Agents of Apocrypha, First Assignment (Inactive)

Game Master pinvendor

Ciri's face reflects unvarnished shock as the little girl attaches to her leg, then she bends down to put an arm around the child's shoulder and murmur into her ear, hair falling down across her face to hide her expression.

Caorann nods a greeting to the slightly fey-seeming child, then turns back to Curator Vhrest to give her and Ciri at least the veneer of privacy. "Indeed, I meant Aroden's more recent passing."

A grunt escapes the gunslinger as the girl escapes the book and walks past, but not much more. He is used to these wordy meetings with folks in the Society. They'll get to the point when they're ready, whether he talks or not. The Curator seems like more of the same.

Arielle enjoys Ciri's embrace for a moment longer then releases the young woman's leg looking up at her with a small smile.

"Bubbles and I will see you again," she says simply. "I have to go find my ribbon first though."

With that, the young girl casts one last glance around the room and its occupants, her expression reverting back to the one of fragile sadness. Arielle lets J'thaalz'nder lead her out of the Lounge, and the door closes near silently behind them.

After the door closes, the Curator looks at Ciri with an unreadable expression. "I think I would like to speak with you further regarding our mutual acquaintance the young Arielle. Perhaps you may shed some light on the enigma which she represents."

Turning to Caorann, he says, "As for the god Aroden, I suggest you read the tome most recently used as a doorway." Standing Curator Vhrest approaches the book the size of a halfling leaning open against the column and closes it. The title is not in Common, but is written in an elaborate and evidently ancient tongue.

"The Death of Prophecy and the Loss of the Future. A treatise on possible causes of Aroden's death presumably written shortly after the event itself. It is written in Azlanti though not a dialect found in other examples we have of the language. Whether this denotes fraud or additional proof of its legitimacy is up for debate. That said, the suggestions it makes are things only conjectured by our current scholars, yet it speaks of many historical events as fact despite there may be little to no corroboration these events took place. It almost reads a little like a Pathfinder Chronicles volume to draw a parallel. As if the author was present at all things it mentions...which should be impossible even if you believe the events happened." Reseating himself, the Curator lifts a hand as if to say he had no stance on the conundrum.

"Be that as it may, Caorann, I suspect you will not be able to study the matter for the moment as I am sending you all on a little journey. It concerns some rumors regarding the play Thrice. There will be a performance of it, if my sources are correct, in a town east of Cassomir in Taldor. A company of players called Decadence has been traveling south from Galt. According to their catalog, they are expecting to arrive at the township of Barathal about 30 miles west of Cassomir in about a two months where their season will end with a spectacular rendition of the complete Thrice, unabridged and faithful to the original written text by the author Dahmveer von Filstien." He pauses here looking at each of his staff.

"I need you to find out more of this play and depending on what you find, either attend it's performance...or prevent it."

Caorann nods slowly, but there's a new tension in her posture when she hears where the group is to be sent. "Regional familiarity trumps personal awkwardness, I see." She shrugs, and her comment on the situation is one of wry amusement: "Needs must."

Curator Vhrest eyes Caorann. "Do you anticipate any issues, Caorann? I can find another task for you if you feel too uncomfortable."

As usual, the Curator's eyes give away nothing as to whether the question has a correct answer or is merely a concerned query.

The priestess rests her head on her hand for a moment, staring abstractedly into space. "Not with the information that I currently have. I'll let you know if anything changes." Her personnel file ought to have a note that she'd requested assignment away from Taldor. But now she was curious about why they thought she'd be needed for this one in spite of it.

Ciri abstractedly watches the child leave, then turns back to hear the assignment with her typical sarcastic snarl. "A play? That's worth a long trek? For all that trouble, it had better be a murderplay," she comments, using the vulgar term for one of Cheliax's favorite (though seldom performed) forms of entertainment, "What's so special about Thrice that it deserves our - or your - attention?"

"The actors and actresses?" Zayn says lightly, butting in despite guessing it's more to do with the content than the performers themselves. "I'm sure such a company must be fascinating... nearly as much as at present."

