Zamanda takes note of everything in the room, especially the little notebook that Davaulus has. She really wants to take it, imagining that it might have some nice evidence, but no way can she grab it while he's making notes.
There might be more beyond that other door too, but when she hears Davaulus tell the doctor to instruct the receptionist to delay several minutes, she knows that her 6-minute spell will likely run out before the party comes upstairs, and she'll be caught here if she has to recast it because of the verbal component. So, wishing she had more time, she follows the bird-beak out of the room and back downstairs.
She waits until he gives the instructions to the receptionist, then slips into the front room behind her.
She then walks over to the front door, opens it and slips behind it, dismissing her invisibility to peek around the door like she just opened it from the outside, and then closes it behind her, greeting the party as though she had just arrived.
The party in the front room see the front door open, and Zamanda appears from behind the door.
Hi guys, am I late for the tour? she says, as she moves over closer to them.
When she is close enough, she keeps a bright smile on her face as she huddles up with the team and explains >very quietly< that they are experimenting on Varisians without the disease in an upstairs room, trying to see if they can make the disease more virulent. She explains that she saw Doctor Davaulus agree to meet them, and then immediately cast the spell Misdirection on himself--clearly the reason that he didn't detect as evil previously. She tells them that there are several doctors and several of the Queen's new Maidens here, on guard, and that she saw Davaulus writing notes in a small notebook, which would probably be valuable towards creating a cure, but she was unable to acquire it before being forced to return (too many doors and guards, and no place to cast another spell without it being heard).
Sorry I couldn't do more she says in conclusion, wondering if they would be able to get the kind of hard evidence Cressida needed without getting in a battle. Normally it wouldn't bother her. After all, the bird-beaks seemed pure evil. The Gray Maidens though... they seemed merely misguided. Another casualty of the manipulations of the Queen. She didn't especially want to kill the Maidens, especially if Bash's girlfriend was here.
”So Varor. An evil doctor experimenting on people. Any objections if I bash his head in?”
Varor listened to Zamanda attentively while running through the facts in his head. “You did well. The base structure of any breaking is the structure of the building itself. We need to figure out if there is a basement to this place and what it’s being used for, along with any room that seems to be under particular guard. But we have a target now, we just need to grab it.”
He doesn’t bat an eye when he hears Kalem speak. “As long as he’s not unconscious or tied to a chair.”
Bashiel lowers his head, grinning as if Zamanda shared something funny, though his face clouds as she explains what she saw.
He whispers "That notebook has to have the evidence we need, maybe enough to give us real clearance to take him in- and get this whole place closed. If he leaves it alone for a moment, what are our chances of taking it and leaving him none the wiser? Do you think we could get a look-a-like to switch?" He pauses, thinking, and then addresses Kalem's comment "We start fighting, and we're going to be on the wrong side of the law in a flash. Particularly with the Grey Maidens here."
He mulls over all the information again, then asks "So we're going to get an audience with Davaulus after all? Knowing what Zamanda found out, we need to make the most of it. Hm..."
Zamanda adds
There are lots of rooms I didn't go into... a back room in particular that might have more proof. I don't think the notebook is all of it, just something I want to try to get if we can. Disguises might be good, if we can get some of those bird masks, or even some armor like the maidens. The problem is that we would have to kill some of them first, but if we do have to, let's try to limit it...
The burly receptionist - named Bhrunlida, as Zamanda can attest - returns a few minutes after Zamanda reappears.
Bhrunlida walks back behind the reception desk and takes a seat before finally saying to you, “The Doctor will see you now.”
She gestures toward the curtain, indicating for you to pass through.
On the other side of the curtain is a much larger room than the reception area. This appears to be one giant convalescent ward. The stench of alcohol, sickness, and waste chokes the breath, and tight rows of low, stained cots cram the stone-floored hall. Every bed is filled with a pitiful story - men and women of all walks groaning and wheezing as they’re consumed by blood veil, their sufferings multiplied by the echo chamber.
Besides the dying sick, four of the Queen’s Physicians wearing their signature avian masks move about the room. Two Gray Maidens guard a set of double doors at the back of the room. Two more Maidens patrol catwalks above.
In addition to the doors the two Gray Maidens are guarding, three other doors lead out of this room besides the archway you entered through.
