Cladissa casts her spell before she opens the door, then steps inside to study the artifact. "Someone be ready to drag my corpse out of here, please," she says bitterly as her eyes glow with concentration.
Cladissa manages to avoid the lashes as she works out the device's functioning.
You can read the Argor spoiler in this post
The artifact appears to be destabilizing more rapidly at this point, Cladissa estimates only a short time remains before it self destructs.
After studying the device, Cladissa realizes two important things. One, it was going to explode, because no one here possessed the skill to stop it; and two, it wasn't as heavy as it looked.
If it was to explode, she didn't want it happening in and among this collection of knowledge.
Wasting no time, she uses her spiderlike lower body to climb up the wall above the cage. She sends her thickest line of webbing to stick to the artifact, then she begins to pull. Her arachnoid legs climb up and through the hole in the ceiling, hoisting the cage up behind her.
Once it's on the roof, she gets away from it as fast as she can.
The description says it's 60 pounds.
Webs: The eidolon can use these webs to support itself plus up to one creature of the same size.
My strength is 13, which gives me a light load of 50, and a medium load of 100. But, I have the extra legs evolution, so that might make me a quadruped, giving me a 75-pound light load.
Climb speed of 40, (30 if you say I'm at a medium load). Double move, gets me 80 feet up the hole (or 60). In a round or two, I should have the thing on the roof, depending on the height of the building.
Argor stares at the shapeshifter in front of him. He says nothing. Feels nothing. And for the first time in years, thinks nothing.
However, the dinosaur in the room still is able to tell that it's summoner feels this thing as a threat. The magic binding it to Argor compels it to attempt to crush it. It slams its tail down hard into the helpless shapeshifter.
The dinosaur continues to slam its tail into the things body until nothing is left but a mass of pulped tissues and bones in the floor. Argor numbly watches on, hovering in place as Rutai anxiously sits atop his shoulder, more scared now than it had ever felt in the pits of Hell.
The beast who is Grommesson obeys Argor and departs with Clarissa. He watches her not knowing how to help. But when she climbs up and starts to move the cage, he knew he could do that. So, the beast climbs up and adds not inconsiderable strength to the task.
Unaware of the carnage below, Cladissa has a surge of hope when Grommesson lends a hand toward hauling the artifact. She attaches another strand of silk to the cage and passes it to him. "Thank you, Grommesson! Let's go, quickly."
Gianluca hesitates briefly, reluctant to leave, but the sounds of Grommeson and Cladissa climbing the the artifact persuade him. Surely Argor won't do anything to the person bearing his unborn child...
Seeing his allies having carried the cage to the roof, Gianluca calls out "Let me take it from here," as honey-colored wings unfurl from his back.
He takes the cage and flies out the top, looking for a safe place to drop or throw it, away from innocents.
As Argor allows his deceptive wife and unborn child to be murdered, Rutai can't help but laugh. "You had me worried you were going to redeem your soul for a while there, boss. But now I'm pretty sure we'll be together forever. Don't worry, Hell's not so bad once you get used to the rules."
Cladissa and Grommesson manage to get the Cage of Soul Echoes up through the hole in the roof, and out to where the dragon was perched earlier.
On the way to the roof, Grommesson is struck by a blast of cold ether. Once there Gianluca flies up and takes the Cage. A few seconds after he starts flying towards the bay the artifact begins flickering in and out of the ethereal plane.
The tendrils suddenly reverse direction, and Gianluca finds himself sucked into the ethereal plane! While caught in the ethereal storm around the cage, he can see the Cage fall to the grounds of the Grand Lodge back in the Material. The artifact crushes a topiary before it begins sucking all the matter around it into the ethereal plane.
Gianluca struggles mightily to avoid the thrashing tendrils of cold energy whipping past him, and moments later he is ejected back into the Material Plane, next to the cage. With a sky rending clap of thunder the Cage explodes, sending a burst bright blue energy into the sky that is visible for miles.
