the evil eye has done its work;

The inside of the shack was old, dusty, and there was obvious mold growing in a few of the corners. Well, the corners he could see. There was also a lot of clutter he had a hard time placing, herbs of some sort that had gone from dried, to pretty much turning into dust if you looked at them too long. The smell was reminiscent of the forest itself, of moss and grass, but mostly just wet.

The shrine went unseen for now, as his familiars quickly alerted him to the chaos outside. They’d been spotted, by two personas not looking like they were made from sticks. One rode a horse, also not made from sticks, as far as the eyes could tell. They were making the situation look like a casual stroll, even calling out for the man inside the shed.

At that callout, Aleister opened the door for the approaching pair. He’d have squinted his eyes at Mord, hadn’t he been wearing a mask, and also literally had a head at all. But his memory was almost failing him, digging through a thick mist. No; he knew this man. Had to. “Sure is me.” The tall mage replies standing in the doorway, his uncertainty almost audible in his voice. The pair of floating eyes size the newcomers up, one a red iris. The other blue. The man calling out his name is familiar indeed, the shorter guy a total stranger.

It’s as if a lightbulb turns on when he seems to shift, from almost stand-offish to the more familiar jokester mage he was known as. “Mordreaux! Guests, who, you and;” he waves his hand in Uwe’s general direction, “Or the Blights resurrecting? Get your behinds inside, not that this shack will help us for long.” No, this shoddy wood wouldn’t save them from the blights. Especially not now it seemed this pair had been attracting them all over the area. Before, Al had hoped he’d gotten inside before being spotted. A quiet night in a random shed suited him just fine. Now he had, guests, apparently.

Aleister quickly gestured for them to come inside, his pair of familiars staying outside to keep check on the blight development. “Guess introductions are in order.” He didn’t recognize the short man. Not even a vague pull of recognition. Though that wasn’t too new, there was very much still the chance he knew Aleister.