One of the four Physicians is waiting near the curtain when you enter the ward and wordlessly motions for you to follow him. He walks you over to the door to the northeast. Opening it, he again motions for you to go through.
The room beyond turns out to not be much of a room at all but rather a staircase. After climbing the stairs, you have to go through another door before emerging into a hallway. This room is rather plain with beige tiles and whitewashed floors. Double doors engraved with images of rampant gazelles stand closed to the south, their once fine teak bearing obvious scores and chips from rough use.
Doctor Davaulus stands in this room alongside three of the Queen’s Physicians. Two Gray Maidens stand guarding the doors to the south.
The Doctor smiles as you arrive. He glances back and forth among the five of you before saying, “Ah! Cressida’s crusading Korvosans. I understand you discovered something at the plague ship? And something about samples? Do tell.”
”Misdirection? How...quaint.” Kalem smiled with all of the self confidence in the world. ”Lucky for you we don’t care. How about we go to your office so we can talk in private. This...information...is for you only.”
Zamanda smiles, wondering what Kalem is going to say. She hopes it will work, and that she won't have to lock the door to the stairwell while they kill everyone. Whatever the necessity though.
She rummages around in her bag for some of the remaining disease samples and pulls them out, in view of the doctor. Varisian is what you wanted, right?
Bashiel is thrown totally off by Kalem's bold opening statement but does his best to school his facial expression to bland neutrality. This isn't quite what he'd expected based on their discussion earlier. And he could imagine the Cruel Doctor taking it a number of different ways, some quite awful for the group.
Still, maybe overbearing confidence would leave Davaulus too busy overthinking things. So busy thinking about what this could be about that he'd let something incriminating slip...
While the three more devious members of his party do the talking, Bashiel appraises the room for useful evidence, doing his best to seem disdainful and disinterested.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Doctor Davaulus seems intrigued by Kalem’s words. He grows even more interested with Ilsa and Zamanda’s contributions.
The Doctor says, “I assure you that everyone working with me is trustworthy. Any information you need to share can be shared in their presence. Though it might come as a shock to you, I’m not all knowing. The Queen’s Physicians might provide more insight into this information than I can.”
To Zamanda, Davaulus says, “Yes, Varisian is excellent. And Chelish, Shoanti, Garundi – samples from all ethnicities are useful in our pursuit of a cure. The more information, the faster our progress. I’m afraid progress has been slow so far, so your contributions are much appreciated.”
Doctor Davaulus looks back at Kalem and says, “Now, then. You didn’t come all the way up here just to exchange pleasantries. Please share this ‘information’ that you referred to.”
Bashiel doesn’t see anything particularly incriminating or useful in the room. If anything, it almost seems like the room has been purposefully whitewashed. He also doesn’t see any indication that Doctor Davaulus is carrying the notebook to which Zamanda referred.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
”We are agents of the queen. You can drop the back and forth.” Kalem said this with utter certainty. The kind that didn’t carry with it even a hint of a lie, nor hesitation.
”I do apologize for this secrecy. But there is a reason why we were sent. Our operations are being interfered with. We need to report back soon. If you would us to your varisians ‘patients’, and update us on your progress. And of course, not the kind kept in these whitewashed rooms.”
As he said this Kalem casually walked over to the doctor. Barely audible he said ”Possible traitors.” while glancing at the assembled doctors. Without missing a beat he, much more audibly continued his sentence. ”-Then we can share our findings.” He said the last with a knowing look.
Doctor Davaulus sniffs at Kalem’s words. He glances briefly at the Queen’s Physicians after the tiefling passes his message. Then he says, “Yes, of course. I want to keep the queen as apprised of the situation as possible.”
Kalem can’t get a read on the exact reasoning behind Davaulus’s response. The good doctor seems to be decent at hiding his emotions.
Davaulus signals for one of the Gray Maidens to wait in the front room with the Physicians and for the other to follow him. A moment later, he swings open one of the gazelle-covered doors to reveal the room beyond.
The Doctor glances back at the Physicians once more before walking into the new room and gesturing for you to follow. One of the Gray Maidens enters last and shuts the door behind her.
This new room is larger than the last, but that is far from its most prominent feature. Rows of white-sheeted beds line the walls of this room. Each bed holds a patient restrained by leather straps that bind the figure to the sturdy metal frame. At the room’s center stretches a simple wooden work table covered in fluid-filled beakers, intricate glass tubes, small burners, and other alchemical instruments.