Xaveer considers continuing with his line of questioning thinking that this may be the opportune time to ask the unwise questions if they were to be asked. Would that then make even his most unwise and irrelevant questions wisely chosen? Wisely chosen unwise questions? Thankfully the dilemma was evaded as Caorann asked a wisely chosen question, and the little Arielle provides a curious distraction as well.

"A play?" He says curiously when the curator explains their assignment "I've never been to one. I did try once, but they told me wild beasts weren't permitted in the audience. Which I must say was rather disrespectful."

The term murderplay doesn't sit too well with the little halfling "Hopefully that is not the case mi'lady..." Offering his own guess at why they might be needed he adds "Perhaps the performance itself is a ritual of sorts, and when done in its entirety summons an unspeakable horror, or completes some terrible spell?"

Ciri lights up, smiling at Xaveer. "Ooh, do you think so? That would be fun!" Her eyes unfocus momentarily and she murmurs, "Yes, I do too."

"An interesting and astute conjecture, Xaveer," the Curator says, his hand lifted and finger pointing slightly in Xaveer's direction. "It is possible that is exactly what happens. The problem is we do not know for sure. Rumors of odd happenings surround this play even when it is not performed in its entirety."

Curator Vhrest settles back into his chair more comfortably and casually tents his fingers together.

"Dahmveer von Filstien is a name you will probably hear quite frequently in the Forae Logos Apocrypha. To date, he has contributed more...pieces...than any other single author to our collection. And by that, I mean to say, many of his artistic creations have been deemed unfit for the public, and therefore relegated to our care.

"Not all of his works are considered to be harmful, but we have not yet been able to discern if those which have been were intentionally meant to be...or if they were in fact altered later on for nefarious purpose. Von Filstein's creative legacy is not consistent, and years passed between the creation of one piece of apocrypha and another during which he was still actively writing and composing many works which appear harmless."

The Curator pauses and sips from his tea cup which still steams with warmth.

"One of the books of his creation which has been confined here, A Walk in the Forest, seems innocent enough. It has no special intelligence, no enchantment which attracts a reader, nothing to make one suspicious. Yet people who have read it find them selves drawn in by the words so much so that at some point they realize that it is no longer within their mind's eye they see the forest around them, but rather with all their senses. The result is that whomever reads the novel finds themselves suddenly walking on a path in the forest outside of von Filstein's home region in Ustalav. Not particularly harmful one would think, yet all of those who have done this become frantic to read the rest of the novel."

A grim expression appears on the man's face. "Unfortunately for them, when they are teleported by the book, they leave it behind wherever they were in the world. Even upon reaching home again and taking up the story once more, they will once again find themselves in the forest sans book. This obsession will literally last until the end of their life if left unchecked and has been observed to become the sole driving force completely removing any other motivation they once had."

Curator Vhrest drinks more tea and lets the information swirl.

"Now...as for Thrice itself. What we think we know could clearly be coincidence, or it may be as Xaveer suggested, and the complete play is in fact a conduit for a ritual or spell. However, one of the only things which makes this unclear is that there are inconsistent results from the completion of the play.

Everyone, roll one or both if you have them.

"Thrice is usually performed over a period of days or in pieces due to the stigma of its reputation. Oh yes, even the theater community is aware that unexpected things seem to coincide with performances of the play as do many audience members. Part of the thrill of performing it and watching the performance, if my understanding is correct." Curator Vhrest seems to smile slightly at this.

"About 274 years ago, Scene 1 of Thrice was performed for the Massri household which are members of the royal family of Osirion. The following day, one of their sons apparently went wild and began attacking servants and slaves beating them and attempting to tear out their throats with his teeth. When he was finally subdued, he no longer seemed sane. He made bestial sounds similar to a large cat and didn't respond to anyone who knew him. Weeks later, a traveler told a story about a lion they had slain which they had thought was attacking them. Before it had died of its wounds, the traveler claims the lion tried to speak to him in Common, but the only thing the traveler says he was able to make out was the words 'son' and 'Massri.'"

