Ron takes a minute to bandage his wounds.
"███████" Roshan pulls the dagger and a vial. "Do you know how to use this? I do not know how to use this. I don't think it is deadly. I think you need to stab me with this."
"That's goldenroot, sir. -a trust serum. You don't want any of that in you." If Cassandra is shaken, it's because Roshan looks pale.
This was Danyal's part. She had always gotten so quiet. In the early years, Roshan thought Danyal's fury at Roshan's mistakes drove her to silence. Later, when fewer crises were directly her fault, she recognized it as the white vance's way. It seemed to be a focused trance the elder templar entered when things weren't going to plan.
"He attacked us." Roshan takes a deep calming breath. "He attacked me, and you knocked him out. You will have to stab me. Leave him his vials... unless you think we could "
I bat the ball away with Catastrophe.
What is this thing she's talking about?
Roshan
Cassie holds the dagger awkwardly, looking concerned. Are you sure, Sir? She draws back her hand slowly, waiting for you to object.
Conwall
The orb leaves ctastophe ice cold, but impacts harmlessly against the wall.
Drop the child "Sarah" says, readying a bright green dart. you see someone else rush behind her, toward the door. what do you do?
"He is taller than you, but not as tall as me. Angle the blade this way, to avoid my kidney." Roshan gives the blade one last look, in case it's a lich blade or something.
I catch the little hateball, but in my haste I tangle the feet of the guard. He, the monster and I all tumble down the stairs. I have it in my grasp, but I'll need to untangle myself and get up in order to do anything.
you are at the bottom of a set of stairs, in an "on-call" room, for servants. they wait here, out of sight, but within hearing, until their masters give orders., it is a small room, with a medium table, a half-dozen chairs, a stove and tea-set, and a concussed guard.
Sarah is standing on top of the stairs you, the "child" and the guard fell down, which means she is in the room you fell from. the person passing behind her came from deeper inside the wing, and is headed toward the main door.
Roshan
The knife is normal, nice but entirely mundane. with that confirmed, cassie stabs you, hard enough to puncture deep, and leave hematoma where the ornate crossguard strikes your side. What do you do, oh shish-kebabed one?
Roshan pauses briefly to acknowledge the wound. She groans, then soldiers on. "Dagger in his hand. Blood off yours. This is precisely why we comb, trim, and shave. A rival templar can make a single hair into a noose."
With another grunt, the senior templar crosses to the door. "Back in the corner, like you're scared."
I hold the child in front of me to block the dart and I rush up the stairs to give Sarah a beating.
Roshan
Conwall
The dart strikes the... child-thing, probably killing it. Sarah screams, drawing a blade of white-gold, and launches a bolt of lightening. you also hear another person, and sense a magical barrier to your left as you reach the top of the stairs. What do you do?
With a sound like a disgruntled horse, Roshan throws open the door. “Will someone take this murderous lout out of here before I break my agreement with the Duchess? Lord Perrora attempted to-” Roshan’s hand goes to the wound on her side and comes away bloody. “-successfully stabbed me.”
“My initiate knocked him out, quite unnecessarily, for which she will be punished severely. If the Duches wishes to bring her up on charges, she will have what’s left of her when I’m through. Where is the lady Raloralei? I will not have this derail my audit.”
Roshan looks at the support beam in the interrogation room. "Someone bring me a length of rope. Cassandra! Assume the Sinner's Prayer." She takes Cassandra's knife off the table, careful not to disturb her Censure of Hebron.
Let's at least see what we can find beyond monsters, Tom says as he uses his sword to lead the way into the darkness that clings to them.
With a sound like a disgruntled horse, Roshan throws open the door. “Will someone take this murderous lout out of here before I break my agreement with the Duchess? Lord Perrora attempted to-” Roshan’s hand goes to the wound on her side and comes away bloody. “-successfully stabbed me.”
“My initiate knocked him out, quite unnecessarily, for which she will be punished severely. If the Duchess wishes to bring her up on charges, she will have what’s left of her when I’m through. Where is the lady Raloralei? I will not have this derail my audit.”
Roshan leans back and eyes the support beam crossing the small room. “Someone get me a length of rope.”
Ron walks behind Tom, both hands on Remorse and wary for unknown dangers.
As they descend, Belym studies the workmanship of the halls, trying to determine where they are, exactly.
I charge up the stairs, trying to dodge around Sarah while still holding the child
I have to choose between avoiding the lightning blast or dropping the child. This evidence is too important...I take the hit.
In the abyss below.
You descend into the stygian, eternal blackness of the path downward. you quickly realize it turns into a labyrinth of incredible stonework. the caverns are about 2.5 meters high, and a meter wide, perfectly smooth stone. all the passages are identical, save for length and turns. Belym, this is dwarf work, but without any clan markings. There are only two explanations for that: it predates Clan civilization, or it was made By dwarves who were compelled not to add any adornment.
