Lydia chose to embark on this trip in the mid afternoon, not quite comfortable with going too early or wandering this far into WestEnd at night. She wasn't entirely sure the trip was even warranted, since the picture on the poster wasn't the same. Similar but....there was a definite difference of age there. There were two things that bothered her though. The mention of the missing eye, and those scars. The scars weren't similar, no...they were exact. Too much so to simply be coincidental. At least she thought so...

As she approached the gated Blood House Onyx, her pace slowed a little more with every few steps she took closer towards it. The faintest of goosebumps coursed over her arms and neck as she sensed something. Magic" Wards" It was something alright. Pretty powerful stuff too. That, accompanied with the rather large gates gave her the impression that this wasn't the type of place you simply waltz into uninvited, no matter how good the intentions. Not to mention she didn't exactly know who she was dealing with here. Familiar names, perhaps a familiar face or two, some rumors...but nothing alarming. Not to her. But one could never be too careful.

She paused outside the gate, not too keen on entering without invite. Lips pursed, she slowly walked along the perimeter of the front gate, peering through bars, searching for someone. Anyone.

Brows lifted slightly as a rather tall elven male was in her field of vision. She contrasted greatly with him. Whereas he was tall, imposing, perhaps even looked like he could be dangerous" She was a petite, lithe thing wearing a white sundress. Nothing about the way she spoke or looked or held herself seemed dangerous. Lydia's look of mild surprise was quickly masked by a friendly smile, just a touch fainter than the norm. Pale blues rose towards eye and patch as she nodded in greeting. "Hi. I ah...hope I'm not intruding." She ran a hand over an arm still flecked with fading goosebumps. More magic seemed to be at work. "I'm here to see ..ah.." Brows crinkled in aggravation at her own inability to remember a name. She was usually rather good at that.

Shoulder rolled faintly as she reached up to pull a strap off. Said strap belonged to her purple and green knitted messenger bag, courtesy of her sister. Reaching in, she rummaged around a moment, since it was a bit of a mess in there. Books and pens and sewing things. Not to mention a few business cards scattered about that Erin had made a few too many of. Finally, she pulled out a folded up poster, slightly crinkled around the edges.

A stray turquoise thread was pulled off it and dropped back into her bag with a crinkle of her nose. Definitely time to clean that out. Bag hoisted back on her shoulder, she set to unfolding the poster and glanced it over briefly. "Belial." She paused, glancing back up to the man. "About this?" A small, timid step was taken closer to the gates as she turned the poster around so that he might see it better and held it out. Jodiah Ayreg's aging face would probably stand out the most amongst the brief and straight to the point message the poster contained.

As gates pulled outwards, she took a few steps back, the sounds of her boots soft on the ground. Gaze shifted back and forth a brief moment, watching the gate, before resting on Wylde. She didn't come bearing much news for Belial, and what little she had was hardly what one could be considered 'good'. A part of her questioned if it was even real.

"It's nice to meet you Wylde." She exuded friendliness. "I'm Lydia." Simple, no fancy names or titles for her. Just the way she liked it. When he moved, she followed of course. Not too closely though. A few steps back. Eyes roamed the grounds as they moved along towards the Mansion, taking in anything that might have been there. Flowers, plants, or the lack thereof. As the Mansion was approached her gaze and attention turned towards it.

"This is a really nice place." An attempt at casual conversation as she followed along. "I've never been to this side of town before. Not this far out...so I didn't know this was here. Well...I heard about it but never saw it for myself." Rambling. A wonderful first impression made once again...

Steps ceased as Belial appeared. Lydia fell quiet as she and Wylde conversed, picking up on a couple things, such as that word 'bloodshed'. Unease was kept hidden inside though, rather than showing on her visage. A nod was returned to Wylde as well as the ever polite smile just before he left her and Belial alone.

Pale blues turned to the other. She seemed familiar, if only vaguely. Though to see people in passing at the inn and never really meet them wasn't all that unusual. At the mention of the flyer she glanced down to the one she still held, then back up, some confusion evident on her features now. She wasn't at all certain how he could have told Belial what she was there about if they had just....no, she'd not dwell on that. There were odder things at work. It was Rhydin after all.