The Honeyed Hand is caught in the explosion, feeling the cold of winter's most stygian midnight soak into his flesh. All around him decorative shrubbery and benches flash freeze then shatter into thousands of pieces before beginning to instantly melt in the tropical sun. Cladissa and Grommesson looking down from above see Gianluca lying in a crater roughly forty feet in diameter.
Cladissa shields her eyes from the explosion, then blinks as she anxiously looks for a sign of Gianluca in the crater. When she spots him, she runs down the side of the building and races to his side.
Argor hears the explosion outside as Sir Preston rounds on him. The paladin flings his longsword against the wall and makes a fist, looking like he's ready to smash Argor in the face. Instead, he reigns himself in at the last second and roars at the ceiling in rage. "I cannot believe you just let that happen! She was carrying your child, you son of a b##+$! She confessed to being coerced! You are an officer of the god-damned law!" Not appearing to trust his own temper, he storms out of the room before doing something that he will regret.
As Cladissa is climbing down to get to Gianluca, she sees Sir Preston come storming out of the Mausoleum, his face a mask of fury. He takes in the explosion with one grim look, before spitting disgustingly into the dirt and sprinting forward to see if he can help.
Meanwhile, around the quad, the remaining Pathfinders begin to emerge from cover. Those with the skill rush to tend the numerous casualties scattered around the grounds of the Lodge, while simply others stand there looking dazed. Columns of smoke can be seen rising all over the city, and sounds of slowly diminishing chaos leak over the tall walls from the streets outside.
The beast who is Grommesson watches the angel collect the device from himself and Cladissa and soar away. The evil device strikes back and wriggles free. He blinks and sees the angel reappear next to the fallen artifact a fraction of a second before the blinding explosion.
He shakes his head to clear the white dot from his vision and ringing in his ears. Before his senses fully return. the beast instinctively follows Cladissa to the crater.
One look at Preston's furious, disgusted face was all Cladissa needed to surmise what had happened. After making sure Gianluca is stabilized, she wordlessly nods to her suitor and heads back inside.
Cole meets Cladissa on the threshold of the final chamber, telepathically warning her to brace herself.
She audibly gasps when she sees the crushed body. It was hard to believe, to accept that her friend had been replaced weeks ago. That the bride who helped give her one of her best days of her life as a bridesmaid was Oman imposter. The betrayal was so immense, so outrageous, that she could barely process it.
Tears start streaming down her face. "Argor," she begins, but her voice falters as she realizes no words can possibly soothe his hurt. An unbidden memory of their dance at the wedding strikes her, remembering how she had truly wished for his happiness.
Cladissa sobs quietly next to him.
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Unlike the others, Sabrina does not leave. However, she finds herself unable to stop Argor. Stopping him physically would violate some of the most prominent rules of the Society, and after hearing Setsuna's stories what those divine dinosaurs could do to stone giants, Yig's Champion finds herself unwilling to fight the summoned creature to save a traitorous, backstabbing weasel.
Even when explosion happens, being so lost in thought, Sabrina barely flinches.
(Turkey does kind of squawk in surprise.)
Sabrina twitches slightly when Sir Preston yells at Argor. The logical part of her mind knows that the man is just angry beyond rational thought. If the imposter had been a succubus, he probably would have dropped everything and joined the dinosaur in killing her. He is probably well aware that espionage and being an accomplice to war crimes are legal offenses punishable by death in many (if not most) systems of law.
If he knew about Hasturia, then he probably would have tried to jam his sword through Sabrina's skull to make sure that she would never be a threat to existence itself ever again.
Sabrina finds herself at a crossroads.
If she leaves and refuses to take a side, then she could easily wash her mantis appendages of this mess. Her standing with the others would most likely not suffer. However, that would leave Argor with no support but a stinky imp.
If she condemns Argor, then she probably loses him forever. What Sir Preston oddly fails to see is that Argor himself has suffered greatly. Imri is missing and potentially dead. Argor himself had been deceived in ways that make Sabrina's stomach to do flips. In all honesty, Sabrina felt more sympathy for her... friend than she did for Jhael.
(Yes, she and Argor are probably friends. After he had... almost unconditionally accepted her despite everything about Hasturia, Sabrina really cannot see their relationship any other way.)