The Curator pauses and pours more tea.

"Another such moment is a tale of a performance of The Decision of Adio which is comprised of select scenes from Thrice's Act 1, 2 and 4 and refers to a substory of one of the supporting characters contained within the play. It was performed not more than 50 years ago in Westcrown's grand theater in Cheliax. All accounts say it was a grand success, yet after the performance, the actor playing the part of Adio went on to butcher the entire cast with a large kukri. When he was found he was naked, covered in blood, sitting, and rocking himself incessantly. He kept repeating over and over, 'It had to be done. It had to be done.' The next night he was discovered literally torn to pieces in his cell, and no explanation for his behavior or his killer was ever discovered."

Once again the Curator pauses to allow the information to digest.

"I can imagine you must all be curious by now about what we know of the first full performance. If you will attend me further, I will speak it."

"The first performance of the play is suspected to have occurred about 363 years ago shortly after the work was completed. We only know this because a Pathfinder agent came across a barren field and discovered the buried ruins of what appeared to be an amphitheater. One of the items unearthed was a very damaged handbill. The most we were able to glean from it was the name Farlston—presumably a town or village, the name of the production Thrice, and the incomplete date stating the year. The reason this is significant is that there is absolutely no evidence of a town named Farlston anywhere. Not in the local government's office, merchant logs, or even the tax comptroller responsible for this area. Further evidence of a town called Farlston was discovered as more and more ruins were unearthed nearby. It seems Farlston was completely covered in earth in the years since the performance. Further corroboration of the date was found as other articles mentioning dates were discovered in the ruins and none were past the year dated on the handbill. Evidence suggests the town of Farlston had a lively trade with other populated regions making the lack of records or memory on the part of those areas rather perplexing.

"It's as if the town was somehow destroyed and erased. Of course, odd happenings in Ustalav are hardly unusual, and as you can imagine, it is difficult to assign this mystery solely as the result of Thrice but coupled with what we already suspect, I have decided the matter should be investigated thoroughly now that an opportunity to witness the full play has come."

Curator Vhrest purses his lips slightly as if hesitating, but then continues, "I feel obliged to tell you that there is no record anywhere of a complete performance of Thrice in known history. Only the one suspected full performance in the town of Falston."

"The discovery of Falston is what truly put Thrice on the watch list as possible apocrypha. Until now, the examples I gave you and the many others history has recorded of the partial productions of Thrice have never seemed to be more than coincidence possibly intentional mischief or sensationalism of the play to increase its notoriety. As there are many performances each year which do not seem to result in any such disturbances, what was there to suspect? But now...now that we have discovered Falston, and our research has proven a glaring fact overlooked for centuries. No full performance is recorded anywhere. Ever. Why is that? Is it because all the others are also erased? The ruins of their performed locations removed from memory? This is the task you have before you. Find out. And try not to be forgotten."

The Curator takes a breath. "I have more to tell you, but we can take a break for questions if you have any." He looks around the room at the staff present.

Caorann listens with interest. "How very curious. When and where was the first recorded partial performance of Thrice?"

K: History: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

"Who leads this troupe, Decadence, and why have they chosen to perform such a potentially disastrous play?" Ciri wonders aloud, prowling about the room with her hands behind her back.

The masked woman nods emphatically in Ciri's support. "Yes, it can't be merely Galtish hubris. - That's why one ignores a warning, not why one walks up to it in the first place."

Smiling softly that he might be considered an arbiter of good taste, at least with regards to the play. He leans back deep in imagination at the curators words as they spark across his thoughts.

Know (Local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Know (History): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Players do tend to run contrary to conventions I suppose." he adds agreeing with the ladies. "I take it the audience retires to their abodes between acts?"

'It would be excellent timing for political manoeuvrings or espionage, I suppose. Or even something more prosaic like thievery or murder.'
1d100 ⇒ 37

Ciri stops pacing and cocks her head at Zayne. "Why would they return home between acts? This is an interesting theory. Please go on. So they break up the play before they bring the house down? Literally?"

