HELL'S REBELS ala Fabian (Inactive)

Game Master Fabian Benavente

Let's make very sure our prisoner is properly restrained and Eirik is close by to shut her down if she starts trying to cast something before we start asking questions....

Action 3

She shook her head, "No, I think he's up to something else entirely and we just don't have enough information to determine what that is yet."

"Problem is, the man has been acting strange since day one and we still haven't got a clue what he might aim at, other than being so bad at the job anyone else her Imperial Majestrix names to replace him will be seen as a savior," Eirik sighed. "Perhaps we should try to aim a bit further... if we could get more information from the man's past - perhaps his past dealings with this city if there are any - we could get some clues. That, or kidnap someone close to him in the government and press him or her for information - the people close to power are privy to all sorts of secrets just so they can help make things work, even if they don't know what they know that's vital."

"Do we have any leads for either?" he asked, glancing at the more local members of their little cabal even as he tried to rake his own memory for... anything that might be relevant.

Knowledge; history: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29 The Paracount isn't really a figure in history (only in our dreams) but perhaps Eirik might recall *something* we could start to work with... he *is* a political historian, and the House Thrune is a *very* important political institution in these parts.

Oh yeah... didn't we get those Soul Tome thingeys from the Phantasmagorium? They gave bonuses to some knowledge checks, right? If one boosts history rolls and if there is any point to this, Eirik could go do a Take 20 History check with those books, to see if that would be enough if 29 wasn't.

Oh yeah... didn't we get those Soul Tome thingeys from the Phantasmagorium? They gave bonuses to some knowledge checks, right? If one boosts history rolls and if there is any point to this, Eirik could go do a Take 20 History check with those books, to see if that would be enough if 29 wasn't.

These 'checks' will take time so maybe this is something that Eirik does the next day (or two).

I'll get to what people are doing the next day.

I have a big 'event' coming up as well but I think you would want to sort the issue of the 'fools' (and others?) before that.

Suits me. Any chance of getting scroll/scrolls of Heal from the Abadar's church? For market price, of course ;^)

If nothing else the tport should work for Riz, and we could maybe pick up a scroll of heal and Stone to Flesh at the same time?
@Tillia: Which spell are you looking at?
Protection from evil might go a long way to helping this Tiefling.

Someone get Detect Invisible for the rematch. Actually, several someone's could get it ;^)

Hob's going to be a lot better at fighting the Witch than Caleb.
@Fabian: I'd like to work transitioning Hob out. I can see you're not keen on the buf-til-you-drop style, and the accent is killing me!
"How long?" Hob asked Noravia "Till 'e gets bad. Might only need eight, ten hours. If I do it tomorrow morning maybe less - one or two."

I'm thinking we go do a shopping trip. Fabian, given you're using WBL, how do you want to handle paying for this sort of thing?

Turn 447 – Brassy Flexes his Muscles

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

Hob's going to be a lot better at fighting the Witch than Caleb.

@Fabian: I'd like to work transitioning Hob out. I can see you're not keen on the buf-til-you-drop style, and the accent is killing me!

I'm thinking we go do a shopping trip. Fabian, given you're using WBL, how do you want to handle paying for this sort of thing?

Well I think the idea is to bring back Caleb, right?

Let's assume that the rebellion can afford the scrolls necessary, finding them will take a couple of social interactions and may take a day or two. We can RP that out if desired.

Action 1:

Noravia forced herself to remain objective as the tiefling woman referred to Hetamon as the Rose. The inquisitor was fairly certain the woman had been affected by magic. "What's the last thing you remember?" She hoped that they'd be able to piece together what had happened in the bowels of the Silver Star. More details were shared and Noravia said, "You have to understand our concern. When we met you, you tried to prevent us from helping Hetamon. Your actions were not those of a friend."

Action 2:

Noravia's voice caught, "I don't know how long everything or anything will take. At this point, I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other or else my emotions will paralyze me. With Caleb being safe here, I plan to spend my time tomorrow leading a team to clean the Dawnflower Font and consecrate it with Elsbeth's help. In the meantime, if someone else can procure any of the necessary scrolls, they'd have my eternal gratitude."

Seemed like as good a place to put this rather than Action 4...Noravia will focus her time on the Dawnflower Font tomorrow.