Doctor Davaulus stands beside the work table and gestures to the restrained, unconscious Varisians throughout the room. “As you can see, we are working on a solution, but progress is slow. Unfortunately, I don't have more of an update for the queen than that. Hopefully your samples will help on that front. As soon as I make more progress, she’ll be the first to know.
“Now what is this about possible traitors?”
”Z here can talk to you about samples, though that was mostly to give us an excuse to talk of this. You can also give her a list of any further resources needed, but that is less important. We caught a man who was trying to sell information to one of our undercover agents. Information about Varisians he shouldn’t have had. He was interrogated, and we learned that he had a contact here...a physician. But we do not know who.”
”Now that we are here, we would like to speak to your doctors. Casually. To see if I can identify any to watch. Usually the maidens would be best for this, but we do not want to scare him off. And we need to know if this traitor is working alone. Furthermore, we need you to watch them closely. Someone here has betrayed our trust and we need to find who. I believe you can see how serious this situation is.”
Varor stays quiet, knowing that he would not be of any help.
“Yes, of course,” Davaulus replies to Kalem. “If there is a traitor among the Queen’s Physicians, I’m sure she’ll want to see that he’s swiftly executed. You can speak to each of the Physicians as long as you see fit, though only one at a time. The others must continue working on a solution. I can personally vouch for the fact that none of the Physicians have tampered with my work. All of them seem committed to the cause.
“I must admit that I find the idea of a traitor among the Physicians to be a bit far-fetched. I hand-picked the Physicians myself, so to say that one is actually guilty of treason is hard for me to believe. Who was this man your agents interrogated?”
Luckily Kalem was a product of Gaedren Lamm. To say that he knew his fair share of criminals would be an understatement. As a reformed conman himself, he had a plethora of names to choose from. He even knew people who’d be audacious enough to be guilty of something like this. He picked a name of a man whom he didn’t like and briefly explained how he was caught (a story spoken from experience)
Zamanda gestures to Kalem to wait.
Security is important, definitely, but before we get into that too far, Doctor... this room is impressive, but do you have any evidence of your efforts that we can show the queen? Honestly, I believe you, but she isn't going to just believe me because I believe you. I need something to show her. Do you have anything at all that will show there is progress? Maybe notes I could copy over or *something* I can show her? Ileosa will take us all down if we don't get that part right.
Questions to ask. Pretending to make a report for the queen.
(1) How were you recruited?
(2) Describe the research being conducted
(2a) Varisians and Non-Varisians
(3) Whom do you worship?
(4) Any progress you have made that you want to be credited for? Will ask for something to show (notes, signed statement, etc)
Through it all Kalem will carefully choose his words and will let the individual physicians do most of the talking. He will end conversations if an individual seems like they are catching on. Will also try to through in a few questions related to the fake traitor just in case doctor Davaulus is listening in so it comes across as being done for that purpose.
When Kalem explains who they ‘interrogated,’ Doctor Davaulus simply nods. He seems to be slowly, but surely accepting Kalem’s account of things.
To Zamanda, Davaulus says, “You have little worry of being taken down if this operation fails. It will be my head the queen takes should success elude us. I’m sure you’re too useful for her to dispense with entirely. Punish perhaps, but not kill.
“My notes are my personal notes. Still, I would like to keep my head, so I suppose I can give you a little something. We’re conducting our research on these Varisians because, as you can probably tell, they are all somehow immune to blood veil. We’ve determined that Varisians are the only ones who possess this immunity, though not all of them are immune. Approximately one in 20 Varisians is immune. We’re trying to isolate what gives them this immunity, but it’s proving difficult. All our variants thus far have failed, but I feel we are close to a breakthrough. It’s only a matter of time before we isolate the exact cause of the immunity and develop a work around.”
-----
As Kalem interviews each of the Physicians in turn, he finds that many of their answers are similar if not identical.
(1) The Physicians all indicate that they were recruited by Doctor Davaulus himself to their current posts. He hand-picked each of them.
(2) Their research is being directly monitored and assigned by Davaulus. He gives them specific concoctions, potions, and other alchemical solutions, which they administer to the unconscious patients in the room. They also examine, operate, and mutilate those brought for study if they deem it helpful. Those in the convalescent ward below are responsible for monitoring the patients and retrieving any suitable Varisians for research above.