"Um...the gardens would be fine, if that's no trouble." Given the choice, the gardens seemed to be the safer of the two. There wasn't distrust, no, but these were people she didn't really know. Just a word or two was heard about them in passing.

Weight shifted from one foot to the other, as she was ready to walk or follow along with Belial. Another glance was given to the flyer in her hands as she bit her lip, not quite certain where to start without coming off as a little...crazy.

Lydia followed Bel, letting her gaze wander to take in the environment. She did notice that the mansion was rather beautiful and elaborately crafted. The fact it was elven-styled or from Elfhame was a fact lost on her though, as she wasn't a typical elf. Or more correctly, half elf.

"Erin is my sister." She smiled faintly, though it was one of ease. "Not by blood, but things like that hardly matter." A faint wince to her features at the mention of Viki. Still missing. She would have to visit Everett soon, make sure he was doing okay. "I'm sorry about Viki...I've talked with her a few times before." She paused, letting her gaze trail over some particularly bold flowers in the gardens. "She's really nice...many seem to like her. Myself included." She paused once again, before letting those particularly light blue eyes drift back to Bel. "I'm sure she'll return safely..." Same assurance she offered her poet friend.

She fell silent, almost apologetic looking as she looked towards where Bel pointed before resuming the previous topic and question. "A Stitch in Time." Features darkened a touch. That name was Kitty's suggestion. "It's clothing in general, but on my part, mostly dresses. Erin works with knitting things...making jewelry...Storm works on figurines too, with her magic. It's unlike anything I've seen....they can be cold to the touch but there's fire inside and..." She shook her head, once again getting off topic, perhaps eager to move on from more disheartening news. "Piper is going to be setting up pottery there too....so I guess we're kind of branching off to many things now."

Not being very well acquainted with Stars End, or anything 'techie' for that matter, Lydia seemed a little confused to the mention of 'verses'. "I'd have to talk with Erin about that...though I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean by trading in...verses..?"

Having been in conversation and simply following along, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, so when a lake was suddenly in her field of vision it took her by surprise. Gaze flickered aside to movement. Ducks.

"Oh...no no, I don't want to be a bother. Just...tea will be fine." A friendly smile in return before she took a seat at the table. Now...to wait.

"I will make sure to mention it to them, yeah. I'm sure there will be some interest in expanding the business." Isn't that natural with any and all business, no matter the product' As Bel spoke, she pulled her cup of tea closer. One with a mighty sweet tooth, she added a plentiful amount of sugar, stirring it a little within the liquid so that it'd dissolve quicker. "Right now we just have the store...nothing like some others do." Pause. "Like trading throughout the 'verses'." An easy term to pick up it seemed. Not something she would have picked up before though, as she had only been to Stars End once.

She fell quiet, lifting tea cup to lips as she sipped, letting pale ceruleans shift towards the lake. It was rather beautiful. Peaceful. She wasn't at all aware a place quite like that could exist in WestEnd. She was used to dark alleys, vagrants, crime....Not lakes and ducks, a peaceful scene she'd expect in the forest. At mention of Jodiah, her gaze lowered somewhat. Bel's tone had hope, but she wasn't sure her news could be hopeful. Let alone helpful...

Her gaze turned back towards Bel, simply regarding her a brief moment as lips pursed. Finally, she sighed faintly. "I don't know that what I have to tell you will...help. Or..." She trailed off, gaze suddenly apologetic seeming as gaze lowered, then closed. Her expression was thoughtful, as she tried to remember that night. The night she had tried forgetting about, as it had given her a nightmare or two. She was prone to those.

"I'm not certain what happened...or how it happened. It was about two months ago I think...maybe a little more." Lydia was never good with managing time or keeping up with it. "I was walking through the market. Sometime during the night I think....and I suddenly felt really...hot. Like there was fire around me." Her eyes opened, slowly chancing a look towards Belial. "I wasn't in the market anymore." Her voice had lowered considerably as she continued to speak. "I don't...I don't really know *where* I was at. It...it could have been a cave maybe?" She considered, then nodded faintly. "Probably..."

Another moment's consideration, and her head tilted to the side. "I saw him there. Except he didn't look the same as the man in your posters. He looked younger...but the scars" They were the same....too similar- too exact to be coincidence. And.." She glanced away from Bel again, frowning now. "...he was missing an eye...like the poster said he could be...so...I think it was him."

