Tree turns to Sithani and Ka'Ri, making the decision to ignore Glen and Sunrise in favor of metaphysics. "Are you mages? Because I haven't seen you before but I don't know all the students. Mother used a ritual which keyed the amulet into me as a target. I've read her notes and she believes the amulet is focusing on other people as imperfect versions of me--they get the same magical benefits, but twisted and warped into detriments. So whereas I would be made healthy, others are made sickly; whereas I would be rested and alert, they're drowsy and dull; whereas I would be resurrected after death with a proper resurrection, they're coming back soulless. Some people don't read as targets to the amulet: people who've been resurrected once before are invisible to its magic, and so is Mother for some reason--I assume because she's the creator."
She leans on her elbows. "So the amulet is the source of the plague. The enchanted metal scattered around the city just helped it spread quickly by rendering people vulnerable to magical effects. I was walking around the city wearing the thing for weeks, and every vendor with a magical ring, every cleric with a new amulet, every passing stranger with an enchanted bauble given to them by their cousin at the Feytower--I was infecting all of them. Then they took the disease home and infected others--more slowly, if they weren't wearing the metal anymore, but the infection still took hold."
Her face falls and she looks down. "She put the amulet away once Mother realized the problem, but it was too late--even without new infections from the amulet, the plague was spreading like wildfire. She's been trying to cure it ever since. And she can't tell people how it began or there'd be a riot. Maybe even a magic purge. Hangings and burnings. She'd be the first on the chopping block and I'd be next. Which... maybe that's how it should be, I don't know." She sniffles and looks away. "But then other mages--innocent ones--would be next."
Korogur leans across the table to address Sunrise and Glen, letting Ka'Ri and Sithani and Tree talk magic amongst themselves. "Hey. Uh, maybe it's not my business what's going on between you two, but if you're waiting for me to admit that my cousin Betreygis is a dick, there's no question of that. And I don't know who 'Thorn' is, but you said 'spouse' so I'm guessing you mean Ellwythorn? She's a good girl--although you're calling her a boy so it sounds like there's been some updates in that area since I last checked in--and I like her- him a lot. Deserved a lot better than Trey, no question."
He shakes his head. "But if you're thinking Mokoz is head over heels for Trey or something, they're not bosom buddies. Aunt Mokoz barely leaves her workroom. He's just supplying her with raw materials for her research. And, yes, she is amazing," he adds, thinning his lips. "She survived in the wilds on her own as a teenager after Brilight soldiers left her for dead. Walked here all the way from the border. Do you know how dangerous that trip is? I doubt there's a person in the Feytower who could do that. Then she survived this city as an orcish woman, which is a feat in itself. Tree's right that we don't impugn her honor around here. If you'd met her, you wouldn't either."