With Lives' comment, Mallis breaks out in a grin and visibly relzxes a bit. He leans against the wall as he considers the question about Finas
He was a bit of a loner that one, he didn't make much effort to socialise, carried a dark cloud with him. Some folk take the loss of their loved ones harder than others, I'm not one to judge
he looks sympathetic as he considers Finas' plight.
Brae reached out to him, she's good with people that way, but he kept to himself, had a tent outside the walls. He kind of faded in to the background, if it weren't for his outburst at Nikolai I wouldn't have believed he even had a temper.
he sighs
I don't think anyone avoided him on purpose or really disliked him, he just wasn;t much a part of people's lives here, spent as much time as he could away from folk.
he rubs his face and shakes his head
Radek? He keeps the peace around here, constantly on duty that one. He was a paladin do-gooder before, and now he's much the same, even without a god whispering in his ear. He lost his family, couldn't save them I gather, I think they're in his thoughts a lot given how melancholy he seems. He's fair-handed and law-abiding, if that's what you're asking?
His eyes light up as Flynn talks of games
You know, I think I can just about remember the rules to Senet...you'll have to remind me the first game we play...tell me Flynn, would you be amenable to a little wager on our game?..
Ashleigh thinks for a moment then replies to Lilith
I think there are only two keys, Brae has one and the other one is on the big bunch of keys that Nikolai and Radek carry around sometimes.
she blinks uncomprehendingly at Lilith's conclusions
You think someone did that to him? Trying to harm us?
her eyes get blurry and she hugs Tabitha, they both look petrified.
Brae comes over and hovers
I'd like to get them up and doing something if you don't mind, keeping busy will stop them from thinking too much about things...
she says to you as quietly as she can.
I don't see why not. Flynn replies in relation to the question about a wager. Doeant seem like gold is much use anymore these days, what stakes did you have in mind. Maybe we can get a few people involved and make a real game of it.
He kept a tent outside you say? Maybe he was bit but didn't want to show it. If he was outside no one would have been around to help him. But maybe someone found out and stuck him in the store room until he turned.
He shrugs.
Nice to meet you, Mallis. We'll catch up about that game later.
Flynn is intrigued by the idea that Finas might have lived essentially outside the protection of the walls of Solace and decides to go and take a look at his camp.
Euron waits for the others to finish talking, before speaking up. "You're right Lilith, it was always going to come to this we should let them know what we think happened. But first I spotted some fresh drops of blood outside the council chamber. Off to the side of the door, we should have a look at where that could lead first and then go speak to them." He speaks out hoping nothing has change and he still hopes some sway of opinion in the group.
Nodding to Lilith, Azmerai bows to Ashleigh. "You can tell me more about Desna.. maybe?"
Lives will tag along with Flynn, keeping an eye out while outside the walls.
Mallis can't quite hide the twinkle in his eyes as Flynn agrees to play for money.
Good point about the gold Flynn, how about booze?
he thinks a bit and adds
Finas hasn't been out since he came back that night, he'd have turned before if he was bitten. Also I'd be pretty sure someone would have put him out of his misery rather than stick him in the store room, but thinking about it, things have gone on to prove me wrong it seems...
he looks a little surprised and saddened at his own conclusion.
Flynn and Lives turn the tent upside down and are thorough in their searching. They find a blanket, ranger's kit, a small chest with a broken lock containing half a dozen candles, some charcoal and a faded sketch of a young woman (who resembles Kaiya). Lastly his masterwork spear. No sign of his knife.
Lenneth runs the conversation through in her head again, and is sure the girls are telling the truth and holding nothing back.
Booze. Another commodity sadly lacking these days. Some of the old-timers used to tell stories about vine yards they worked on, back before they escaped old Cheliax. he sees the look of confusion on Mallis' face and then explains. The small folk were treated as less than second class citizens in Cheliax, in fact they were slaves. Some of them even worked side by side with tiny devils, bound by infernal magic to do menial tasks. Can you imagine such a thing?
Anyway, they talked about these vine yards, hundreds of acres of grapes as far as you could see in the low lands to the west. A few of them used to sneak grapes away in pockets sewn into their trousers and press them when they got home. They'd ferment them in buckets hidden in tiny crawl spaces that the big folk didn't even know were there. Ha, right under their noses! They never used to go short of a drink in those days. Made it bearable I suppose.