"Well if the performance lasts a few days, then the audience would need to return home. I chose acts to represent the different sections of the play, I wonder what the larger ones are titled." he adds; "I guess the audience could be put up at the theatre....but it'd be unnecessary. Plus imagine after a dramatic cliffhanger you go home for the evening, only for the performers to stage some encounter upon the streets before you. It could create some interesting activities."

"Ah, I missed that part. Several days! I love my opera, but that's a bit much. More an event than a performance, or a festival." Ciri looks at the forbidding tower off in the distance and whistles softly. "I wonder how much tickets cost?"

"I'm sure we'll be given expenses...." Zayn looks to the curator pointedly.

"Although that'd indicate the clientèle that'll be attending. And the audience size." he adds.

"The last performance was fifty years ago..." Ciri drifts off for a moment then shakes her head as if to clear it.

"I wonder if anybody in Westcrown remembers it. Surely, with that play's reputation, somebody in the audience was watching for trouble, detecting magic, that sort of thing. It might be worth a trip to research so we don't waste time or effort reinventing the Tines when our chance at this thing rolls around."

"Fifty years ago....." he glances out of the window. 'So that's where they got it from.'

"I suppose that's well within an elves lifetime." he adds hurriedly; "Or a dwarves too!"

"Lorien is the eldest in our village, and last I asked him he said he was 150" Xaveer adds helpfully as Zayn's talking about lifespans "Of course I think he's said he is 150 for at least the past 3 years..."

The young halfling wonders out loud as he thinks about people detecting magic in the audience like Ciri mentioned "I agreed mi'lady you'd think somebody would have noticed something by now if there was something to notice... maybe they all forgot like when everyone forgot about that town." Which Xaveer also seems to have forgotten the name of already. "Could be teams like ours were sent out before and everybody just forgot."

"That's rather disconcerting, I like all my memories in my head." Zayn adds with a sardonic touch.

The Curator listens as his staff begin to take interest in the work. Listening to some of their responses, he chuckles softly.

Caorann listens with interest. "How very curious. When and where was the first recorded partial performance of Thrice?"

Regarding Caorann, Curator Vhrest says, "There may have been many leading up to Thrice's completion as von Filstien released the work episodically as he finished writing the scenes. He had already achieved some renown in Ustalav at that time, so the player troupes enjoyed being able to do the partial scenes leading up to a grand finale of a full performance. Or rather that was oft the case. As I said, we have no record of such a performance, but many conjectures."

"Who leads this troupe, Decadence, and why have they chosen to perform such a potentially disastrous play?" Ciri wonders aloud.

"Many such player troupes enjoy the danger associated with the play. Imagine their own notoriety if indeed something were to happen during or after their performance. Anyone who survived may very well become lauded and sought after regardless of their actual skill," the Curator says wryly. "As for the leader of troupe Decadence, the title of director belongs to a human with the moniker Monsieur Laurent LeBeau while the main producer holding the purse strings is Madame Farfenoix, an elven noble lady."

Responding to the various other statements made, the Curator says this, "Do not forget, your purpose is not to solve the reason behind the potentially mystic causes of these events, but merely ascertain if they are indeed resulting from its performance. Whether they are from arcane or perhaps divine means is somewhat immaterial. That is what the scholars here in the Forae Logos Apocrypha will study if your results indicate we must pursue this piece. First, we must decide if it is even worth our limited time and abundant knowledge to to make such a priority. Of course, any notes you make of your observances will be thoroughly reviewed and studied in our pursuit of answers if a worthy undertaking this proves to be.

"As for the last performance of any part...who can say truly? I mentioned a noteworthy event that occurred 50 years ago, but by no means should you assume that to have been the most recent. People seem drawn to performing this play which is itself disconcerting. I would have you make a determination once and for all. This mystery has gone on for long enough, and if it does indeed represent the threat it appears to be, we will be in a place to identify it for the Pathfinder Society, and perhaps discover a counter measure. That is on what I would have you focus. I know you will not disappoint me."