Every turn bears risk, as well. hundreds, maybe thousands, of those pale freaks are down here, lying in wait, or following just outside the light. a few even get the drop on you guys, and get Ron pretty well.
Eventually (maybe hours in), you three stumble into a room. in it are half a dozen discarded torches, and the remnants of a fire in the middle of the room. discarded bones and other detritus tell you that someone camped here, probably within the last month. What do you do?
Rosan
Ralorelei jumps back as she sees the scene. Guards! Guards! She shouts, and moves aside as Merrick and two of her personal guard rush into the room, the two moving to surround Roshan, before she says Lord Perrora has assaulted this woman! He must be brought before the Duchess! She says. Cassandra looks up at you, her eyes silently asking You gonna leave me like this all day?. What do you do?
Conwall
as you reach the top of the stairs, Sarah dances back, moving a lot like an elvish dancer. She certainly isn't human. Before you can move to engage her, her accomplice steps between you two. it is none other than Lord Urisatra himself, wielding a Zweihander (a poor choice for indoor combat).
Also, you hear banging on the door, and untranslatable shouts in elvish. it would seem that the point has found the room (probably detected the demonic energy.
Oh dear, it seems your little friend is going to join us Sarah sneers I wonder if she is a more loyal elf than you? The barrier was meant to keep people in, not out, and the point will break through in less than a minute. what do you do?
All this talk of loyalty...there's two ways this can go. 1, all "loyal" elves have somehow been ensorcelled. Unlikely that a spell could reach that far. The other option is that the Pontiff is complicit and cast some wicked spell on those still in the Great Woods. If it's one, the Point is going to come bursting down that door, see me holding a dead baby and start a beat down. If it's two...well...let's hope it's two.
I move to engage Sir Urisatra, taking advantage of the close quarters and his poor choice of weapon.
Tom inspects the bones carefully, Why would anyone be down here in the past month? He then picks through the campsite.
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Roshan balks. It would be so much easier to just kill them. I'll bet Ron's not in this kind of mess.
Ron holds his shoulder where a pale one clawed him. This may not have been our best idea.
He takes up a defensive posture.
Conwall
Urisatra drops his sword as you run him through, desperately lashing out with his fists. It lands, knocking the wind from you
The impacts upon the door continue, definitely magical, and Urisatra reaches for a knife on his belt, what do you do?
Roshan
Ralorelei seems legitimately surprised by the assault. odd are, she legitimately intends to take him before Duchess Eolen. By her Palor, even before she walked in on the incident, you know she won't return, unless you specifically send for her. She is terrified of you (maybe because you are Hebron's justice, maybe because of the intestine nooses) what do you do?
Tom
Well, you recognize that the room, where the people clearly spent a rest period, doesn't have a door, or any evidence of a barricade. either those things weren't here when they camped, or this party had a way to repel them.
Bluntly: Jack s$*@. They took everything but expended torches, bloodstains and food scraps when they left.
The bloodstain, in the back left corner, has tiny twinkles of crystal in it, clrear evidence that the blood belonged to a mage (Or cleric) who used pretty powerful magic not long before they got cut. whoever else in in here, they use strong magic.
what do you do?
I grimace as the duke clobbers me. I withdraw my sword and try to restrain him.
Roshan sighs, feeling a twinge of pain in her side. "It was a dagger, Lady, and hardly my first. These things happen. If you parade us in front of the Duchess it will be our word against his. Something which might have been avoided if we had followed my protocol. There are far less embarrassing ways to postpone your audit." Despite her words, Roshan gathers her blades and bids Cassandra to follow with a beckoning hand. "That one means follow." She says this when she means "this is your fault."
Conwall
Your attempt to restrain him encounters a problem pretty quickly. namely, he is almost twice your size, and the leverage that gives him. he is abel to force you into his own hold.
meanwhile, The Point bursts in/ What is going on he- she begins, before Sarah cuts her off. the string of sylables Sarah uses is familiar to you, comforting even. not unlike the voice Pelnor uses, when he spoke to you. the point lowers her weapons, eyes glazing over.
That elf is a traitor, he is conspiring with asmodeans, to destroy the great forest. Sarah says to her.
I will deal with him She replies. what do you do?
Rosan
What do you want us to do, then Ralorelei asks, skating over your accusations about postponing her meeting.
Cassandra rises sheepishly, head hanging low. she looks at the wine bottle, mostly shattered on the floor, studying it intently. hat do you do?
By Pelnore's termites! It was One!
I break free of the hold I'm in. I don't know how to break this spell, but I know someone who does. I whisper to what I hope is the nice ghost in my sword.
Dear sister! What do I do?