If one/both scrolls can be bought via Abadar's temple I can write you a scene. ;^)

If one/both scrolls can be bought via Abadar's temple I can write you a scene. ;^)

Sold! :)

Write me a scene where one scroll (your pick of heal, raise dead, or flesh to stone) is available at the end of the day.

And done. Might be you'll need to wait 24 hours for it, though... it's about time for our tabletop rpg team to gather and it would be impolite not to focus on the game at hand ;^) Anyway... will pick one heal, the dead vampire and the statue will keep and getting a prime PC like Caleb back is more important.

Are we thinking about t-porting to Absalom's temple? If so then could we pay to get Riz healed at their convenience?
If not t-porting, okay. Going to change up what Hob is doing though.

Are we thinking about t-porting to Absalom's temple? If so then could we pay to get Riz healed at their convenience?

If not t-porting, okay. Going to change up what Hob is doing though.

I think Eirik was thinking locally but there's no one stopping Hob from doing his own thing 'this day'.

The local temple has people Eirik knows. Another city's temple... he's not even a member of the clergy there, so no bonuses ;^)

Action 1
Tillia breathed a sigh of relief and said, "She's clean. Whatever magic was on her has worn off." Sitting next to the woman Tillia said in a dead sounding voice, "I hate to tell you but the Rose is dead. His mother killed him and we plan to hunt the b#%%& down and end her."

Action 2
Glancing at Hob as he spoke to her Tillia responded, "I might be able to. If I had something of hers, a connection to her, it would help." Her expression became worried as she continued, "There are problems though, it's possible that she could sense the scrying and cast something back at me, or give us misleading information. If we can take appropriate precautions we can give it a try."

Action 3 & 4
On hold for the moment.

Eirik is going to the local temple.
Noravia is cleaning the Dawnflower Font.

I still need to know what the other three PCs are doing...

Action 1 (con't.
After letting the news sink in for the tiefling woman Tillia continued, "When my companions went to rescue Hetamon from her you attacked them I guess. It appears that you were under some kind of mental control by her." She gave the woman a sad expression as she continued, "Who are you and is there anything we can do for you?'

Action 3
Nothing until someone else responds to this section.

Action 4
Thinking over the information she had Tillia wasn't sure what to do. There were many things she could try to do but what would be the best bet. She finally decided that her best bet would be to look through the books from the opera house and see if any of them might have something that would stand out to her as an indicator of Brassy's true intentions. Looking to Rexus Tillia asked, "Where are the books we found at the library? I think there might be something in one of them that will tell us what Brassy is after and I could use your help looking through them if you feel up to it."

Action 1

Jillian was astonished by Tillia's soft handling of the tiefling. "Why are you assuming she's a victim? Is it not more likely that she was conspiring with the demon?" Turning to the dripping woman, Jillian demanded, "What were you doing down there, helping her? Tell us what you know, and perhaps you get to live."

intimidate: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

Action 2

"Is there any place not friendly to us that might have what we need? Might be I can get in and lift a scroll or two."

Also willing to write a scene - a daring theft in the night, feature our favorite slayer, Buffy, no wait, I mean Jilliannotthemayor.

Action 4
If there's nowhere that Jillian can go to help get/steal a scroll or something, she'll help Noravia with the font. She's good for heavy lifting and mopping. :)

Hob thought, and spoke slowly and carefully "Right. I'll see if I can find some Stone Salve. I usedta work with an Alchemist - oh a decade back - who was apprenticed to a woman in Thuvia, who used to trade with a Gorgon witch - she must've had some. Might take a while to track it down, 'pending on how many people have moved on or gone on." Hob offered, and looked over at the distraught Noravia "Though if Noravia's doin' this place solo, I'll give 'er a hand."

From the sound of it he'll end up helping Noravia?

Also willing to write a scene - a daring theft in the night, feature our favorite slayer, Buffy, no wait, I mean Jilliannotthemayor.

Sold!

What can I say? I'm a sucker for scenes. :)

One of your contacts tells you that Countess Urora Sarini, head of one of the oldest noble houses and staunch Thrune supporter will probably have a stone to flesh salve.

Think penetrating a noble villa for your night time soiree...

So recap coming tomorrow after we get at least a couple of scenes

Questions?

Game on!

Where do people sleep at night? Do we have a home? Do we sleep here at the coffeeshop?

It was late, and the others had either turned in or were close to it. Jillian was throwing dice in a corner table with her friend Minicuria, and drinking more coffee than was really wise at that time of the evening. She had almost convinced herself that this was their final game when the door opened, allowing a gust of cool nighttime air. She looked up to see Simmia, a girl even younger than herself, that Forvian often used to run messages.

