Exhibit 5: "Chaotic Good"

We met back up with Promise and kicked on out of that freaky forest. Keelo had a little meltdown when we did—they'd always been real good at tellin' time in their head, and when we left they, somehow, realized it'd been three days when we thought it was half a day. We talked, and the two of us agreed that this particular forest hadn't been there before. I knew the woods in the area well, so that was out of the question.

Throughout our journey we popped in and out of several pockets like that, losing drops of time. A day here, a week there. It was hard on Keelo, and part of me still wonders what it was that caused time to get so bent out of shape around us. Part of me thinks I know.

But this one ain't about that. It's about Cora.

Yeah, I saw you city pricks' faces when I said her name earlier. You know her, don't ya? Well, we'll get to that, so don't clench your asses the whole time.

She did good things for Mistston, but I'll keep it real. Before that, she was batshit. The most frenetic, excitable, chaotic force of nature I'd ever met. Before her, I thought those were words that described me, and in the absence of her, maybe they do. But if I'm on my back foot trying to keep a situation from escalating, I know I've met my match.

Before we'd left Solas, Cora took a little dip in the governor's fountain—fully-clothed, as is her fish-people's way. The governor had some choice species-related words under his breath, so terrorized him for a day or so… he was scared of clowns, that's all I'll say. Should be scared of lizards too, if our Mama June and our new Governor Emeritus did what they're rumored to have done.

I felt protective of her, I guess. She was a little older than me, but acted in such a childlike way I assumed she hadn't been met with much hardship in her life.

Later, during our cave-plant trial, she pinned a dozen vines to the wall with arrows before they could reach me, so she was plenty capable. Matter of fact, when one of those arrows was about to miss, it just kinda didn't. Course-corrected in midair. A number of times I saw a translucent wall appear for half a second, battering back a tree trying to skewer her. In the most dramatic instance, the pixie holding Keelo to the wall yelped and leapt back as Keelo practically flew back toward us, pulled through the air by some psychic force. We didn't really talk about that part; all I had to do was assume she near my end of the magic spectrum, and not think too hard about it.

The pixie was pissed about that. She asked Cora's name, and Cora was scatter-brained enough to give it: she's ditched that name, so you don't get to know it. Because of fey bullshit, the pixie said Cora was locked in a contract now—after we finished our quest, she had to come back and stay in the cave for a century.

Anyone would be bummed after that, but she didn't so much as blink. She stumbled along a cobbled path of good luck, actually: in the same day, she found an amulet that warded off death, and an honest-to-gods unicorn, which loved her right away. Me and that guy did not get along, which I'm still confounded by, but we made peace by the end. I decided to honor that by including him in this painting—watercolor, naturally. There's Venun himself trottin' around the fountain underneath her. I imagine Cora would've clambered to the top of the fountain and tried to balance on the stream of water cresting over the top, so here she is. The halo around her actually isn't an exaggeration; Harvest seemed to really like her, so she sent plenty of gifts her way.

We followed our map to the first dot: a dilapidated Harvest temple in the middle of nowhere. There were dozens of statues in the courtyard, and a whole gallery of 'em indoors, all strewn about willy-nilly. They were carved with extreme detail, and all their faces looked fearful—I'm sure you can guess the deal here, but we didn't. We were blindly trusting.

A lady named Mendax was the place's keeper. Mendy wore a blindfold and a big hair-covering, and as a devout servant of Harvest, laid out our first true trial. There was a stone labyrinth underneath this place, and we had to get to the heart of it to gain our first Favor. They were little tokens we'd need to enter Harvest's domain once we had the Scythe; one for each of us.

Mendy didn't trust Promise. She looked straight at him and said he had dangerous secrets. Go fuckin' figure. But this, of course, picked at Keelo's already shaky trust of him.

With all eyes on him, Promise told us his secret. Again, this ain't about him.

Mendy was satisfied, but we'd already fallen into the trap of another loyalty test. Our cracks were showin' and we remembered we were just four assholes who'd met about a week ago under the worst circumstances. Cora was particularly accusatory, and I felt the need to remind her we knew the least about her. Promise gave his piece, but we didn't know why she needed a bodyguard, or why she'd skipped into town on that day. She said she wasn't ready, which I tried really, really hard to respect. I wouldn't let Harvey get her servant's claws under our skin.