(2a) Non-Varisians are of no interest to the Physicians. They let the blood veil run its course in them. Varisians, however, are closely monitored and - as mentioned before - retrieved for further study when appropriate.
(3) The Physicians all profess to worshiping the Pallid Princess, Urgathoa.
(4) They admit that they aren’t particularly skilled when it comes to medical matters and indicate that what they know and what they’ve learned is directly or indirectly thanks to Doctor Davaulus. Any notes they collect are kept by Doctor Davaulus in his private office.
Doctor Davaulus observes Kalem’s questioning from a distance, but doesn’t interfere. He seems eager to weed out any potential traitor.
While Kalem does his questioning, Bashiel stays near Davaulus and rests his hand with suppressed rage very calmly on his longsword hilt. After a solid minute of clearing his mind, he conversationally asks a couple of questions to Davaulus.
"I assume you've managed to make yourself immune, sir? Your physicians here as well? The process of gaining immunity was quite the ordeal for myself, you see. I have a hard time imagining that many of the men here would be... up to it." He casts a hard glance across the lesser physicians, then one at Davaulus, inviting him to elaborate.
"Ah, when have you last had a chance to talk with Rolth? I have a message to pass on to him. You won't happen to be meeting with him again soon, would you?"
Davaulus answers Bashiel’s initial questions by saying, “Neither the Physicians nor I are immune. We simply know how to conduct ourselves around the sick. Besides, if any of us were to contract the veil, we have the magical means to be cured before any permanent damage is done.”
The Doctor raises an eyebrow when Bashiel says he’s achieved immunity. Davaulus says, “You’ve achieved immunity to blood veil? You don’t look Varisian. What did you do to accomplish this?”
At Bashiel’s question about Rolth, Doctor Davaulus says, “We conduct our research separately, so we don’t normally speak. But if you give me your message, I’ll see that he gets it.”
Bashiel had been hoping that they would have kept a cure or vaccine for themselves. But evidently, they were reckless as well as cruel and evil. He lets a little disappointment show on his face. "How- unfortunate for you. Please forget I mentioned it. Or... perhaps next time you meet with the Queen you could ask her about it?" He picks his words to let the Doctor reach his own unsettling conclusions about his own expendability, but also to match Kalem's ludicrous cover story of working as intermediaries from the Queen.
And at the second dead end in questioning, Bashiel casually responds "Ah, I was under a different impression based upon the comments I heard. No, there's no need to bother you in that case. I can bring the message to him personally. Where can I meet the fellow?"
Doctor Davaulus simply shrugs as Bashiel mentions the queen. “As I said, we have the means to combat the veil should we contract it, but as doctors we take care in our interactions with others, and in particular with the sick.”
When Bashiel inquires again regarding Rolth, Davaulus says, “Where can you…”
The doctor looks startled as he continues. “You should already know where to find him if you… do you answer directly to the queen or one of her subordinates? In either case, you should know where to find Rolth. Is this some sort of test?”
Davaulus looks extremely suspicious of the paladin as he awaits a response.
Having expected some degree of suspicion, Bashiel is ready with his response. He runs a hand through his hair and feigns embarrassment. "Ah, no, not a test. I don't answer directly to anyone so high up. My superior does." He flicks eyes obviously at Kalem, letting Davaulus draw his own conclusions.
Quietly, but audibly, he mutters "If anything, this is my test, and I probably just failed. He's going to have my head for making a fool of myself."
He gives a little bow to Davaulus and steps to the side, doing his best impression of a new recruit who tried to talk big but got burned for it.
Davaulus fidgets with the hilt of his rapier as he says, “I think you did just fail, and perhaps more than just a test.”
The Doctor turns to Kalem and says, “We may have just found the traitor you were looking for.”
Davaulus pauses for a moment before adding to Kalem, “Tell me - where can Rolth be found?”
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Shyt. Shyt. Shyt. The thing about bluffing was that you couldn't bluff about things you didn't know. Kalem had no idea where Rolth was. Zero Nada. Zilp. If he knew, then the man would be dead already. And now? Now he was left with an impossible situation. The way he saw things, he had two choices. He could guess...or...
"The traitor...Bash is the traitor? How...?I" Kalem's face was a perfect mask of surprise. He looked at Bashiel as if though he was hurt. With a look of regret on his face he pulled his hammer off his back. He started walking towards Bashiel and Davaulus at a brisk pace.
