Jhael nods periodically as the Wizard speaks. "I thought it was strange as well. What he's up to, I don't know, and I'm certainly not in a good position to stop him. But perhaps by slowing down his progress, I can learn something more."
His ears perk up at the mention of potions. "Indeed not - I'm bringing a mister, ah, Cid with me. More than two might be suspicious, since the town is completely cut off due to the Mist." Jhael shakes his head. "At any rate - potions. What do you have in mind?"
He laughs a bit, somewhat coughing in glee. Hurrying as quick as he can, he approaches a closed shelf, a grand old thing hed apparently crafted in a similar way to his chair. Throwing open the doors, the view of well over many potions and concoctions, elixers and wonders, revealed themselves. "Oh... indeed! A stealth mission? Invisibility potion, for certain." he says, drawing a long, slender, somewhat curved vial out of the shelf. A clear liquid, it was. As he turned, his expression was that of confusion.
"Cid? Cidolfus? The man with the glorious contraption? Why, he rarely ventures into the nexus. He's a strange kind of wizard, that man. His only issue is... well. The man is an evoker. Do you know what that means?" he asks, stroking his beard.
"He's destructive. His detachment from life has made him inconsiderate of collatoral damage. Do keep a leash on that destructive force of his, but he will be of considerable use in your endeavors."
Jhael nods, adding "His control over the elements should be quite helpful where we're going, though if what you say is true, I may need to keep a closer eye on him than I had hoped." Jhael nods his thanks, considering for a moment and then adding slyly, "What about some kind of, ah, truth serum?"
Marco just sort of shakes his head. "For all of my studies, I've no way to concoct such a thing as of yet. Besides, if I had, Mephisto would likely buy me out of them..." he says with a defeated chuckle. "Alas, I've showed you what I have, You may make your selection accordingly."
Jhael nods a response filled with disappointment but understanding. 'Shouldn't have expected it to be so easy.' He thinks, purchasing a few potions from the Wizard before moving on.
Casting a last look at Oswald before passing through the door, Jhael tried to decide what step to take next. Deciding that investigating as much as possible before his mission would be the best course of action, and started the walk back to Mephisto's lair to see if he could learn anything from the large orb housed there. The idea of scrying leaves an unpleasant feeling in his stomach, but he had no intention of being killed again.
Walking to the Oculus you find that the hallway has grown rather silent. Apparently during your conversation with Marco, the lot of the group decided to go elsewhere. The main hub of the Nexus is surprisingly empty, save for the Antipaladin that most assuredly walks behind you as you turn towards the teleportation glyph.
You're caught surprised by the fact he actually speaks up, though he's whispering, really. After a short moment he grins a bit. " Your soul isn't that of a righteous fool... Splendid." He crosses his arms, waiting on something. Whether it's for you to reply, or enter the teleporter, you're not sure. However, what you are sure of is that he just attempted to detect your alignment.
Jhael stops in his tracks. "It's easy not to be," he began without looking over his shoulder at Oswald, "when you've seen the bodies of your loved ones come back as monsters."
He now looked at Oswald, a surprising amount of fury burning in his eyes. "Have you been to Sanctuary before? It's not what I thought it was, you see. Despite the things I had to do in its service, I had likened it to a beacon of hope, and that was a nice thing to be a part of. But since dying, I've learned what a fool I was: It's a town that exists so that a bored Necromancer has things to play with. Apparently even the Preacher is in on it. The man who brought many of us into the world, now desecrates our remains that the Lich's army should grow."
Shaking his head, Jhael turned from Oswald and walked towards the teleporter. "There are no 'good' people in this world."
As your body shifts into the Aether, you can't help but hear a slight chuckle as you go through. It's silenced immediately as you materialize into the Oculus room, which currently houses Mephisto, whom waits patiently, guiding you over towards a seat in the distance.
Appearing behind you, Oswald walks straight through you rather rudely, giving a somewhat ironic smirk. "The powers that be disagree with that statement." he says.
With that, he walks to the nearest wall and leans against it, presenting a hand toward Mephisto. "The world doesn't always work like you think it should, new blood..."
The look of annoyance quickly fading, Jhael cocks his head at Oswald. "I believe that was my point."