So if she supports Argor...
The death of the innocent baby is definitely tragic, though. The baby had been the only thing stopping Sabrina herself from killing Jhael. Even if Yig himself ordered it, she would not hurt someone innocent like that... Yig's Champion sighs. The child is probably what complicates the situation so much. There are likely millions of ethical questions surrounding it.
Sabrina wishes that she knew the answers.
She takes a deep breath. She struggles to find the right words. However, Sabrina is also very aware just how bad things can get when people suffer alone. Something needs to be said. Perhaps she does not necessarily need to pat Argor on the back and tell him that he did the right thing. However, perhaps, just maybe, pointing him in the right direction and assisting him in his time of need will yield some more palatable results...
"Argor, I... think our next step should be to rescue Imri and make the Onyx demons pay for their crimes. What they've done is absolutely unforgivable."
To the city, us, and you...
Argor makes no move. Doesn't blink. Doesn't speak. Just continues to stare off into oblivion with his flat red eyes. This continues throughout the entirety of Preston's tirade, as well as Cladissa and Sabrina's attempts at comfort.
Eventually, the magic binding the dinosaur fades and it whisks away.
Rutai occasionally flits in front of Argor's gaze and waves his hand, only to receive no response.
Finally, after what seems like an eternity, Argor turns to look towards Clarissa and Sabrina. His face is a blank canvas; an emotionless void. Then, his flesh seems to begin to crawl beneath his skin, and his knees buckle as he falls to the floor in a heap. His staff clatters to the side as he falls, the rest of his body convulsing, bending, breaking, and melting! In seconds, all that remains of Argor is a pile of his personal effects and a dark grey puddle of ooze!
"Guys? GUYS!?!?" Rutai exclaims as the devolution takes place! He dives down and lifts up Argor's staff, moving it away from the melting body of his master protectively, clutching it almost as if it would reassure him that what he was seeing wasn't really happening.
Cladissa's hands fly to her mouth in horror. She lets out an anguished cry, then she moves to cradle what's left of him. She flashes back to Nyugusk's disintegration, and even further back to when Cyril dissolved.
Desperately, she scoops the protoplasm into his cloak and begins spinning her webs, encasing the ooze in a silken cocoon.
All the while, she mutters, "You're not gone, you're not, you're not. You're too stubborn to let this serum get the better of you."
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Sabrina rushes over to help Cladissa recover what's left of Argor.
However, in her haste, she accidentally flings some of the Argorian goo into her left eye.
"Ow! ...Owowowowowow!!!"
Yig's Champion grabs her face and starts shaking in pain. Olympia gets ready to fly over to help her (somehow).
"S-Stay! Ow!" Sabrina quickly orders through her pain, causing the Turkey to pause.
She lowers her mantis arms and looks at Cladissa. The left side of the druidess' face is slowly dissolving.
"Well, of all the ways to go, Classy..." Sabrina murmurs wearily through her sheer obvious agony. "I guess this is my last rodeo too! I... If there's anything left of Handsome Honey, tell him that I love him, okay? And... tell Setsuna... that I'm so sorry for... for..."
"What?!? No, not you too!"
Cladissa holds up a pair of spindly arachnoid appendages that have some of Argor's goo on them. "What are you on about? It's not harmful!" she insists, then returns to her task of cocooning Argor's remains.
"Hang on, you're going to be okay," she tells Sabrina.
A bolt of lightning arcs out from the ooze and strikes the ceiling, sending debris crumbling down to the floor!
"Watch out!" Rutai yells as he dives over to Cladissa's side and tugs at her to avoid the falling stones.
Panting, half anxious what the Pathfinder might do to him for daring to try and help her, he stammers, "I...I can still sense his emotions...is that normal?"
Cladissa scowls at the imp. "Like I know! But it gives me hope! Come on, make sure this goop gets in the cocoon," she instructs while Cole yowls agitatedly nearby.
After confirming that the angel was alive, the beast who is Grommesson starts looking for his missing mother, Anja Blakros.
After confirming that the angel was alive, the beast who is Grommesson starts looking for his missing mother, Anja Blakros.