The pale girl hurried over to Jillian's table. "Message from the boss," she said, handing over a creased note. "No need to reply. Gotta run!" She was gone as quickly as she arrived.

"What's it say?" Min asked, leaning over curiously. Jillian opened it slowly. Heard back from some contacts about alchemials in the city. Countess Urora Sarini is known to have a stone to flesh salve. She is attending a private affair at the Aulorian Estate tonight, until very late. Bring Min.

Grinning, Jillian looked up at Min. "Wanna take a walk?

They made their way through the alleys, and over rooftops when necessary. Min asked, "Why would some noble b+!%& just happen to have a salve of stone to flesh. Seems weird."

Jillian shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she has lots of magic stuff. I hear she likes the "theatre of the real". Maybe s$+@ gets a little too real sometimes." The girls sniggered, then quieted down as they reached the wall around the Greens. There were at least two ways to get into the Greens without being seen, and Jillian took the more southerly of the two. From the roof of the (now defunct) Yonk Brewery, there were footholds cut into the wall, filled in and disguised with loose bricks. It took a fair amount of skill to make the climb, while collecting the bricks, and required exiting the same way and replacing them as you go down. It wasn't Jillian's first time.

On the other side overlooked the Vashnartil Estate. For a good jumper, a sturdy maple had a branch not too far away. Jillian and Min were excellent jumpers.

Once on the ground again, it didn't take long to skirt the properties, staying to the shadows. In a few minutes they were staring up at the ornate iron-spiked fence surrounding the Sarini's. As they watched, making note of guard placement and activity, Min pulled out her ever-present notebook. Flipping to the middle, she showed Jillian a good likeness of the estate they were now facing. Reading her notes, she said,
"Okay, I've never been in, but Cali claims to have been. The closest outbuildings are stable, over there, carriage house, this one, and the gardeners cabin and storage. That's this one here. Then there's the fountain, and the gardens here, and this path goes off to the lake and their little private forest. Seriously, who needs a forest? Anyway, this east-facing balcony is most likely the Countess' suite. The Count's is this one. Over here, the attic window, might be an easier access, but then you have to get through two floors." She hesitated, then said, "I assume I'm distraction?"

Jillian grinned and slapped her on the back. "You got it. I've done it twice in a row for you. Now, gimme your slippers. Gimme gimme!"

Rolling her eyes, Minicuria reached into her bag and handed over the slippers. "Fine, fair is fair. But I'm using your flask." Jillian handed over her faux-silver flask, and winced as Min chugged some back and doused it over her blouse. "Okay, give me a few minutes. Good luck."

Min made her way around to the main gate, staggering and singing. As soon as Jillian heard her chatting with the gatesman, Jillian began to move. She'd left her breastplate, shield, and almost everything else back at Laria's. She had her sword, but that was nearly it. She felt naked without it, but this required stealth, not clanking.

Pulling her hood up over her head, she climbed the fence, easily avoiding the ornamental spikes. Hopping down, she checked again for guards, and saw that Min was doing her part with perfection. Not too obvious, just a little slutty - just enough to get their attention and not raise suspicions. Making her way across the lawn, keeping low, she ran for the shadows of the estate house. At least there aren't any dogs.

To be continued...

Very nice!
I am traveling so I will not be able to post until later this evening.
Game on!

Here's the scroll acquisition post... other stuff for Eirik for the next few days would be that History brief... he'll hope up with the Soul Tomes and try to figure out if there's something that ties Kintargo to the Paracount in the history, or if there might be some other clues in the past to explain his seemingly irrational actions... Take 20 with the books does net Eirik a nice Knowledge History roll, and his specialty is at least somewhat suitable to the task.

House of Golden Veils

Sighing, Taxmaster Seanan put down his cup of tea and looked up to the white-robed acolyte who had let himself into his office and now stood at attention before his desk, an apologetic smile on his lips.

"A damn fine mess if I don't say it meself," the grey-haired temple quartermaster grunted, shaking his head. "Bloody devils loose on the streets, preyin' on the citizen. And 'bout this grand fete I hear 'bout-"

"The lunatic had planned on feeding his own guests to devils in some demented ritual," Eirik retorted, the frantic battle against what they had believed to be the Paracount himself and his minions while the city's rich and famous died all around him returning all too clearly to his mind. "I have no idea what he hoped to accomplish there, but we put a stop to it. The best we could."