We descended the dark steps to the maze, and Cora quietly cracked. I hadn't known her to do anything quietly, so I was alarmed. Keelo wasn't the most perceptive, but my eavesdropping muscles were well-trained. I picked up her voice whispering to Promise.

"Prommy?" she said trepidatiously.

After a tremendous pause, he said, "…Yes?"

"I have something to tell you."

"And it couldn't have come out sooner, perhaps? While I was being toasted alive by our delightful host?"

"No." Cora paused, then took a quick breath. "I'm a princess. I ran away."

Promise didn't respond at first.

"Please don't be mad," Cora quietly begged. "Don't make me go back. It's a cage."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He sighed wearily. "It's okay."

She stayed quiet as we reached the maze's gaping entrance.

The both of us only got more unhinged. She tried to keep it positive, but I let that veneer drop as we stormed through the twisting stone passages, fighting harpies and gargoyles and spike traps. Those harpies messed with our minds, trying to lure us into their jaws, which made my shame about the flower even more intense.

Cora was losin' it. She decided a cramped, moldy maze was a great spot to do a cartwheel, and careened into a loose skeleton of some poor little thing, propped up against the wall. We froze, waiting for the crash to stop echoing through the entire labyrinth, and watched a great shadowy shape shift in an alcove. A groggy basilisk mama rose with an irritated growl.

Before it could even open its eyes, Promise had an illusion wrapped around us—the same he used to show the governor clowns popping out of his wardrobe. This time, he made us look like an enemy basilisk, and I, legendary performer that I am, did my best ugly shriek. I put all my rage and the fear I hoped to strike in its heart into that scream, and the shadows leapt to bat at the big figure as my vision tinted violet.

It huddled against the wall, and Promise killed it his burning hands as his back lit up from the inside, the crusty scales shining dangerously. Cora called him "firefly" after that, to his enormous annoyance.

We crept up into the big monster's nest, and, lo and behold, she'd been sleeping on top of an egg. Now that I say it, that does count as another child traumatized. I almost smashed it right away, but Cora flung me against the wall with her mind. Fair enough.

Promise agreed with me, Keelo was undecided, but Cora was staunchly against killin' the unborn monstrosity. We didn't have time on our side, so we let her have the win, figuring it was a problem for future us. Keelo said they'd read about basilisks born in captivity being good familiars with training, so… what the hell, sure.

That was just what Cora did, and who she was. There was… a time, later on, when I did something I immediately came to regret. You'll remember when I get to it, I think. I was hidin' out in a basement, and Cora came to find me. I didn't know what to do, I was distraught, I was in despair, and Cora was there.

We talked it out, and even if she wasn't ready, she finally gave me her baggage: she was the princess of a particular undersea kingdom, and she'd run away to escape the responsibility. It was all too much. She met Promise incidentally, in a little town in Consilius. They were both runnin' from something, and Promise—well, he decided to go with her for now. She dragged him halfway across the continent, sampling all the candy and fine magical paints and shiny watches Medudas had to offer.

After we finished the maze, Cora was inconsolable. The violence, the fear, the death—this wasn't the fairy tale she wanted. She was quiet on our entire walk out.

In that basement, I watched her strip away the varnish of her soul. We'd brushed with death again, and I think she saw the same thing in me. I was honest with her, told her I'd overheard her talking with Prommy, and it didn't change how I saw her at all. I hated royalty, still do, but she'd walked away from all that power and wealth. She'd seen how cruel the world could be, and decided it was her responsibility to help. Power didn't have to be a cage for her, it would be the tool she used to be kind on a larger scale.

Yeah, you know her. Lady Coraline Rose, Leader and Protector of Mistston, Lady Ester's darling successor. Cleaned up the dirty water supply flooding the city's lower level, rooted out corruption in the higher levels, imposed strict wealth taxes, and dissolved the Reaping program, teaching those kids to ride horses—and a unicorn. You rich folk love to hate her, but she's the people's rose.

And she put legal protections on the city's feral chicken population, because we talked it over, and they do have feelings.

GALLERY OF FORTUNE SIMPLECREEK—RECEIPT—9/18/1316

EXHIBIT #5: "CHAOTIC GOOD" SOLD TO RIDZES KALYGUN (100 GP)