One by madness, two, a sword, three's a-bleedin' on the floor, four wouldn't raise a hand before Roshan could kill- "I suppose he should be taken somewhere for someone to tend his injured head, and for him to tend his injured pride. You know these men, as soon as a woman has an inch of power over them, the only recourse is to stab them, burn them, publicize your personal life to undermine your name. The sad thing being, unless he's really behind the whole business, none of this is really about him and it's all meaningless noise." Roshan's gaze turns to Cassandra.
To Merrick she whispers. "Where in hell is Conwall? Keep an eye on Perrora,
okay? He's a part of this. Pay off some wine maids or something, we need to know with whom he speaks."
Roshan's hand is tense around her chakram, now at her belt.
There seems t' a mage missing from the bodies, that means we all have a target on our backs down here. Be wary.
Conwall
You slip free of Urisatra's grip, kicking him in the shin and downing him in the process. rolling to a safe distance, Ygraine's voice comes into your mind. That wasn't a spell. no spell could drain the will of a mage so quickly, and she used no power. Must be a backdoor, something Pelor's chosen left in the minds of mages, to quickly stop them, if they should fall to corruption.... yes, that must be it. get her to the Templar. Roshan has experience in this, I think. She says. what do you do?
Roshan
I don't know. said something about Sarah, and left. Sarah isn't a local name, and beside, sneaking off to meet with some maid or scullery girl isn't exactly the elf's style. does that name mean anything to you? He asks.
Shall I stay, have a seat? Ralerelei asks. what do you do?
Tom and Belym
It was going pretty well... right up until it wasn't. a large group got behind you, too many to fight in close quarters, where Belym and Ron couldn't even bring most of their weapons to bear. So you ran, rushing for a room, anywhere that you could engage in. Ron got grabbed, and sent tumbling down a slanted side passage, leaving you guys running in the dark, until you came to the door.
flinging it open, you hear footsteps coming for you from in front, as well as the group from behind. you can barely see anything, what do you do?
Ron
you shake your head a little, vision breifly doubled as you rise, still dizzy from you tumble. you're separated from the group, but you can hear the sounds of those things up ahead. that passage up is pretty long, better get moving!
Ron sprints uphill as fast as he can.
He bellows: BELYM!
As they enter the room, Belym steps in front of Tom and says "Hold the door!" She then raises her good arm, opens her conduit, and swings her arm wildly back and forth, sending a stream of stones into the darkness.
Tom lets Belym take charge, and guards the opposite way lighting what he can with his sword.
I'll have to get to Roshan, and that means leaving. Dead critter still in my hands I juke around the Point and make a break for the door.
"Gods bless, he's going to take down the pyromancer-" -without me! Roshan takes a half-step forward, clearing her dancing blade of its scabbard, but stops. She takes a deep breath. Any more of that and people will begin to suspect you don’t know how to breath regularly. She lays the blade back on the table along with the rest of Hebron’s Censure. “I cannot be diverted from my task.”
Perrora is removed from the inquisition room. Roshan strips off the top portion of her armor to inspect the wound. She takes the restraints they used on lady Jodithas and ties up Cassandra sitting backwards in her chair. “Apologies, lady, but with such a tight schedule, I will have to punish my initiate during our meeting. I have read your records. Eirion reviewed them with me earlier. What I need to hear from you is this: What is your recommendation if we halt the spread of the plague, but cannot cure the suffering? Orilanae has been caught colluding with umbral beings masquerading as Gods. Do you know anyone else who may be seeking oracles, making sacrifices, speaking tongues? Finally, in her confession, Jodithas named you. Do you know why that might be?”
Ron
You reach the top, encountering a group of 4 pale things, beating on the door., you hear the sounds of rockslides within the door, safe to say, you've found them, what do you do?
Tom and Belym
clatters, thuds and groans echo from within the chamber. Belym definitely knocked something down. Meanwhile, you feel creatures banging on the door, likely to bust it down very soon. what do you do?
Conwall
You get out the door, before you hear the telltale twang of a skysteel bow. two arrows bury themselves almost 20 cm into the wall beside you. Another strikes your shoulder, peircing it through you look over your shoulder, and see Nlaea disappear under her cloak. What do you do?
Roshan
Is that the case? Ralorelei asks If so... I don't know. I dislike watching these people die slowly, but... I don't like the idea of "mercy kills"
What the hell does umbral mean? Either way, I can only think of her, and Briben
I can't imagine why she would say that. I barely speak with Orilanae, let alone conspire with her.
what do you do?
Belym, let's break through and run! We won't survive between a rock and a hard place!
Tom suddenly summons his strength to press the doors back suddenly to bowl over the horde behind it.
When the door opens Tom says, Hurry Belym we have a brief opportunity! Can you collapse the tunnel behind us!?
I break out onto the street, racing to our interrogation room, hoping the point follows. I shout to Percival Get Roshan! and let him fly.