Preston goes to Gianluca, kneeling beside the unconscious Arshean. "Hold on, Gianluca, I've got you," he says, putting aside his rage for the moment. He lays hands gently on his wounded companion and unleashing healing energy.
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"You h-haven't i-ingested any, r-right?" Sabrina stammers out, her breaths heavy and pained. "M-Must be w-why... D-Don't ingest... a-any of t-hat Argorian g-goo..."
Despite everything, Sabrina continues to weakly help Cladissa get as much of Argor into the cocoon as they can muster.
She seems to realize that Rutai is trying to be helpful.
::Ha! H-He c-cares?!:: she mentally observes with a pained smirk. ::T-That's... f-funny. He's w-won, C-Classy. Why d-does h-he c-care?!::
Sabrina twitches and promptly collapses in a heap against the wall. More than half of her face seems to be melting now.
"H-Hey C-Cladissa, w-where d-do t-think I-I'll be s-sent? ...I-I should s-stop. W-Who k-knows h-how m-much l-longer... I... w-want t-to... t-tell y-you s-something... b-but I-I'm a l-little s-scared... a-about what y-you'll t-think... I... C-Classy, i-it was w-wonderful b-being y-your f-friend. W-Watching s-someone so... n-nice... h-hurt... w-was... p-painful for m-me... I..."
Yig's champion coughs violently.
"GAAAAHHHH!"
Gianluca returns to consciousness with a gasp under Preston's healing hands. As his lungs start working he shakes the cold from his limbs and--with Preston's support--stands.
With hesitation as they walk back inside, the Honeyed Hand starts to ask, "How did..." but the look on the paladin's face confirms his worst fears.
Gianluca is beginning to mentally compose his rebuke as they walk in the door to mayhem: Argor a pile of electrified goo, Sabrina seizing on the floor.
"Sabrina, dear friend, what do you need? Preston, do you have more healing power left?! Is Argor--did he kill himself after he murdered his child the child's mother?"
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"H-H-Hey, Handsome Honey! N-Nope! H-He j-just melted! M-melted into this A-Argorian g-goo! I g-got s-some A-Argor in my e-eye, and n-now I'm d-dying too!" Sabrina rambles tiredly. "Hey, Sir P-Preston. D-Do m-me a f-favor and... keep b-being C-Classy's f-friend and m-more, o-okay? I-It w-was nice to m-meet y-you. S-Seriously. M-More p-paladins s-should b-be like y-you..."
More violent coughs. Sabrina's large, melted bug eyes begin to bleed. Her pained breathing starts to slow.
"I do not in fact have any of my healing left, I just used the last of it on you," Preston responds to Gianluca. He looks with disbelief at the pile of goo. "Bah! He couldn't even stick around to face the consequences of his actions. Coward..."
Turning to Sabrina he looks concerned. "Thank you, dear. I hope that you are wrong about what's happening to you, but should you pass into Pharasma's hands, know that I too was honored to have known you. Worry not for Cladissa. I will be there for her for as long as she will have me."
Looking where?
The scenario is basically over at this point. We need to transition to downtime. In a few minutes some of the Society higher ups will arrive to debrief y'all. In the meantime you can continue your RP.
Cladissa couldn't believe what was happening. Everything was collapsing around her, the demons somehow victorious even in their defeat. She resolved to not let them win, if only through her own strength of will.
"Sabrina! Wild Shape! Something elemental; earth, air, fire; fire would be good. Burn it away!"
She keeps working on the cocoon, sealing it with layer after layer of webbing. Letting her spider legs work instinctively, she turns to Preston, eyed blazing. "And you! Argor's my friend! What he did was horrific, but are you forgetting what we just learned? His actions? What about his betrayal?"
Then she looks to Rutai and points to the doppelganger corpse. "Your master's unborn child might have survived. Hit it with the wand of healing. I'm going there next.
It may be madness to hope, but the way Jhael had cradled her stomach, she might have managed to protect her child even as she was being crushed. She had to try. When the cocoon is sealed as best as she could manage, she runs over to Jhael's body and gets to work on an emergency C-section.
