Pyrene

Accepting the clothing with a slightly embarrassed smile, Pyrene waited until Klaus stepped out before beginning to dress, starting with the flannel shirt. For the first time she found herself sympathizing with the spoiled young men she had left devoid of clothing when she had been known as the Temptress. Remembering the one man she did not feel pity for, she shied away from that train of thought - the last thing she needed now was to dwell on bad memories.

Fastening the belt to hold up the oversized breeches and picking up the thick woolen socks, she called to Klaus that she was decent and sat down on the bed again. When he poked his head in, she looked up and smiled more confidently than she had a few moments before. "Could you ask the Countess to come in? Garthax too if he's not already in here. They should probably hear this also."

While Klaus disappeared into the next room, Pyrene's eye fell on the broken manacles still serving as unlovely anklets. Touching one of them gingerly, she tried to recall the exact feeling from the moment of the mage collar's release and attempted to will the manacles off in the same way. {{If this succeeds she'll take of the manacles before putting on the socks - otherwise she'll just put the socks over them.}}

When Klaus returned, Pyrene waited for her audience to get settled, then pulled her knees up under her chin, ignoring the mild protest from her injured thigh, and spoke.

"I'm not quite sure where to begin. I told you, Countess, that I've gone by many names, and Pyrene is only my most recent one. What I didn't tell you is that you've probably heard of me as Pyrene the Temptress. I became the Temptress in order to provide for my half-sister, Ariella -- to make sure she never has to live the life our mother lived, or die the death she died.

"Ariella was very young when our mother... when an angry customer killed our mother. It wasn't hard to find a family willing to take her in. She's fully human, unlike me. Mama said my father was a half-elf, though how she knew that I have no idea.

"Anyway, I've been sending money to pay for Ariella's upbringing ever since. As the Temptress I was able to make more than ever, without hurting anything but the pride of some spoiled, rich young men. Everything was going according to plan until one of those men turned out to be like Mama's last customer. He pulled a dagger on me, there was a struggle, and somehow the knife managed to hit one of the big veins in his neck.

"They caught me shortly after that and put me on trial. One of the court magicians got really worked up and kept calling me 'a wicked sorceress.' I had no idea what he was talking about, so I thought he was just trying to make me sound more dangerous than I was so they could do something drastic. When I got sent to Ironheart I figured my theory was right.

"After the collar zapped me the first time I realized I'd been using magic to help me lure in marks. Since then I haven't really had much of a chance to figure out what I can and can't do. What I did figure out I had to learn on the fly, trying to get away from Alph- from the mage.

"I guess that fight must have brought the magic to the surface. That, or maybe the dream I had right before I woke up - it felt too real for a dream. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear and feel and smell. I've never been able to smell in a dream before. A strange voice called me 'daughter' and said I hadn't fulfilled my potential. Then it told me to 'awaken.' The next thing I remember is waking up in the bed, and the rest you know."

{{OOC: If there are major reactions / questions in there, Pyrene will pause / answer as appropriate before continuing.}}

"Now that I've told you all that's relevant about myself, I have a couple questions for you, Klaus, if you don't mind. You're a former Warden of Ironheart, correct? So why didn't you leave us, or at least me, to freeze? You must have seen the brand before you got us here. For that matter, why are you on such poor terms with the Baron that turning us in would endanger yourself as well?"