"Tell that to the poor bastards that ye didn't save. I pers'nally blessed three bodies. Bodies of good men and women; no worse than most, at the very least," Seanan shot back, eyes narrowing in anger.

"You think it'd have been better to stand aside and let all of them die?" Eirik said, through clenched teeth. "We were there. We saw what was about to happen. We were too late to save them all, but we did save those we could. No thanks to the Dottari - those monsters barred the doors, penned the guests in with the devils."

"Ye sure it all didn't 'appen because you were there?"

"No. It wasn't something you'd just throw up when you happened to see an opportunity - if nothing else, the Dottari had to be briefed and handpicked for the job. I can't believe most of them would have accepted the orders they were given. No, they had to be the most trusted, the most loyal... the most uncaring sons of goats ever to wear the uniform, and that's saying something," Eirik said, sighing as he forcibly cast his anger aside. The old war-axe knew just what levers to pull to get him going, but Eirik knew the man didn't do anything without a reason.

The Taxmaster indicated the chair next to Eirik and the monk sat down heavily, leaning back on the intentionally uncomfortable chair - after all, people visited Taxmaster Seanan mostly to petition for funds or materiel from the Temple's vast stores and he had a reputation as a tough man to sell an application to.

"I just don't know... every day, things just seem to get more unreal... it's not like the man's even trying anymore to rule with any regard to... anything. It's like seeing a six-year old who's never had anyone tell them it's cruel to pull of the wings of flies in a grown man's body and with the power of life and death over tens of thousands," Eirik said, nodding his thanks as the Taxmaster actually poured him a cup of his precious tea. "We seek to understand his motives, but just when we think we are onto something, he reaches new levels of crazy. The only scenario I can think of that seems to make any sort of sense is that he's just supposed to be so bad at the job that anyone her Imperial Majestrix eventually replaces him with will look like a savior... that, of the Crown really doesn't care what happens out here, but I don't buy that; Queen Abrogail might be mercurial but she isn't a fool. If things get too bad here, they won't stay contained by these walls."

"We have been wonderin' the same, but have got little further. The Archbanker is putting up a calm facade but I know the old fox's gettin' worried. You can only keep up the status quo long as the other party will let you," Seanan said. "But he won't be the first to break the balance."

"No... after all, the Paracount hasn't broken any laws, such and what they are in these parts," Eirik said, grimacing.

"That he hasn't; of course, it kinda helps with 'im bein' the law and all. But enough about what we can't change. You ain't here for the pleasant conversation. So out with it. What do you need this time?"

"Scrolls of healing. Of the very highest order. As many as you can spare without raising attention."

"That's all?" Seanan grunted, shaking his head. "You gonna raise the dead an' have 'em march to the streets?"

"Funny that you should mention that..." Eirik said, wondering if he should share the news about the truth behind the previous Lord Major's current situation and whereabouts. "Those would come handy as well, but no. What we need is something to break curses of feeblemindedness. Or so the experts tell me."

The Taxmaster leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing in thought. "Could be some of those could be found, but misplacin' one of 'em's not gonna go unnoticed. Aren't exactly many of such potency every made, since few can afford 'em."

"The price will be paid in full," Eirik answered. "I'm not here to ask for charity."

"Can't argue with that. But you know I need to put down somethin' to the ledger. Those things are serious money - people don't just walk off the street and ask for somethin' that would keep a large family in comfort for years."

"So let me brew you another pot and let's put our heads together," Eirik offered, standing up and reaching for the now-empty tea kettle. "I'm sure we can come up with something the scribes can swallow..."

By the way... how's the morale of the noble houses after the gala massacre? A lot of the guests there were the rich and the powerful, after all, and those who survived should have little doubt as to who was trying to feed them to devils... one'd expect the houses that were ready to support us are even more adamant, and those who remained neutral would be seriously reconsidering... and if it just happens some of the main players from those houses most firmly behind Thrune found excuses not to attend... well, something like that ought not go unnoticed by their peers.

Good news! The mayor's name is actually Jilia, not Jillian, so we don't have two of the same name :)

Noravia was relieved when their meeting came to an end. After making sure that Rizolla would be looked after for the night, she led Caleb to their shared room. She secured the door to make sure he wouldn’t wander off while she was asleep and then got him settled.