"By Iomedae, I am Cladissa d'Lavigne Velorryan, and this child is going to live!"
Rutai flies up well out of reach of Preston. "You think he did this!?!? I felt what he was feeling, and we both were here when it happened. He didn't give that thing an order! Are you, a noble Paladin, going to lie and say otherwise!?!? It just acted! Argor was numb! Maybe even in shock! And now..." Rutai looks at the mush that was now his Master, "Well...LOOK AT HIM! LOOK AT WHAT THIS BETRAYAL HAS DONE TO HIM!!!"
"I think he was in control of that creature. Summoners are responsible for their creature's actions under the law. I think that no matter how hurt he was, he should have put aside his feelings and done his duty by arresting that "Jhael", so that she could stand trial for her crimes. He just murdered an innocent child, and a women who was pinned by his magic and unarmed, after she had confessed to being coerced into her crimes. If he survives whatever this is, I intend to have him stripped of his status as Varlokkur at the very least. And no, of course I won't lie, you scrap of devil feces. I ought to kill you for having started him down the path of evil in the first place. But unlike Argor, I FOLLOW THE LAW!"
Preston picks up his longsword and leaves the Mausoleum.
Cladissa finds the fetus within the corpse of the doppelganger and her mind breaks. She rips the brooch off her chest and flings it as hard as she can after Sir Preston, his argument with the imp barely registering but infuriating her anyway.
"Damn you both! I don't want to see either of you ever again!"
I should have let the artifact destroy us all, she thinks bitterly as she cradles the baby in her arms.
"I couldn't save us," she says, tears streaming. She spares a pained glance at the poisoned and convulsing Sabrina. She chokes back another sob, then runs from the structure and out into the streets of Absalom.
Cladissa wandered the streets, her mind numb. Cole skulked along behind her as she absently found herself coming upon the old Freak manor on Jabberwocky Lane. She went inside, finding the sheets of webbing that she had left the other day just after her last mutation, though somehow feeling like it happened a lifetime ago.
She settled into a nest of her silk strands and fell into a deep sleep.
==========================
Cladissa awoke to the light of the morning streaming in, making the gossamer threads glisten all around her. She felt different.
The sudden realization that she had fallen asleep while covered in Argor's and the doppelganger's remains struck her. Careless, she chided briefly before the crushing weight of the events of last night slammed her. Argor and Sabrina possibly dead, Preston ranting and berating them, and oh, gods -- I mean, Iomedae, Imrizade. For the sake of her own sanity, she forced it all away for a moment. She'll have to deal with it all, but trying to do so all at once would surely overwhelm her.
She decided to see what had changed in her body this time. She unfurled herself from her spot in her webbing and easily climbed down to the floor of the manor. She realized instantly that she still had spider's legs, but the bulbous abdomen was gone, and actual human legs were attached to shapely hips. Four spider legs were attached to her back with strong joints that could lift her off the ground and carry her. Also, her spinnerettes apparently had relocated to the upper two legs that protruded over her shoulders. Better than shooting them out of my butt, she muses.
Finding an old cracked mirror, she realizes her body is back to being human shaped -- and mercifully less exaggerated than her succubus form. We're it not for the four large spider legs, she could almost call herself normal-looking.
Cole meows at her. "What do you mean, 'it's time'?" she asks her familiar. He again meows insistently. "Wow. You mean I'm going to learn... that?"
She spends several hours as the sun rises high in the sky, and by the time she is done her eyes crackle with arcane energy.
"Preston, Cladissa, wait!"
Seeing that he and Rutai are the only ones left standing in the ruined hall, Gianluca turns to the imp. "Save your excuses for your master. For now though, two fellow pathfinders seem to be--literally--melting down. Can you carry that cocoon filled with Argor's remains? If so, I can carry Sabrina. We should get them both to Nyugelle as soon as possible. Hopefully she can save them. If Argor lives, he can try to defend his actions later."
With that, Gianluca hefts his old friend's seizing body onto his angelic shoulder and starts to fly toward Nyugelle's lab at Argor's manor.