Jhael strides away from Oswald, hoping more than a little bit that Mephisto would tell him she needed to keep Oswald around, and could Jhael possibly find someone else to go on the trip. He sighed, knowing that what they had to do was larger than petty disagreements. Who knows, maybe they'd even become friends.
Jhael was still laughing as he reached Mephisto, and greeted her with a nod as he caught his breath. "Greetings Lady Mephisto. I was hoping to use the Oculus for, ah, reconnaissance, as it were."
The woman giggles with delight beneath her golden mask. Her mouth exposed, she looks at you with an interest befitting that of a child picking apart a moskito's wings...
"Ah, yes. Being that you are so interested in that, I believe I shall show you. Though realize that certain people do not wish to be viewed..." she says, nodding towards Oswald. The man nods his head in return, and returns through the teleporter slowly, throwing up a hand to indicate his exit to both of them.
Standing above, she beckons you sit in one of the fanciful chairs. As she does, she walks towards the edge, looking out into the abyss of darkness that would threaten those that walked off. Slowly but surely, the many circles of the oculus span slowly, a surge of magical energy, the eye, resting easily in the middle. Raising both hands and turning fast, she smiles before beginning.
"You may not view upon those that do not wish to be viewed. You may not view a place you have never been. You may not hear what people are saying, though you can talk to them for as long as you please. A person may expel you from them at any time, unless you are viewing an area you have been... it's rather simple."
Tossing her hair back, she continues as she approaches you."All you must do is say the word "I wish to gaze upon" followed by the person or place. Don't worry about whether or not a person is named after a place, it merely knows what you wish to do. You may also not gaze upon people that are within the nexus's walls..." she says, somewhat annoyed with that last rule for some reason.
Jhael relaxes noticeably when Oswald leaves the room, and follows Mephisto towards the device. The number of rules, and the nature of them, causes his brow to furrow. "How can someone wish to not be viewed? How are they even aware of it? I didn't think the Nexus, or the things in it, were known to many outside these, er, 'walls'?"
A mischievous look spreads across his face as he thinks he may have found a loophole towards power. "You can view a person or place? So, if someone doesn't want to be watched, but you know where they are, can't you just view the place?"
Mephisto laughs a bit at the questions openly. "They aren't aware, but the paranoid types are immune to vision. Frankly what that means is that those with something to hide can't be seen, and those with opened sleeves are open books... It makes my job just a tad bit more annoying." she says with an obvious curl in her words.
"The thing about that is you have to have been where that person is. Frankly you can follow them around as long as they venture into a place where you've roamed. The Oculus follows what we believe to be the person's respective Aether trail... " she says with a heavy sigh, obviously not knowing how it completely works.
"However, you're loophole definitely works. It's just a matter of timing."
Jhael looks pleased with himself for figuring something out, and felt for the first time that he might eventually understand some of the Nexus after all. He smiled, genuinely, at Mephisto. "Let's give this a try, then, yeah?"
Speaking towards the device, he declares "I wish to gaze upon Priest Urnrad."
Laying down on the Oculus, your mind slows down to a crippling halt as the world around you freezes in slow motion. In your eyes, the room goes dark, and multiple orbs of the world start to swirl about your gaze. Your eyes are locked in view and can't move even a little bit. Slowly, your peripheral vision pans out of view farther than normal, and the vision of one of the bubbles pans into a grandiose view of an absolutely enormous orb.
The orb, what you believe to be the very planet your on, is absolutely steeped in perfect darkness... Save for 2 fiery lights that glow faintly on separate parts. Far to the north, in a mountainy ridge, a small flicker of light dances above what appears to be uncovered white mountains. Argosal. The other fire was likely the small portion of Hazrit you ventured.
Centering upon the small town of Sanctuary, it zooms in, and you feel your body become light as a feather. Turning around, you find yourself ethereal and invisible, standing among the blizzard ravaged village...
The air seems to be bitter and cold, yet your detachment from the physical world leaves you warm and somewhat cozy. Various walls lay burned against the ground, and others have long since replaced them. Turning, you see the church, close to the main square and just far away from the center where the accused were burned at the stake for heresy or treachery... whichever stuck. Many a time you saw screaming women begging and pleading, saying they were innocent, as well as men. Witches and warlocks, and blasphemers. It wasn't till just now that you imagine that the head of those executions, the local priest, Urnrad, may have been up to it all this time...
...but you couldn't be sure.
