. If her blessing is available to virtuous werewolves, then vampires ought to also benefit from it. Even though he may be ignorant, he doesn't think that all vampires are inherently malevolent. He would like to think that all of them, including Astarion, are products of their environment.

"You might want to reconsider who you can or cannot steal from, Astarion." Rhys remarks with a subtle smirk before abruptly grabbing and holding the other man's wrist. The cleric is well aware that his companions most likely think poorly of him. He has on several occasions taken abuse and been treated like a fool, but it doesn't mean he is an idiot in the true sense. In reality, the cleric makes every effort to remain composed under all circumstances. In most cases, he feels that kindness and patience are the best weapons at his disposal for accomplishing his objectives, therefore he uses them as his sword and shield.

"I must admit that it's quite impressive." After their performance, the cleric approaches Yunae with a shy but sincere smile tucked under his lips. Throughout his travels with his instructor, he has met a lot of bards, but none that perform in the same manner. It's simultaneously really imaginative and pleasing to the ear. Rhys has always liked music, even though he is not musically inclined. He finds it to be really soul-satisfying.