Nyugelle hears Gianluca's distressed call and rushes out of her lab. While Rutai lays the cocoon on Nyug's table, Nyugelle and Gianluca clear room on the floor for Sabrina, who still seems to be fading in and out.
"Hang in there Sabrina. You too Argoo, if you can hear me." says the formerly mutated alchemist.
She takes a blood sample from Sabrina and a goo sample from Argoo, heats them over two burners, and begins muttering. "Oh! Fascinating. I think...maybe...I can see what's going on here. Maybe if..."
Nyugelle, turns to Rutai and shooes him out of her lab. "Out with you! I'll report back when I know more."
After the imp is gone, she whispers to Gianluca, "I'm not sure that it can really even be called Argor anymore, but something in this Argoo is still alive. Both body and mind are in Flux thanks to the serum and his broken mental state. If, IF he is able to recover from this, what emerges is uncertain. But the goo seems very impressionable and alterable right now. Perhaps if we add a bit of your own blood, Gianluca? Or some of this holy water?"
"All right. We're going on a trip," Cladissa tells her familiar as she stands. Cole twines around her legs as she digs through the remnants of the manor and locates a hooded cloak to throw over herself. Her spider legs fold up beneath the fabric which ends up being a decent enough disguise.
Then she speaks some words of power and they teleport.
They appear in the courtyard of her mother's estate in Taldor unerringly. The scents of the place bring her back to her youth and the strangely distant miseries she had endured. They seemed so trite now.
She catches a whiff of the scent she was searching for, and quietly stalks it. Finding her mother in a small sitting area penning a note, Cladissa without hesitation glares at her with an Evil Eye.
Tessida turns around in shock, affected by the baleful glare. "Cladissa, what--"
She cuts her mother off with another spell. "Don't get up, Mother. I suggest you calmly answer my questions truthfully and completely. Are you a shapeshifter?"
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Sabrina stirs momentarily.
"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."
Yig's Champion speaks with surprisingly clarity before slipping back into the void...
"All right. We're going on a trip," Cladissa tells her familiar as she stands. Cole twines around her legs as she digs through the remnants of the manor and locates a hooded cloak to throw over herself. Her spider legs fold up beneath the fabric which ends up being a decent enough disguise.
Then she speaks some words of power and they teleport.
1d100They appear in the courtyard of her mother's estate in Taldor unerringly. The scents of the place bring her back to her youth and the strangely distant miseries she had endured. They seemed so trite now.
She catches a whiff of the scent she was searching for, and quietly stalks it. Finding her mother in a small sitting area penning a note, Cladissa without hesitation glares at her with an Evil Eye.
Tessida turns around in shock, affected by the baleful glare. "Cladissa, what--"
She cuts her mother off with another spell. "Don't get up, Mother. I suggest you calmly answer my questions truthfully and completely. Are you a shapeshifter?"
Tessida laughs. "Don't be ridiculous! I am your mother. Is this a joke? Are you okay?"
Drandle Dreng waddles up to the forlorn Grommesson, Osprey perched on his shoulder, still in bird form. "Hey there, 'Ssonny. Where are the rest of the Freaks? I need to know what happened here...Can you let the beast go so that we can talk?"
Cladissa almost swoons in relief. She had put her mother to the test once before, but the revelation about Imrizade had reawoken those doubts with a vengeance. "Mom..." she croaks out before collapsing at her feet and sobs into her lap. The hurt and pain and uncertainty about her friends and the regret and anger at Preston had her wailing huge, wracking sobs into her mother's bosom.
It's cathartic, and though it takes a while she finally composes herself enough to answer her mother. She looks up at her, shaking her head. "No, Mom. I'm not. The demons, they attacked. They had taken Imrizade months ago. My friend, Argor's wife, replaced by a changeling. An imposter. We killed the demon lord, but at a terrible cost. Argor gave up on life, Sabrina got infected, and Sir Preston..."
"Where is your brooch?" her mother asks with a venomous tone.
Cladissa closes her eyes, lowering her head. Fresh tears begin to fall. "I threw it back at him."