As she lay there, sleep eluded her and the resurgence of her rebellion resolve began to wane. It was the first time she had had a moment to herself to begin to process everything that happened that day. Without warning, all the emotions of the day came crashing down on her at once. She turned on her side and began to sob into her pillow. Both her heart and her faith had been torn asunder today and it was too much, she had lost both Caleb and Hetamon.

The next morning she began to purposefully claw her way out of the pit of despair she found herself in. She woke earlier than usual and spent a few hours alone in devotion to Milani. She brewed rose tea and read from The Light of Hope. She found herself drawn to the passages that spoke of perseverance. Over and over again she murmured, ”find your hidden strength,” as she poured over the written words. She had needed to be reminded that they were at their best when circumstances were at their worst and the holy text did just that. The inquisitor couldn’t imagine things being any worst. Although she had also felt that way about the death of Rowan.

When Noravia met up with the others, her hope had been restored. She was ready to put one foot in front of the other and do what she could to provide healing to those that needed it by cleaning the Dawnflower Font. Once there was healing, they could resume their fight. She made sure that Caleb and Rizolla would be looked after for the day so that they would be safe. She then collected the necessary help she needed to clean the Font both physically and spiritually.

Jillian stood in front of Countess Urora's locked cabinet, ear to the metal, listening for that little click as the tumblers fell into place. The beating of her heart was making it hard to concentrate. This was taking way longer than it should. First, there were three locks to get into balcony doors, after she had almost triggered the trip wire. Then almost an hour of searching to find the hidden cabinet behind the painting, and now opening the lock. Dawn couldn't be far away, and she expected to be walked in on any moment.

There. Finally the third and final tumbler fell into place, and Jillian spun the handle open, wiping sweat from her face. "Wow." This lady sure had a strange collection of things in here. The cabinet had three shelves, and each one had 4-5 items, each one placed carefully. An ornate dagger, is that BLOOD on it?!, a jewelled beetle that looked ready to walk around, a pearl necklace, a diamond tiara, a crystal perfume bottle, a dish holding strange coins, and there it was, a small stone pot with two faces carved into it. One of the faces was angled and rough, the other smooth and lifelike. Gotta be it.

Jillian pulled out a glass jar from her bag, and carefully uncorked the stone bottle. Using a small spoon, she scooped out the salve, taking care to scrape the stone pot clean, and transferred it to her own jar. She then stoppered her jar and wrapped it in cloth before putting it back in her bag. She then re-corked the stone pot, and placed it exactly back where it had been.

Breathing easier, she closed the cabinet and locked it, replaced the painting ([i]ugh, why would she allow anybody to do that to her, never mind a devil!), and ran back to the balcony. The sky was indeed lightening, and she only took time to re-lock two of the three on the balcony. Then it was a quick climb back down with Min's slippers, across the yard, over the fence and out.

Min was waiting back by the maple tree, pacing nervously. "Did you get it?!" Grinning, Jillian nodded the affirmative. Relieved, Min threw herself at the small girl for a hug. "I was getting worried. Not that I doubted you! But still." As they made their way back across the wall and back to the coffeehouse, Min asked, "Do you think they'll make you an officer of the Silver Ravens now? That would be so cool!"

Jillian shrugged, trying to keep her face neutral. "Who knows? Maybe I don't even want that. I like working for Forvian."

Min rolled her eyes. "Oh stop, you can't fool me. I know you want this."

Laughing the girls got back to the coffeehouse, yawning, just as the sun came over the horizon. Seeing Noravia, she walked up to the inquisitor and handed her the pot. "For Shensen. Hope it works. And I'll help you with the font today. Just let me grab a coffee or three..."

When Noravia said goodbye to Caleb he stared blankly at the words, though he touched her face gently.

"WHERE d'ya think y'r goin'?" Hob called as he saw Noravia and Jillia leaving the coffehouse. "Just the three of us, then? We've no mason, but..." Hob looks suddenly shifty. He looks around at the quiet morning street as if looking for witnesses, and pulls something from his pocket. "I've a tinker's charm, here." He all but whispers "Just for curiousity, y'know? Keep it t' yourself, now, and it'd do a job o' mendin' walls 'n' all." He stands up straighter as he slips the charm - still unseen - away and puts on a virtuous aura and speaks in much clearer, slower cadence. "I've never used it of course - 'cept once as a test - but you're ladies of the world."

so no turn recap tonight. Sorry. :(

The turn is already 4,000 words long and I haven't even added any of my stuff yet.