The ground moved for you and your feet stayed still as a sense of vertigo crossed you as the floor moved you to the opening of the church. You were no longer in the nexus, and you stood, ethereal, at the opened doors of the church which shimmered with a cool, physically null wind pressing against the grayish hues of the realm you currently wandered.
Suddenly, without even a moment to get your bearings, the white outlines of people began to appear. Few, to be sure, in this weather, but a handful of men stood about in the cold in front of the church. A large, burly man with more fat than was necessary, Urnrad himself, stood with the mayor of the town at the open doors. They were out of hearing distance, give the blizzard, and they both walked into the cathedral before closing the doors behind them.
Jhael took a deep breath and moved into the door.
Passing through it felt somehow different than the portals in the Nexus. This was more like being somewhere that he did not belong. The very matter that made up the door had no power over him. It felt unnatural, as if he was forgotten in the balance of the universe.
He decided to learn what he could and get out quickly.
Walking through the center of the cathedral, Jhael approached the men, hoping to hear their conversation, before remembering what Mephisto had said, and noticing that he couldn't actually hear anything at all.
Jhael frowned, before getting an idea, and he moved to stand closer to the men, hoping to determine what they were saying from their lip movements and mannerisms.
Walking into the Cathedral revealed the large, open room. A rectangular room with 8 rows of chairs on both sides of a small isle that leads to the bottom. There, at the bottom of the walk is a statue that, in common, reads "Pharasma."
Walking through the door felt the same as walking through another person within the nexus, where your body's literally swam through each other.
Following the 2 into the church, you arrive to a dimly lit, silently windy corner where the 2 seem to be having a lengthy conversation, but you unfortunately can't be sure of their words. One thing, however, that you can be sure of is their body language...
The man on the right is without a doubt Urnrad, the priest, dressed head to toe in pharasman garb. The 2 keep conversation for quite some time, and actually lock the door to the church behind them prior to the conversation. It is with great impunity that the 2 get very into their talk, and obviously yell at one another, a fact you find confusing.
You do not recognize the other man arguing with Urnrad, however. A pasty small fellow with a cloak about his face. A strange individual, to be sure. Lanky and intrepid, he points threateningly at the priest before he walks off, obviously upset with whatever was said.
Urnrad adjusts his clothing before doing something that's absolutely surprising... He looks to the Pharasman statue, and says something Audibly, causing the whole thing to scoot away, revealing a spiral staircase that leads deeper. Alas, where the stairs go down lay a thin, green line of Aether... something you assume to be a barrier against your movement.
The other man, the lanky one, leaves the church, making sure to lock it on his way out. He slips the key onto his person and makes his way elsewhere through the door.
The Cathedral has a number of stained-glass windows, all of which are atleast 10 feet in height. They've been boarded up from the inside, however, and large pieces of furniture block the stairways that rise up to the second floor of the church. The second floor isn't much however, and is merely a balcony to look down from with 2 or 3 more rows of chairs.
Jhael looks around, disappointment spread across his face at the feeling that he learned very little. 'More questions than I had before.' He thought to himself.
Watching through the window as the shrouded man leaves the church, Jhael tries to think if there's anything about him that seems familiar.
Frowning, he decides to see what else there may be to learn while waiting for the priest to come back. Trying to find a way to pass the time, he begins wandering around the inside of the church. The windows being boarded up seems natural, but the stairs being blocked piques his curiosity. He decides to walk up them, to see if there's more to the second floor than is immediately apparent.
Venturing up the stairs reveals very little, though you take note that at the top of the cathedral there is a mighty church. Investigating closer, you see that, from the top of the cathedral, a chandelier hangs from a rather wondrously crafted bit of stained glass that depicts pharasma in all her glory, surrounded by souls and skulls alike within the boneyard.
The man does not seem familiar to you whatsoever, and you can frankly admit that you've never seen him before in your entire life. Both this one, and the previous. Interesting as it were, you find that the balcony is actually severely molded, though beyond that you can't be sure what's so special that requires the furniture to be there.
A few minutes pass and the Priest never comes back, though it has only just been a few minutes.
Feeling even more troubled by having nothing turn up in the balcony, Jhael shrugs, deciding that he would have to venture there in person if he were to learn anything of value.
Standing in the middle of the church, Jhael realised that he was not sure how to leave, and blinked multiple times. Remembering that he was specifically viewing the church, he decided that he should be sent back to the Nexus if he simply left.