A long silence stretches between the two women. Cladissa could feel her mother's disappointment radiating off her. She sat back, still on her knees in front of her, head down.
"I see," Tessida says simply.
Cladissa's relief waged an internal war with her well-established guilt complex regarding her mother's expectations for her. It left her exhausted. "Why is this so important to you?" she wearily asks.
"Because your father's line must be continued," Tessida says immediately.
Cladissa looks up, surprised. The realization that her mother was still under her compulsion to truthfully answer her questions dawns on her.
She realizes it as well, and begins to squirm. "Mother," Cladissa begins, "have you ever heard of the name d'Lavigne?"
The Lady Farwynd struggles against the magic, but ultimately nods her head in the affirmative. "Yes." Lowering her voice to a whisper, she glares at her daughter. "It's the name of the original line of Galtan royalty, and you'd do well to never speak the name aloud, lest an agent of the Grey Gardeners hears you."
Cladissa stares evenly at her mother. Her mind swims, and alarm bells ring inside her head. But she forges ahead mentally. ::Why is my name Cladissa d'Lavigne Velorryan?::
Tessida looks stricken. Her mouth works, even as her body recoils in shock. Every fiber of her essence fights the spell, but ultimately she succumbs. ::Because-- because d'Lavigne is your father's real name::
The beast who is Grommesson looks with sad eyes. He had looked all over the grounds. Without success, he had returned to the Mausoleum where the Freaks fought the monster and found the Freaks gone, too. So, he sat on some rubble and felt sorry for himself.
He squinted at Drandle Dreng and Osprey slowly calculating that they were not threats. He shrugged at their question and slowly shrunk down to the half-orc Grommesson who lived within the beast.
"Umm. Argor killed a big black dragon with one spell. Then, we went inside looking for... uh... my sister and Imrizade, Argor's wife. We killed some monsters and found some kind of sparking artifact. It was that big cage from the celebration earlier today. Then, we found Imrizade and a really big demon or devil who knew the Freaks from earlier. Only it wasn't really Imrizade. It was actually a grayish humanoid creature working for some Onyx group, so long I guess I've never met the real Imrizade.
"After Sabrina destroyed that really big demon, Argor ordered us out to talk to the creature, so Cladissa and I carried the cage out the ceiling. Then, Gianluca grabbed it from us and flew away when it exploded. We found Gianluca in the crater over there, alive but unconscious. That's when I started looking for my... uh.. sister. When I circled back here, everyone was gone, but the body of that fake Imrizade is smeared on the floor in there. Don't know where they are now."
Rutai flitted about in front of the door to the lab frustratedly. He could feel waves of various emotions from Argor, but none of it made sense. Then he heard the Venture Captains. He flew off quickly to them and called out "Dreng! Birdman! You gotta help Argor! That half-wit Nyugelle is experimenting on his...his...well...him! She ran me out! You gotta help!"
Cladissa sits, stunned. Her mother glowers at her while her mind reels.
Tessida breaks the protracted silence by reaching out and closing Cladissa's mouth which was hanging open. ::Is my dad not... Atticus Velorryan?::
Her mother's lips press together tightly. ::Yes and no. It's... complicated. Perhaps you should sit down:: She gestures to a nearby seat.
Tessida still looks disappointed, but her anger seems to dissipate. As Cladissa takes a seat, she rings a bell and has a servant bring them tea and cakes.
::There's no use for it, since I suppose you'll continue to hound me while you've got this spell on me, won't you? Well, you've quite done it now. All I can do is hope that you've the wits about you to keep all this a secret::
She composes herself, while Cladissa stares in wonderment, heart thudding hard in her chest. ::You know that I chose to marry Atticus Velorryan. He was landed gentry, but not royal so thus he was far beneath my station as a Montaigne. What you don't know was that I had two suitors. One was of course Atticus, but the other was Cassaild d'Lavigne, younger brother of Prince Artevian d'Lavigne, heir to the throne of Galt::
::Atticus and Cassaild were rivals, but also dear friends, having attended the same university. It was a time of major upheaval in Galt, but our attentions for a time was focused on each other:: Her eyes get a far away look and glisten with tears.