I will have more details soon, and from there we will get under way. Sorry this took so long!

"Cassomir is not far, and we have time to do some research before we go. Or perhaps we should intercept these players as they make their way from Galt. Get to know them a bit, find out why they want to perform Thrice, see if they're up to something wicked." Ciri shakes her hair back from her eyes and regards the others. "Or maybe one of you has a better idea." Her tone and emphasis make it very clear she considers that unlikely.

"I leave it to you on how best to proceed. Do not forget the resources you may find in the Stacks or even the more mundane sections of the Forae Logos." This is said with a slight chuckle.

"However, you will need to know this. Thrice has over 100,000 words which encompasses five Acts with three scenes per Act. In addition, Dahmveer von Filstein wrote an additional 47,000 words of annotations and footnotes regarding how the play could be broken up into 'teaser' pieces. Essentially miniature scenes and how they can be linked congruously. Some of the language is very interesting. Filstein was very adamant regarding some and much more relaxed about others."

The Curator pauses and finishes his tea. He looks thoughtfully at each of the staff members and then speaks again.

"I had considered explaining the premise of the play to you, but actually it would be better if you read or experience it for yourselves. I have arranged for a special transcription to be made. My secretary Bartleby should be bringing it by shortly. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to ask me any additional questions or discuss your ideas on how to proceed. I will remain with you for a time."

Reaching for his teacup, Curator Vhrest remembers it is empty. Glancing around he asks, "Would anyone happen to be feeling kind enough to make some more tea?"

Caorann has been staring into space abstractedly while listening to Curator Vhrest. As the quiet afterwards begins to draw out she quotes an ancient aphorism: "Once is chance, twice is coincidence, thrice is enemy action." She starts and looks around, surprised by her own voice.

The Curator regards Caorann with a hand holding his chin with a single finger lying across the slight smile on his face. He says nothing but seems pleased.

"Bah. Three performances means three times the hubris and stupidity -- all very common human emotions," Ciri snorts, "It can't happen to me! Famous last words." She claps her hands together. "Well, seems like reviewing von Filstein's notes might be useful... if the Stacks are complete enough to have a copy. Perhaps perusing the histories of the cities where the performances have gone so wrong, as well. As usual, look at who would -- or did -- benefit from the results."

"I would also be interested in those notes." Caorann hesitates, but goes on after a moment. "It is an indelicate question, but does anyone know how old Lady Farfenoix is? It occurs to me that she may have been involved in more than one attempted performance."

The Curator laughs. "My dear, Caorann. It may seem logical to assume I know everything, but I am only human. I have no idea how old the elfess may be. I applaud your thinking however, and I encourage you to seek put playbills in the more mundane sections of the Forae Logos. You may get lucky and some for Decadence or another troupe she funded may have been transcribed if the bills were brought to Absalom."

Since the curator asked so nicely, and none of the others have moved to do so thus far, Xaveer sets about to get the man some more tea. He'd noted carefully where J'thaalz'nder had gotten the tea service earlier, or to be more specific where he had gotten those tasty biscuits, which had mysteriously transformed into merely crumbs on the plate, so finding it again wasn't difficult.

The little halfling carries the tea service over to the Curator and looks up at him "If you would lower your cup sir, I can fill it for you."

"When the play is broken up into teasers were there any of these mini scenes that seem to more frequently coincide with strange occurrences? If the mischief is caused intentionally by the author we may want to pay particular attention to the sections he was most adamant about specific language as well."

"Hmm. Does anything happen when the play is read or rehearsed?" Ciri wonders aloud, then pauses and laughs. "Yes, I suppose we could."

'I wonder if the master knows Lady Farfenoix? Though elven players must be common.' he ponders, disregarding the immense amount of reading that may have to be done before they set off. The soft waft of the tea slips across the room and he smiles softly to himself.