With something of a shrug, Jhael turned around and strode through the church's solid doors.
You're under the distinct impression concerning the Oculus that if you just leave what you're looking at and truly want to exit that you'll just be whisked off back to the room your sitting in. Careful testing proves this accurate. You leave with a bit of regret, concerning the fact that Urnrad hadn't done much, but the secret chambers were definitely something to be concerned about. There was also the matter of the shadily dressed over-warm man that he had been talking to that left in a hurry.
Walking out of the church does indeed take you, reeling you back into your body as the surroundings start to flake away as white sand into the air. Eventually, you come back to, sitting idly in your seat. The vision circle above your head promptly leaves just a moment after you regain your usual body. The event is significantly reeling, however, and you feel somewhat "off" now that you're back. The feeling doesn't linger, and you return to your normal self in just a few seconds, however.
Mephisto sits alongside you, watching you carefully as you regain consciousness. "So? You're back already? How curious..." she says, surprised you didn't spend more time. "Did you just know where to look, or could you just not find any leads? Hmm?" she asks, obviously curious about anything you might know.
"Well, that was disappointing." He muttered, looking around to re-acclimate himself with the room. Studying Mephisto's face, he realised that he still probably could not trust her, maybe could not ever, but that he did need a hand to make sense of this. "They left, and rather rudely at that."
"Urnrad argued with someone, though of course I couldn't make sense of any of it. The man was small, lanky, and had a cloak covering some of his face. Definitely no one I've ever seen before. When the man left, Urnrad went into a secret basement of the church, hidden beneath a status." He shook his head, adding that "I wasn't able to follow him." He paused to look at her, "Does any of this sound familiar at all?"
"Strange, too," He said, "The windows were boarded up from the inside and the stairway to the balcony was blocked with furniture. It didn't look like anything was up there."
He looks at Mephisto, studying her face while he waits for her reply. Everything she said had to be taken with a grain of salt, he suspected.
Mephisto's eyes lit up at the mention of a strange, hooded man "Hmm! Oh, so the priest actually met with someone? How queer... When I looked upon him, he merely went into that basement..." She places a finger to her lip as she turns to pace back and forth about the room for a moment.
Finally, she stops moving for a moment and turns, a smile wide across your face. "Where did the hooded man go?" she asks, a curious face about her.
She's not trying to hide her excitement about the news of a new variable in her ultimate equation. The man obviously seems important to her...
Jhael looks surprised by the revelation that Mephisto was looking in on the city. He knew that she had spies, and had not expected her to do most of the watching herself. 'So... she has been there before.' He thought.
"I didn't see where he went," Jhael confessed. "He seemed rather angry at Urnrad. Couldn't say why, though. I don't suppose you happened to catch what Urnrad said to get the secret passageway to open? Might be worth knowing if I'm to investigate it."
Jhael paused for a second, thinking. "Are multiple people able to use the oculus at the same time? Sort of piggy-back based on where someone else has been?"
Shaking her head, the woman simply wags a finger at you with a long drawn-out sigh. "That man is an important person in Argosal... Maybe not as important as Urnrad, but still important. I can feel it." she says as she clenches her fist tight enough to make the leather complain.
Pointing to you she walks closer. "He is the one you need to look into. We know Urnrad is up to something... and we know where." she points a finger to your chest, slowly parting the particles where your heart should be. "Seek out the unknown fool..." she states.
Suddenly, her brow perks up and she looks up, surprised. "Hmm... That is all I can say. I must hurry elsewhere. Take Oswald and seek out a place that a necromancer could steal a few dead bodies." she says with a bit of a laugh. "Do not fail, Jhael, of Argosal..." Her last statement is cold, and bitter, as if her mood had completely switched over.
With that, into nothing, she disappeared. She didn't even use the teleporter.
Oswald is absent from the room.
Jhael breathes a sigh of relief when Mephisto disappears. Surprised as he is that she can do that, he decides that he'd rather not deal with her when she's angry. Or concerned. Or whatever else she may have been.
"Where can I go for more information..." he mutters, before a light goes on in his head. Deciding that Oswald can wait, he moves quickly, passing through the teleporter and walking quickly through the hallways before arriving at the library, searching for Relveti, or, at the very least, the strange little tengu.