After a moment while she dabbed at the corner of her eyes, she looks directly at her daughter. ::Eventually the Red Revolution struck. Atticus loved me dearly, but he also loved Cass as a brother. And, he loved Galt. As fortune would have it, Atticus bore enough of a resemblance to Cassaild that he was able to save our lives by taking his place at the Final Blade. Cass then lived as Atticus, and I was disowned by my family for marrying someone of low birth, which spared my life when the Grey Gardeners came for the Montaignes::
::We lived in a measure of peace that way for a while, but Cass had to honor Atticus' sacrifice. He was a better man as a Velorryan than he ever could have been as a d'Lavigne. He worked tirelessly to save people from the Revolution that got out of control. He worked by day as a lawyer and by night as an anonymous savior, smuggling people out of the country. I tried to get him to be more cautious, to bide his time, but he would have none of it. There was always just one more life to be saved::
::You were born a Velorryan, but we both knew you were also a d'Lavigne. We had an official royal birth decree made in secret and smuggled out of Galt with someone headed to the Elven lands -- Sabrina's father, as it turned out. I confirmed from her that the documents are still in Sabrina's mother's custody. So there you have it. You're the sole surviving heir of the original Galtan royal bloodline::
For a long time, Cladissa sits in apoplexy as she processes what her mother conveyed. Her vast intelligence pieces together the clues that she'd heard but never before realized they were pieces of a grand puzzle created and separated long before she was of any age to comprehend such a concept. She and her mother's flight from Galt after her father finally angered one too many Grey Gardeners, her mother's willingness to bargain away any claim she may have to Taldane royalty when marrying Lord Farwynd, and her insistence that anyone who Cladissa marries must allow her to retain her own name. Her name. Never spelled out as Velorryan in the contracts, just, "her name." Clever.
::Why did you never share this with me?::
Tessida again glowers at her daughter. ::I had at one time planned on letting you know. But as you matured, your capabilities and decision-making were highly suspect. I decided to focus my hopes on the next generation::
Cladissa folds her arms and meets her mother's glower with her own withering stare. ::Thank you so much:: Tessida shrugs unapologetically and sips her tea.
Another long bout of silence drags between the mother and daughter. Cladissa crosses her human legs and kicks restlessly while her mother calmly sips her tea.
Cole slinks out of the nearby shrubs and mews softly. Cladissa glances at him with narrowed eyes, suspecting that somehow the midnight black cat knew this secret all along. "Okay. I have a lot to think about, then. Thank you for your honesty. And maybe, maybe, I'll see about getting you some grandchildren." She stands and beckons Cole to follow her out of the garden while Tessida sips her tea, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.
"Let's go home."
Dreng takes this in, thinking for a long while. "I see. Well, I guess the Onyx have played their hand for now. The city is in chaos, but from what Osprey could tell the authorities are slowly reasserting control. It sounds like you and your team saved us all. We'll need to track down the others and get all the details straight, but for now I've got bigger fish to fry. The Decemvirate need to be briefed, and someone has to organize this chaos. You're free to go or stay, as you see fit."
Osprey keens lowly and taps Dreng lightly with his beak.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Adril Hestram and Auronee are missing as well. I had agents watching both of them, as they've been behaving somewhat oddly since this all started. I was looking for proof that they'd betrayed the Society before making any accusations, but their disappearance during the attack at the Irorium seems proof enough that they have joined our enemies. If you find the other Freaks let them know not to trust either Hestram or Auronee if they come across them. You lot are certainly our most valuable team of agents now, if you weren't already. The Decemvirate will probably have orders once everything calms down, but for now you all need to rest and heal up. Please send messengers to keep me informed of any further developments with your team."
Dreng starts to turn away, but then stops, hobbling over to the massive young half-orc. He lays a wrinkled hand on the younger man's shoulder. "This may not feel like a victory, 'Ssonny, but without you all this day would have been an unmitigated disaster for the city and the Society. You did well." Dreng nods to Grommesson and hobbles off to start yelling orders at the dazed clumps of Pathfinders, organizing the clean up and recovery effort.