"I agree, to meet the players upon the road would be most beneficial. For I'm sure with such an abundance of words they may require assistance with their parts - I'd be up for a little rehearsal." Zayn adds in a measured tone.

The Curator responds to Xaveer while offering his cup.

"The Decision of Adio is certainly the most descriptive in his footnotes and annotations. In fact, I believe it was the author himself that named that truncation. As for the actual scenes and language versus the occurrences, I admit I do not think anyone has thought to chart this. I will have some of our apprentice scholars get to work on trying to organize some kind of reference. Good thinking, Xaveer!"

Have 1 RC, Xaveer! I really hadn't thought of that myself.

As Ciri makes her suggestion, Curator Vhrest chokes slightly on his tea. Coughing, he waves his hand to show he's fine and once he catches his breath, he looks at Ciri very intensely.

"While you may find it necessary in the course of your investigation, I would strongly advise against doing so. While reading it should be harmless, reading it aloud or performing it in any way could greatly jeopardize you which in turn could very well put your results at risk as well. As this is less about preventing a calamity and more about discovering if indeed a recurring threat does exist within the play, adding to it or becoming the cause of it is not what I am asking you to do."

The Curator sweeps his firm gaze across the assembled Pathfinders. "While I would encourage you to do what you can to stop any supernatural or magical occurrence you discover if possible, never forget that written copies of this material are strewn across the nations of the Inner Sea. Living to return here to the Forae Logos Apocrypha in order to confirm there is a danger is more important than anything else. If you all die or fail to provide conclusive evidence of the suspicions regarding Thrice because you attempt to prevent a catastrophe, then I will be in no position to make my recommendations to those above me. We must have proof!"

He takes a moment to sip his refilled tea. "I realize the implications of what I ask, and that it will certainly be a struggle for some of you to not intervene if such a decision is before you. Do what you can to offer succor to those in need, but realize you are serving the greater good in classifying the object of your investigation first and foremost and then getting your report to me by any means necessary. After that, I give you free rein to weigh the circumstances against your conscience and act according to your own virtue. I cannot stress this enough."

"I've no intention of falling, however ....." He ponders the seriousness of the Curators words, leaning upon the back of a chair. "What would you suggest the best way to stop any supernatural occurrence once it's underway? Dispelling the magic? Would you happen to have a scroll of such available..."

He looks to the others: "That is if one of you can use it? Or have you knowledge of countering any sort of mystical mischief."

"Countering mischief? Oh, is that what we're supposed to be doing?" Ciri grins, "Sorry, more inclined to cause it, myself."

Zayn returns the smile adding in a cheeky wink; "Best way to counter mischief is with mischief. That'd put a kink in their performance."

The Curator shrugs at Zayn's question.

"Considering I have no way of understanding what would be occurring, any lounge chair advice I give may fly in the face of what seems appropriate at the time you observe the event. If anything, I would suggest having something that preserves your memory. Evidence suggests that may be altered but the physical presence and remains of whatever catastrophe may be triggered by the play does survive. There must be a way to avoid forgetting and being forgotten."

Pausing to consider this, Curator Vhrest sips his tea. "Given the situation, I will have my secretary Bartleby provide you with possible leads regarding any magic items, artifacts, and obscure magics the Forae Logos is aware of which could supersede the more common and standard mind protection spells. Once your're finished outfitting and deciding how you will initiate your investigation, Bartleby should have that put together for you."

Zayn ponders: "Do you mean like a ledger or diary, that could keep some memories - however maybe that could equally be altered by powerful magic. Would a spirit or familiar from another plane retain their memories better I wonder. Especially if they were summoned..." He posits with some interest.

"Although I suppose it depends how any memory loss is distributed. Mundanely it would be through the use of drugs or poisons, so we should be careful of what we eat & drink - although this sounds like the mystical nature of the play may not work in such a manner." He ponders softly. "I have heard of crystals that allow you to retain your memories - or maybe a contingency spell could work."

He pauses with a wink; "With the correct verbage of course."

"Anyone else experienced moments of lost memories? Or missing time?" He asks the group.