Besides, I want to check up on a couple of things to make sure I get them right because, as you know, I'm changing this AP so I have to check for consistency.

You'll just have to wait another day...

Game on!

Noravia would also plan to take Elsbeth for the spiritual cleaning. They'll also need the proper supplies.

Are we going to do a renovation montage scene? 3 Make Wholes should do about 120hp of repairs. Do we have someone who can do Create Water? Cleaning this stuff out is going to take a ton of clean water. Fortunately the sewer is right nearby.

Are we going to do a renovation montage scene? 3 Make Wholes should do about 120hp of repairs. Do we have someone who can do Create Water? Cleaning this stuff out is going to take a ton of clean water. Fortunately the sewer is right nearby.

We can do whatever you guys want to do.

As of now, I'll recap your current efforts.

Game on!

Seeing Noravia, she walked up to the inquisitor and handed her the pot. "For Shensen. Hope it works. And I'll help you with the font today. Just let me grab a coffee or three..."

Noravia's eyes still appeared red and slightly puffy but she gave the young woman a small, genuine smile when she handed over the jar. "Forvian has trained his people well. I'll make sure this gets to Tillia."

The inquisitor's smile grew when Jillian offered to help clean the Font. "You're not afraid of hard, dirty work. I like that. But seriously, it's going to be disgusting cleaning that Font. You probably don't want to wear your best clothes or anything. I shudder to think what they did to it to desecrate it so."

Noravia motioned to a teapot she had on the table. "Coffee may help wake your body up but I have something that'll refresh your soul. Share a cup of tea with me? We'll need Milani's blessing today. Then you can get some coffee from Laria - and grab one for me too."

Knowing the plan for today, Elsbeth would have prayed for the appropriate spells for cleaning the Font. She can create water as well as bless water. She would have also taken consecrate as well as whatever else necessary.

Jillian grinned. "Noted. I'll leave my ball gown at home. And maybe bring something nice-smelling to put under my nose."

At the mention of tea, Jillian looked skeptical. But with the promise of coffee after, she nodded. "I suppose we do. I'll join you for tea. And then I'll change into disposable clothes."

Turn 448 – Off on their Own

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

BTW, great stuff by the 'solo' writers (and everyone else) :)

Action 2:

Noravia looked at Rexus, flabbergasted by his question. "It's obvious that Caleb needs to receive the healing. He's one of the senior officers and..." her voice broke off. She hadn't even thought that they'd want to use the scroll on anyone but Caleb.

If no one objects to Caleb receiving the healing then I'll continue with a write-up. It makes sense that Elsbeth be the one to cast it even though Noravia has the emotional connection. Is there any kind of 'bonus' for them reading it together, making it more like a ritual than just simply reading the scroll?

I know there's a wisdom check if the scroll reading is a fail, and a passed check means you can just try again. Maybe a buff to wisdom? Hob can definitely help with that - at least a little.

Action 1

"I doubt he's resourceful enough to survive having his heart removed,"" Jillian said callously, watching her reaction.

Action 2

Jillian shrugged - it didn't matter to her who was healed first. She knew little enough about either, and Noravia seemed pretty attached to Caleb. "Fine with me," she said.

Action 3
No need to wait, right? Might as well use it right away?

Action 4
Jillian frowned. "You dreamed about a devil asking you questions about our plans. Yeah, nothing weird about that." Still, the question was valid. She frowned as she thought about it, but didn't come up with an immediate answer.

Action 2(?) cont'd:

Elsbeth’s skin was still crawling. She thought she was going along to help spiritually clean the Font and not actually have to touch the foul squalidness that had existed in the basement of the Silver Star. But there had been much more disgusting garbage present than anticipated and it had taken longer to physically clean the space making it impossible for her to refuse lending a hand. They’d have to return to finish the spiritual cleanse which was just as well so she could prepare the appropriate prayers.. After all the work they’d done, they left some junior members of the team to keep watch overnight and make sure no one returned. The worst of the grime had been wiped off and clothes had been changed but the cleric still felt dirty.

All Elsbeth wanted to do was take a bath and scrub every inch of her skin. She was even contemplating taking a second bath in alcohol to make sure all the germs were killed. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep or concentrate on anything else until she did so. She was just about to excuse herself when Eirik returned with the scroll and the Council begun discussions.

