I will contribute 25 gold to the kit.
"Hmmmmm, he seems to be avoiding us... should we let him?"
"No, I need to get...something from him"
Xov approaches.
"Hi Essar, we were getting ready to go to Sharn. Are you coming?"
Yes although I will be fetching my own seat in a different cab, I feel the urgent need to get drunk in company other then you.
"Very well then, we shall meet you there." Xov pauses, then says:
"Say...I think there's something in your hair. Hold still for a minute while I get it..."
Something stinked, Essar kept his hair in a traditional karnath military buzzcut...
sense motive check
Something stinked, Essar kept his hair in a traditional karnath military buzzcut...
sense motive check1d20+4
If you are done being a fashion conscious fool I have business to attend to in Sharn. And a warning to you Thranian, if you in any way harm the Blood during your stay in Sharn I will see to it that your head wind ups on a karnathi pike. Do I make myself clear?
After watching the exchange between Xov and Essar, Danir is most certainly worried about the Karrn and the possibility that he will ttry to betray the Citadel and therefore the group.
|
10 minutes.
This is not the same train you came in on. Although it has released billows of steam, the train you came in on already left for Sharn and is probably being prepped for a return run to Fairhaven.
As for Essar, he does keep his hair in a military buzz cut. Although, it would be more accurate if to say it was shaved three weeks ago.
Kyndril arches a brow. Flame help him, how mad was the Seeker-priest? "Do your best!" Is all his response amounts to, before he pauses and wonders to himself whether encouraging paranoid delusions is the best way to help the sufferer get over them. Shrugging, he moves on.
"Okay guys, let's go back to the station. And hurry. I have an idea, I'll explain later."
"Yes. Let us go." Kyndril walks towards the station at a brisk pace.
Danir walks off to the station.
Essar walked up to the man who was giving out tickets. Do you happen to have seat available that is not with those five?
off to the station for Ebran
"Let us go, and hurry. I care not whether we end up in the same train car as him, but I think it preferrable to intercept whatever he plans to do at the Temple of Blood in Sharn...
actually, I'm inclined to let him sit away from the rest of us. Anyone objections?"
Xov's voice shook a little as he spoke. He was scared. In order to enact the plan he had for the mad cleric, he needed to reveal it to his other companions, which would require sharing information he was not use to sharing. Especially not with dispicaple figures like a Thranian spy, an unprincipled mercenary from the traitorous Eldeen reaches, or a pair of greedy power-hungry dragonmarked people with questionable aims. Ah well, they were bound to find out some of it eventually. He takes a few deep breathes as he readies to board the train.
"I don't care what he does, to be honest. I trust that this organization we have been tied to knows what they're doing. Anything they want me to do in regard to what the crazy man does, they will tell me. If there is one thing I know, it's that you don't go making big decisions as soon as you sign on to the ship."
"The farther away on the train the better but once we reach Sharn, we will have to keep an eye on him. Since he is seemingly trying to start a schism within the Blood of Vol though, why don't we just give them that information, so that he has no choice in the matter of trying to betray us to them?"
Once Essar is out of range:
"I don't care what he does, to be honest. I trust that this organization we have been tied to knows what they're doing. Anything they want me to do in regard to what the crazy man does, they will tell me. If there is one thing I know, it's that you don't go making big decisions as soon as you sign on to the ship."
"I...I understand" Xov replies, as he thought
I understand that you are a trusting fool. I mean, you trust the citadel?"I....I should probably tell you what I am trying to do...I'll explain once we are seated..."
"It is preferable that he does not have a chance to do whatever he wants in the Blood of Vol... Especially if it drags innocents into it." Kyndril shrugs, eyes narrowing.
Once we are seated on the train, away from Essar:
You see, the Tower of Eyes in Fairhold has a lot of scrying devices, mostly crystal balls, but some more powerful tools as well. Many field agents traveling in foreign lands, such as myself, are scried on almost all day long. It makes it easier to catch double-agents, and it allows others in the Tower of Eyes to notice things that people like me fail to see.
Now, information is power. Take, for example, the group we are fighting, the Aurum. They work by subtly manipulating events throughout the continent, while keeping their true goals secret. If everyone knew who they were and who their leaders (some of whom are truly evil) were, then the Aurum wouldn't be nearly as much of a threat.
What this Essar fellow has which scares me is information. He has some ideas about things which both the Aundairian and Brelish governments would like to keep secret. And if he sticks around us long enough, he's only going to learn more secrets. In the past, I have worked with other...how shall I say it? Other...unstable allies before. However, in those cases, I knew my unstable allies were being watched by people I trusted. If any of them tried to betray us, we would find out easily.