Venturing to the Library, you are pleased to find that Relveti as well as Lars are both still there, and each are nose-deep in books. Relveti has a very broadcasted look of disdain and concern on her face as you enter, and Lars doesn't pay you any mind as he is buried beneath his significantly large pile of papers and strange documents.
Relveti stands as you enter, curious about why you've returned so quick, apparently. She comes to you, meeting you in the middle of the room. "Why the sudden return?"
"Not that sudden." Jhael said with a short laugh. "My questions can wait, what's wrong?"
She sighs, and seem to find the words. "It's the papers..." she said, wondering what to say. "It's only just the surface, but I believe that the disciples will congregate soon at a meeting, but deciphering where will take some time..." she says with a sigh. "I know far too little to speak of it now, but it will be a long time before they congregate with the loss of one of their own. I believe they are far more careful than that." she states, somewhat reassuringly.
"What of you, then?" she asks, concerned. "Who is going with you to Argosal in 2 days time? I do hope you picked well..."
"Cid and Oswald." He admits, looking somewhat embarrassed at first, but sounding resolved. "There's even more going on in Argosal than I'd thought." He finishes with a frown. "I was using the Oculus to look in on Urnrad, and I saw a couple of interesting things. There's a secret entryway underneath a statue in the church. The church's windows are boarded up from the inside, the stairs to the balcony are blocked with furniture. And. I saw, there was a man. small, lanky, cloaked. He and Urnrad were arguing."
"I know that it has been a while," Jhael finished apologetically, "But do you know anything about any of this?"
At the mentioning of Cid, Relveti smiles curtly, but that quickly fades at the mentioning of the following name... She takes a few steps back and places a palm upon her head. She fumbles for the words, turning to look away before turning around again and asking loudly, much to Lars's sudden squawking as a result; "OSWALD!? Are you mad?!" she says, presenting a palm to the tunnel. "The man is a lecherous, vile, unfathomably evil cur! He is ruthless to men! A true gentlemen to women, but that's only because of his insane religion!" she says, at a loss of breath.
She sighs, turning on her heel and sitting down quickly back at her table. "I sincerely hope you know what you're doing, Jhael... Oswald has killed atleast 1 member of the nexus before, and that's only the one's we know of. Mephisto's underlings can not be trusted. Keep an eye on him..." she said, more than just a little worried.
While Jhael understands Relveti's point of view, her outburst still puts him on the defensive. "I know. I know. It was Mephisto's idea, and I know I'm a fool for trusting her in the first place. But whatever her plans, she has a stake in the future of our hometown." He shakes his head with a smile, saying "I'll be careful, I promise." before adding quietly, "Listen, the man I described, does he sound familiar?"
Relveti simply sighs at the question after you state your case. "No... I'm afraid not. But if he's in Argosal, then he's from Argosal. she says, as she begins to sift through her papers. She doesn't seem to be in too good a mood given the present circumstances...
Jhael turns to leave, and then changes his mind. He walks to where she's sitting and speaks to her back, almost to himself. "I know it's dangerous, and that I'm at risk on all sides, but you know why I have to go."
Surprisingly, he moves closer, and reaches down, putting his hand on hers. When she looks up, he says, "If things... go badly. It may not be a safe place to be for a while. I mean, not that it ever was. But, you know, less so. Is... is there anyone that you want me to check in on, to try and keep safe?"
Relveti merely shakes her head at the statement. Looking away, she actually stands up and leaves the room elsewhere. "Just get it done... and be safe. Don't trust Oswald." The last phrase she mutters as she passes around the corner of the hallway.
"Yeah." Jhael mutters as she leaves. Turning from the desk, he walks over to the pile of papers that the tengu is buried beneath. "Excuse me," he offers, hoping to not startle Lars. "I had a question for you."
Nosing up out of his books, the Tengu looks up at you, releasing yet another sigh that was almost as rambunctious as the first time you'd met him with the outburst. "What!? What is it!? Busy! Busy as usual." he said, thumbing through papers.
In the corridor, however, stood Oswald, whom had replaced Relveti's presence. He stood rather coldly beneath the arch.
"So am I." Jhael replies almost curtly. Jhael quickly fills in the Tengu on what he had seen through the Oculus, leaving out Mephisto entirely, but describes the other man and mentions that he may be important. "Do you know anything about him? About the secret passage?"