"Close the door." He said with *authority.* He hoped that someone would listen to him. He spoke with all of the authority of a watch captain during a raid. The kind of voice of a man who was used to getting his way and being listened to.
Hopefully hearing the door close, Kalem's hammer caught ablaze. He lifted it, and swung...and at the last minute shifted his stance, bringing the flaming hammer right into the doctor.
Kalem *hoped* that the others would pile in. And he *hoped* that the guard would be so surprised that they'd stand idle. And that he could talk his way out of this. He didn't expect to. But...this really was the best he could do.
Kalem's hammer caught ablaze. He lifted it, and swung...and at the last minute shifted his stance, bringing the flaming hammer right into the doctor. Caught offguard by the blow, Doctor Davaulus takes the hit squarely in his chest, grunting as the hammer crashes into his ribcage.
Round 1
Kalem looked with annoyance at the man still being on his feet. He swung his hammer again, hoping to down the doctor before he could get a spell off. Time was of the essence here.
Bashiel draws his longsword. It wasn't Osiris' way to try to deceive. In fact, he remembered lectures from his youth where his ancestors had told him that nothing good could ever come from being deceptive. So this turn of events was a just punishment, in a way.
Things were going side-ways fast, but what mattered now was defeating this vile Doctor Davaulus and the servants of Urgathoa that were subjecting the people here to terrible tortures. But to achieve that, he needed everyone in one piece.
A faint, melodic voice echoes in the back of his head, in a language of hymns and wind chimes.
~ثم سأحميهم معك.~
His own thoughts respond in kind.
I see. I'll rely on you then.
He raises his hand to his brow, and a burning ring of green-gold light flashes into existence to frame his head.
Varor was impressed that the others have managed to take things this far. Even he would admit that he wouldn’t be able to do so much with what little information they had or would have been able to make it up as he went as Kalem had. Even more impressive was Bashiel screwing things up as quickly as he did.
The moment Bashiel started talking, Varor locked his eyes on the back of Bashiel’s head, his hand twitching as he reached for his scimitar. He wished he had prayed for a shackle spell so that he could stop the gray maiden from drawing her sword. Instead, all he can do is draw his scimitar.
Varor draws his scimitar.
Kalem looked with annoyance at the man still being on his feet. He swung his hammer again, hoping to down the doctor before he could get a spell off. Time was of the essence here. Both blows slam into the doctor, battering and bruising him, yet still he stands.
Bashiel draws his longsword. Then he raises his hand to his brow, and a burning ring of green-gold light flashes into existence to frame his head.
Davaulus’s cool demeanor transforms before your eyes and his face turns into a sneer. “You will not stop our work. Disease is the world’s way of bringing back balance. In order for civilization to grow and prosper, the parts of society that hold everything else back must be periodically pruned. Korvosa will be stronger at the end of these dark days - a place you and I would be proud to call home.”
He then shouts at the maiden near the door, “Alert the Physicians outside. Have them send word to those below. The Hospice is under attack.”
After he finishes speaking, the doctor takes a step back and vanishes.
Pink Maiden, at Davaulus’s command, swings open the door behind her and shouts, “Attack on the Hospice! Inform those below!” She then draws her longsword.
The Physicians and Maiden outside are startled by the shout and take a moment to respond.
Draw his scimitar and attacked a gray maiden behind him. His first swing doing nothing. His second doing something but not enough.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
|
Ilsa visibly cringes as the combat begins, having been completely unprepared and on edge. Tunnel vision is all she can see for a moment, so black is the feeling oppressing her.
It is all she can do to pivot on her heel and attack the Gray Maiden. Ghoulish claws erupt where her fingernails should be, and she lashes out at the maiden. Her eyes bore a deep hole into the iron-clad woman.
Round 2
”You talk too much.” Kalem stated as he stepped up to where the doctor vanished and swung his hammer.
Bashiel, seeing how easily Kalem is handling the Doctor, steps over to the door to the room. There's about to be a lot of guards and physicians coming, and he wants to be in position to protect the rest of the party. He raises his longsword, grip shifted to strike with the flat side.
He tries to knock the Grey Maiden out with a pair of powerful, but nonlethal, swings.
Zamanda casts Invisibility and then moves.