"Power?" Daego interjected, looking at Aurrie with a side glance. "What are you and that ghost talking about?"

Aurrie made eye contact with the swindler, making sure that her annoyance was clear. "I can't keep stopping our conversation just to tell you what Yalch told me a few seconds ago. Once we finish our discussion, I'll be sure to fill ya in on the details."

Daego nodded and scooted a bit to the side of the bed, giving Aurrie more space to continue her talk.

"Now, back to our chat," Aurrie continued. "Tell me more about this power you were talking about."

"You're a Purifier. You need a Beacon to activate it." Yalch put his hand over the lower part of his body. "The girls down there, Miwah and Tamma, should still have one left. The Cutthroats took the ones they used to become Purifiers, but I only saw them hand over two. Miwah should have the last one hidden with her."

"Got ya. And then what?" Aurrie shrugged her shoulders.

"You put the necklace on, and you press the jewel to your chest." Yalch pointed a finger over heart. "Right there."

"That simple, eh?"

"For now, yes. It gets more complicated than that, but since we don't have much time, that's all you need to know on how to activate it."

Aurrie nodded her head. "I see. An' what kind of power do I get? Magic spells? Super strength?"

The ghost shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. You'll only get to find out once you try the Beacon out for yourself. But one thing that I can say for certain is that you'll get a weapon and a special Ensemble to go with it."

Aurrie squinted at the ghost, staring at the floating apparition with confusion and intrigue blended into a single expression on her face. "Right. Seems like this is a lot to take in."

"It gets easier the more you use it. You'll become significantly more powerful than you are now though. That's for sure."

"Will I be stronger than those Cutthroats?"

Yalch replied by bobbing up and down. "Yep. You'll be stronger than any average Farrowporter. But don't let that bit of information get you to start making brash decisions! It's a common mistake that new Purifiers make. They get a taste of their new power and go around getting into trouble!"

"Like those two downstairs?" Aurrie smirked as she crossed her arms.

Yalch’s eyes shied away. "Well… they're still learning."

Aurrie stood up from the bed and stretched out an open hand. She kept her faint grin as she kept eye contact with the ghost. "All righty, Yalch! Sounds like ya got yourself another Purifier. I'm more of a 'hands-on' kinda learner anyway." Half of Yalch's right hand slipped into Aurrie's palm. The housekeeper slowly moved her hand up and down as Yalch mimicked the movement. "Not quite what I had in mind for a handshake," she continued. "But I guess it's the sentiment that really matters."

"Thank you so much, Aurrie." Yalch let out a breath of relief. "I know I'm asking a lot from you right now but believe me when I say that you will be rewarded for your good deeds!"

"Oh, I plan on it!" Aurrie replied. "You're telling me I'll be able to take on the Cutthroats? Say no more!"

"You're not a fan of them either, huh?" Yalch asked.

"No one in Farrowport is. But I've got especially personal business with 'em." The housekeeper furrowed her eyes as she used one hand to the palm of the other. "Daego too."

"What about me?" Daego asked.

Aurrie glanced over her shoulder at Daego. "Oh. Yalch here was just asking about the Cutthroats. I was just tellin' the fella why we don't like 'em."

"Tell him that he saw for himself what they've done to his friends. They're a menace to all of Farrowport! Besides the looting, they know how to threaten people to get what they want."

The housekeeper faced Yalch again. She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder towards the swindler still sitting on the bed. "Daego here isn't all bad. I know him turning in your two pals is pretty scummy, but he's got his reasons. When you owe money to Cutthroats, they always come to collect. And ya gotta pay more than what you originally agreed to."

"And they don't just accept coin, either!" Daego added.

"Daego was looking to get a tab paid at this inn. Got a bit too drunk and accepted the help of Narrita and her gang. Now they use him to trick and cheat every foreigner that wanders into this inn. They know he's a slick talker, so now they get a steady stream of coin comin' in from Deago's scams."

"I used to only work my tricks on the socialites up in the higher part of Farrowport. I'd pull a hustle every so often. But now they got me hanging down here all the time. Scamming some poor boat passenger out of their last few coins is a lot easier than planning an elaborate ruse to get into the pockets of one of the rich folks." Daego rubbed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "I would have stopped a long time ago, but the Cutthroats are all over this island! Wouldn't be able to go anywhere without having to worry about their gang trying to get even with me."

"That's terrible!" Yalch covered his mouth with his hands as he watched Daego sit hunched over.

"He said that's terrible," Aurrie replied.

"If that's bad, it's nothing compared to what happed with Aurrie and her dad."

Yalch switched his attention to the housekeeper. Her eyes drifted to the side as the confidence she had moments prior gave way to sorrow. "Do you want to tell me?" the ghost asked. "I know we don't have much time, but finding out your motivation for wanting to be a Purifier is important to me."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," Aurrie replied with confidence. "The past is the past. Not like there's anything I can do about it now." She blinked a few times, stopping tears from forming in her eyes. She looked at Yalch head on, her face stern. "My Pa was a gambler. For as long as I can remember, he spent his time either drinkin', rollin' dice or both. Made the mistake of takin' on that big fella that's always hangin' out with the Cutthroats. For once in his life, Pa got lucky. But those Cutthroats don't play fair. Horace didn't wanna take the loss. Offered Pa double or nothin'. He didn't wanna take the bet. But what are you gonna do when ya got a big snake loomin' over ya?"

"Oh."

"Exactly. Pa put everything on the line for that one game. They switched out the dice. Must have been enchanted or somethin'. But Pa ended up losing everything that day. And then some." Aurrie sighed and shrugged her shoulders. " That's why I'm workin' here. Gotta pay off Pa's debt."

"What happened to your father?" Yalch asked with hesitation in his voice. Aurrie continued to her frown. She paused for a moment, her eyes venturing off into space.

"He... went missing. Couldn't live with the embarrassment. Got real drunk one night. Wandered around the lower part of Farrowport and I never saw him again. Some of the folks down in beggar's alley said they saw him though. But I... I..." The housekeeper winced. Tears slipped through her sealed eyes. "I don't wanna believe 'em!" She took a seat on the bed next to Deago. She pressed the palm of her hand against her face and began to sob. Deago reached over and took her in her arms.

"They say that he wandered off the pier," Daego said softly, his face angled in the general direction of Yalch. "It was storming that night. If he did... I doubt someone as drunk as he was would have been able to stay afloat."

"I'm sorry you two..." Aurrie said with a sniffle. She took in a pair of deep breaths as she rubbed away her tears with the back of her hand. "Daego knows that I don't usually lose my self-control like this."

"Don't be sorry," Yalch said. "It's important that I found that out." He gave the woman a gentle grin while floating inches in front of her face. "I know you have what it takes to be a Purifier, Aurrie."

"Oh yeah?" Aurrie had calmed down and returned to her usual demeanor despite her eyes still being red. "What makes you say that, 'eh?"

"Centuries of experience."

Aurrie chuckled, a smile returning to her face despite the occasional sniffle. "All right. Ya got me there. Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, maybe we should start coming up with a plan to rescue those two girls downstairs."

"I'm willing to do anything needed," Daego said. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"

"You're the one that's always comin' up with schemes, Daego. Why don't you put something together?"

The swindler looked at the floor and began pacing. "Fine. Just give me a moment."