Noravia had told Elsbeth about everything that had happened the previous day. Elsbeth’s heart was heavy at the loss of Hetamon but she could only imagine how the inquisitor was feeling. Even though she didn’t understand their relationship, she knew that Caleb was very dear to Noravia and so was more than willing to offer her help. ”I understand there is risk involved as the scroll is somewhat beyond my abilities but I’m willing to try casting it to help restore Caleb’s mind. But may I suggest we do this tomorrow morning? I will be in a much better state of mind and it will give us time to make the necessary preparations to increase the chances of success.”

If bumping her wisdom will help in any way and if Hobb offers, she'll gladly take the help. I don't think there's anything else we can do to actually help with the caster check.

Noravia began to protest, ”But why wait? We have the necessary resource now, thanks to Eirik, so I don’t see what’s to be gained by waiting.”

Elsbeth fixed her with a look before saying bluntly, ”We rush this and it won’t work. If it fails, we could do more damage. Is that what you really want? We will do it as soon as it is prudent to do so. One more night won’t matter.”

The inquisitor opened her mouth to say something more but then seemingly changed her mind. She nodded resignedly before agreeing, ”Alright, tomorrow.”
-------
The next morning Elsbeth was feeling much better and much more focused now that she was thoroughly clean. Noravia brought Caleb with her the next morning when she joined Elsbeth for their morning prayers. They brewed more rose tea and drank deeply before they spent time in supplication.

Noravia took a deep breath before beginning her prayer. Milani, we come before you today as your humble servants. You are a champion for freedom and abhor oppression. You tell us to fight to protect the Four Pillars of peace, love, health, and life which are gifts given to humanity. We bring Caleb before you today who is in need of healing to free his mind from the oppression of foul magic that has robbed him of peace, health, life, and love.” At this Noravia’s voice broke and she has to take another deep breath before continuing. ”I ask that you empower your servant Elsbeth as well as myself as these divine words are read from this scroll. We ask for your help to find our hidden strength so that we can restore Caleb so that he can continue to fight the oppression affecting Kintargo and to continue to experience love.”

Elsbeth laid out the scroll and then poured two more cups of rose tea, handing one to the inquisitor. They both drank the tea while breathing in the faint rose scent and took the moment of quiet to center themselves. They placed Caleb between them, facing Noravia, and then joined hands. Elsbeth spoke the words since she was better able to control the powerful divine magic but Noravia’s heart was used to channel it to Caleb. Noravia could feel the magic surge into her body through Elsbeth’s hands and as it crescendoed, she leaned forward and kissed Caleb which released the healing into his body. With the complete discharge of divine power, Noravia held her breath as she watched Caleb intently to see if the light returned to his eyes.

Hopefully that will warrant a bonus :)

Action 4:

Noravia rubbed her temples, unable to concentrate since she was being forced to wait until tomorrow morning for Caleb's healing. "I don't understand. I thought the devils were working with Brassy. Why would they care what our end game is? And since when do we even owe them an answer? All I care is that Kintargo citizens are no longer oppressed by anyone who thinks it's okay to kill without question."

Action 1
Tillia's head snapped to Jillian in anger as she began to speak so roughly to the tiefling. She could swear someone told her it seemed like the woman was glassy eyed and didn't seem quite right, both signs of being under a compulsion. The mage's eyes were dangerous as she felt a desire to put the aggressive operative under mental control and see how she liked it but held herself back from it. "Jillian?" Tillia said with false sweetness, either stop treating her this way or get out."[/b]

She turned her gaze to the tiefling, "Yes, I'm sure he's dead." Tillia wiped a tear from her eye and choked back a sob, "His heart was torn out of his chest and taken away, we can't bring him back, at least not yet." As Zea told what she knew of Hetamon and how she had worked with him in the "Red Hoof" society Tillia thought of the name, it was vaguely familiar to her, to try and recall what she knew of it.
[dice=Knowledge (local)]1d20+12"[/b]

More to come later on.

Jillian saw the anger and danger in Tillia's eyes, and shut her mouth with an audible snap. Guess I've overstepped my bounds. Remember, you're not one of them. Not yet. She moved back to her chair and sat quietly, letting Tillia finish the questioning.

A moment later, the mage was weeping again. Better tread carefully with this one, Jililan realized. She promised herself to keep as clear of the woman as possible.