There was more to tell for certain, but for now she'd let Bel absorb that, and take a moment for herself as the images coming back to he weren't exactly what one would call pleasant.

During her pause she had taken another sip of her tea. A long sip this time, before setting mug to the table. When Bel spoke the faintest of smiles touched her lips, meaning of which wasn't all that readable. Reassurance" Worry' Sadness" She herself wasn't even entirely sure what she felt as she recalled the surreal event. It was distressing, but she had to assume Bel was at the very least, a friend to this man. Someone missing, someone she cared about. Her own distress for a stranger she knew nothing about couldn't exactly compare.

"Younger...younger than in the picture, but...he's the same man. I'm sure of it." Lydia nodded, confused herself by that. But in this realm' Sometimes she was fully aware she wouldn't understand something. Sometimes she wondered if she even wanted to try.

Smile seemed to wane away as bottom lip was taken between her teeth. There was hesitancy before she continued. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news. She certainly didn't want to upset Bel, but candy coating what happened entirely' Lydia certainly wasn't comfortable with that either. Finally, after a faint sigh, she continued. "Someone had obviously been keeping him there against his will." Lydia paused then, gaze dropping away from Bel as her next words were lowered. "Hurting him..." Hands settled in her lap, fingers toying and fidgeting and wringing against one another. "He...wasn't in good shape. But still alive." It was the truth, and yet spared less than pleasant detail. For now" It would work.

"He wanted me to help him...and I would have if I could...I was going to try to free him, but..." Trailing off, she frowned, gaze seeking Bel's once more. "That...that woman wouldn't let me." Brows furrowed as she tried to remember the event in further detail. "It's...hard to remember exactly what happened after that. She did something and it's like...everything just...disappeared" There was nothing...and then this...thing came out." Another pause. The nothing and the thing that haunted her dreams those nights, the nothing and the thing she pictured so vividly yet couldn't put words to. "It was ...awful...whatever it was."

Lydia reached out for her tea. Something to calm the nerves. Something to do with her hands to stop the incessant fidgeting. "After all that...I was back at the market, as if nothing ever happened." But she did, of course, know better. Something had definitely happened. This vision wasn't the same as the ones she used to have, but she knew it was more than an 'active imagination' or simply being 'crazy' as some would tell her in those recent years past.

Quiet once more, Lydia watched Bel, wishing she could have brought her better news. Though in the grand scheme of things, she knew it could have been worse. This man, Jodiah, was alive when she saw him. Not dead.

Perhaps there was hope in that?

Lydia watched Bel, pale blues shifting to the pouch that was being slid towards her. Lips pursed faintly at it before her gaze lifted back towards Bel, head tilting faintly at the inquiry. She nodded, if a bit hesitantly, as she looked to Bel's hand, brows lifting faintly at the image orb appearing there. Back home, or at least what used to be home, there was an item not too unlike it, that recorded images, faces, sounds, messages. Lydia wasn't aware something similar was here in Rhydin, but she wasn't surprised either.

When the woman appeared within the orb, Lydia's brows furrowed in thought as she studied her, a little un-nerved at the lifelessness she seemed to exude. Her eyes narrowed faintly as she considered it carefully then shook her head, apologetic eyes lifting towards Bel. "I saw her for less than a second, so I'm afraid I can't really recall what she looks like. Or-" She lifted a hand, gesturing to the orb. "-if that's her or not. I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, gaze dropped a little, resting on the pouch that had been pushed forward mere moments ago. Hand that had been held up towards the orb lowered and rested on the pouch. A moment's consideration, and she slowly pushed it closer to Belial.

"I can't take this. Not in good conscience." For years she didn't want for money, considering the two families she was born into. But there was something to be said for earning your own money, however doing something you think and feel is right' That was something she didn't consider worth...earning money.

"I appreciate the offer...it's really kind of you Bel, but it's not why I came." An easy smile to the other before she pulled her hand back, letting it rest in her lap. "I'd hope if I were in a similar situation someone would tell me anything they knew to help because it was...right. Not for the promise of money." Lydia paused a moment, thinking before she spoke again, this time nearly a whisper as her pale blues searched for Bel's striking green. "I hope that you find him Bel..."