Essar is a different case: right now, the Royal Eyes has no way of watching him, unless I am nearby. That was why I left my familiar with him when the Huecuva attacked--so that if he tried to betray us, I could find out. But now...now he is unwatched. I worry that he will try to sell us out to the Blood of Vol...or the Aurum...or anyone else who offers him a lot of money or power. That's why I got this"
Xov holds up the piece of cloth that he cut from Essar's shirt.
"Within the next day or two, someone from the Royal Eyes will meet me and take this back to Fairhold. After that, anyone in the Tower of Eyes will be able to keep an eye on our cleric companion. Then I won't have to worry, and Essar..."
A tear suddenly rolled down Xov's face, apparently a sad memory...
"And Essar will never need to feel alone."
"But for the next few days, he is entirely unchecked. Ressir said that the Brelish won't scry on us (although I don't really trust him), so no one will no if Essar betrays us while we aren't watching. That's why I'm scared.
The reason I'm telling you all this now is because I feel we may be working together for quite awhile, and you would find out eventually. It would probably be harder for you to deal with if you found out later, so I'm letting you know now. But...
I haven't tried to get ways to scry on any of you...they can't scry on any of you as far as I know. I'm sorry this is sorta sudden, it has been a long time since I worked with a group who wasn't use to being scried on by superiors..."
Suddenly, Xov looked sad, lost in thought...then his head jerked up, and he quickely turned to Kynril:
"Does Thrane do that too? Is someone in Flamekeep watching you now?"
|
|
"All aboard!" said the conductor.
Oodles of Steam was being released from the lightning rail as it pulled forward. Like before, it started slow and started to speed up. Soon, it reached it's maximum potential of speed and it was on it's way. To Sharn, the City of Towers.
Somewhere in Fairhaven, a queen got regular reports on some of her best spies. She got a report on Xov, which she read on how he was put together with the most unlikely group. "A dirty half-dozen," she said.
"What shall be done my queen?"
"Keep the surveillance on him as normal, I want to know how this develops," said the queen.
"As you wish, my queen."
He had managed to arrange a private comparment, although it was simply an unused storage closet. But it was suitable for someone who had gone for entire months encased in scalemail.
"Thank you for sharing that information with us Xov, as a spy I would suspect trusting others with information might be difficult. I can assure you, that to the best of my knowledge, no one in House Cannith is in the habit of scrying on me."
Danir retires to a quiet location and starts to write the first entry in his new journal.
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He had managed to arrange a private comparment, although it was simply an unused storage closet. But it was suitable for someone who had gone for entire months encased in scalemail.
** spoiler omitted **
The map reveals an ancient dungeon that dates back the Dakhanni Empire. The map shows the source of an unbelievable amount of treasure hidden somewhere in -- all places -- Thrane. The priest had made a vow of poverty to the Dark Flame, but broke it when he found the treasure. He was discovered by monsters in the dungeon and slain. After that, he became a Heucuva (by way of the Mockery) and went on a defiling rampage.
The treasure is known as the Treasure of Xandorlan, and it is said to be a king's ransom.
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Ha! As if anything the Thranian said could be believed. Xov suddenly came out of his strange mood. The Flame itself? What does that mean?!? Maybe someone IS scrying on him, and he just doesn't know it. Turning back to the artificer, he said
"Thank you Danir. This is something that is frequently explained to those who knowingly and willingly work with the Eyes...I knew I would have to tell you soon. However...
I would appreciate it if no one told the cleric about scrying..."
history check to remember details about Xandorlan
"I wouldn't know if anyone was scrying on me. I was a House favorite for awhile, but they couldn't have liked me that much if they asked me to go to the front lines."
While writing in his journal, Danir listens to the conversation of his fellow agents.
"Well for now we will just work under the assumption that he shall try to knife us in the back somehow and if not, we can be pleasantly surprised. On another note- once we get to the city of towers, do you know what you are going to do first? I must certainly appear at the House Cannith compound and present myself but after that I have no plans, how about you lot?"
"Danir, do you have any alchemical solutions to undead incase we encounter them again."
"I'll probably start by trying to intercept whatever the cleric is plotting...
I will need to meet someone in person to deliver this cloth, but that may not happen until tomorrow...physical meetings are much harder to arrange than magical communication, after all.
The instructions I got this morning seemed...a bit less direct than usual. After we handle immediate threats, and everyone contacts people they need to contact, then the best course of action may be to gather information about the workings of the Aurum..."
** spoiler omitted **
"Danir, do you have any alchemical solutions to undead incase we encounter them again."
"Sadly, I cannot do not. I would suggest that we swing by a temple or church of your choosing and purchasse some Holy Water for that. Although, once in Sharn I could get the supplies I would need to scribe some useful scrolls for us to take on our travels."