"I don't understand. I thought the devils were working with Brassy. Why would they care what our end game is? And since when do we even owe them an answer? All I care is that Kintargo citizens are no longer oppressed by anyone who thinks it's okay to kill without question."

"There might be factions among the enemy... or this is just a ruse, the first steps to make us trust them so they can spring on us a trap," Eirik said, shaking his head. Not that he hadn't thought about just this thing since they day they ended up leading the revolt. "I believe we considered this some time ago. First, the Paracount needs to go. Then, some manner of government needs take his place - Vandomir was suggested to head this interim council. After that... well, we have done what we can to gather allies and to ensure simply marching in an army is not going to be easy - the only reliable pass has been blocked, and allies watch the sea routes. None of which means that the Imperial Majestrix cannot get to us if she wants it badly enough. But it does give us leverage to negotiate."

"Simplest of all is she were merely to accept the change in command, for things to return to what they were before the events that led to the Paracount's arrival. It wouldn't be impossible to try to negotiate for even more autonomy, particularly if the Reclamation turns out to be harder to put down than she might think at this moment."

Action 1:

Zea hadn't provided a good enough answer to cause Noravia to want to just let her go or pat her hand and give her a hug. One of the first things trained liars were taught was how to manipulate emotions to throw people off their guard. "Is there anyone we can contact to confirm you are who you say you are? Trust is at a premium right now. Especially since you practically gutted one of my friends when we were attempting to help Hetamon."

The inquisitor tried again, "So you don't remember much from the last few hours. But you must remember something. What's the very last thing you remember before your memory goes blank. Why were you with Hetamon? Where were you? What were you doing?"

Turn 449 – Caleb First

Read the OOC.

Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?

Game on!

Action 1:

sense motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Noravia's eyes noticed Zea's change in body language which prompted her to ask, "Why do you feel like you've done something wrong? Is it because of this unknown tiefling that you were taking to see Hetamon? Do you remember her name? There was no other tiefling with you at the Silver Star. What happened to her?" The inquisitor paused, "I think it best that you remain our guest for the night and someone will take you back to Redroof tomorrow and confirm your story."

Action 2:

Noravia remained perplexed as they discussed the future of Kintargo. She had absolutely no idea how the city had remained free from the full might of Hell before Thrune began his oppressive regime. "I think these questions would be best answered by the former mayor, Jilia. We have the raise dead scroll." She turned to Elsbeth who was fidgeting in her chair, "Is this something that you can do as well tomorrow?"

The cleric nodded, "I feel confident that Milani's favor will allow me to do so. I could even attempt it tonight if it's the will of the Council."

Noravia glared at Elsbeth, "But you're making Caleb wait! How can that..."

Elsbeth calmly regarded the inquisitor's emotional outburst. "Whether you understand or not, the divine power needed to restore Jilia to life isn't as complicated as that required to give Caleb back his mind. Because it's not as delicate, it doesn't have to wait until tomorrow."

Action 3:

Letting Caleb react first but needless to say, Noravia is ecstatic!

Action 2

Rexus sighed, “I wish I shared your optimism. I have no doubt we will oust Barzillai but I’m not so sure that Kintargo or the region of Ravounel can withstand the full might of Hell.”

”We surely cannot, but if it came to that, all her Imperial Majestrix would gain would be an object lesson and a big charred patch of ground,” Eirik said. ”Problem for her is, dead people pay no taxes, and it’d take mountains of money to rebuild after a particularly… intensive campaign. There is no way to know, of course, but one’d expect she’d be amenable to negotiate if the act had already been accomplished, if the Paracount was deposed. It might mean we’d have to exile ourselves to avoid the repercussions, but there was never a question that some price had to be paid.”

Forvian asked, “Is this, I mean what we are doing, is it considered an internal revolt? Can we get other nations to support us?”

”Difficult to say; I’d expect none would help us for the goodness of their hearts, not since that would certainly create a lot of bad blood between them and Cheliax. It’d be a careful calculation of benefits and risks. To weaken a powerful, militant neighbour… and to turn their attention to yourself. Unless one of our neighbour sovereigns is already planning a war, I doubt we’d get more than vague, lukewarm promises of support that might fade like mist before a gale if the armies of the heartlands started marching here in force.”

I guess now'd be the time to hit the history Soul Tomes since you didn't give me any results from my previous attempt ;^)