Eventually, a group escaped to the mountains years ago and formed a community there alongside a Circle of Druids. In the mountains there was nothing like grapes and of course the Druids never partook in anything like alcohol. Well, that changed soon enough! In fact it was one of the things that helped in those early days. Some of the cleverer ones were able to take a particular type of moss that grew on some of the canyon walls and brew it into a kind of alcoholic tea - clever buggers! They called it Fire Water in the end on account that it tasted like you were drinking liquid fire, haha! I've got one small bottle left Mallis and we'll share it when we play.
Flynn looks over the gear and begins to systematically pack it up. As much as he did genuinely feel pity for a man who was seemingly murdered or else was the victim of some kind of foul play, he was a survivor at heart and some of this stuff looked useful.
Lives, this spear is far too big for me. But it's well made, do you think you would get any use out of it?
Flynn meanwhile takes the Ranger's kit and passes the spear to the human beside him.
Nervous about being outside the walls without Skyfall around, Flynn heads back inside. He sees Lenneth going upstairs toward the council chamber and decides to follow, eventually coming up on the group as they discuss the drops of blood.
Well there was nothing in his tent that was out of the ordinary, some survival equipment and his spear, that's it. If that blood is outside the council chamber maybe you should ask them what's going on.
Yeah, there's a lot of crazy behaviour going on with no sane explanation. Flynn says, shooting a glance at Euron.
Maybe there was no target. Maybe it was just to say there was a Walker in the walls. Nothing works to keep people in check better than fear, my people learnt about that well enough in Cheliax. he adds.
"I had my suspicions of Brae, Lenneth but if you feel she is telling the truth thats another person to cross off our list." Haring someone walking towards them Euron spots Flyn. "The council benefit? Keep the fear up around the castle to make people more malleable? But why would they put us in charge of finding out what happened."
Moving to the council doors Euron begins to knock. "It's us we need to talk." He continues knocking waiting for a response.
Lives kneels beside Lenneth, examining the stains as well, looking not only for clues of whose it might be, but how it came to be there - examining it with a tracker's eye.
Flynn moves passed Euron as he knocks, opens the door and simply walks in, regardless of whether there is a response or not
If there's nothing to hide, there's no need for closed doors. he says with a shrug.
Mallis smiles grimly at Flynn's tale
Fire-water sounds good lad, let's play this evening then
and with thast, he disappears back through the door to the ruined tower.
As Flynn opens the door and walks in, you can see that despite its size, the council chamber is fairly sparse. A large circular table rests in the middle, one missing leg replaced with a stack of moldering tomes. The surface is scored with lines in what seems like a deliberate design burned in to the surface, slicing the table up in to individual segments. It now sits covered in sheafs of paper, many maps both new and old, as well as open books on a variety of subjects ranging from farming to stonework. All the books are in serious disrepair, with missing pages and water damage very prevalent. Candle stubs in fancy candelabras vie for space with rusted metal gauntlets and odd chunks of stone acting as paperweights.
There are a handful of mismatched chairs scattered around, and two wooden framed cots strewn across the far wall with rumpled blankets on them. The walls have the usual collection of tapestries and blankets covering them, and an odd gilt-framed mirror of dark glass sits off to one side, mounted above a fireplace that judging from its appearance hasn't been used in a long while.
Nikolai is sat at the table with a face like thunder. Whisper stands before him, arms crossed with an expressionless facade. Of Radek there is no sign.
Nikolai turns to you
What do you want? he asks in an exasperated tone
Stepping into the room following Flyns brash entrance he spots Whisper and is fixated on her. "We've come to speak of all this miss... with the Finas. We also spotted some blood drops outside the council door is anyone hurt in here? Something is going on and we want to get to the bottom of it." He keeps his eye's on Whisper hoping she will shed some light on this.
using his sharp senses the halforc notices the droplets and after a few seconds casually walks closer to the cot.
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Lilith, tired and already not in a good mood moves into the room looking around before pronouncing We want to know what is going on. Don't you dare treat us as part of the problem! You have lied and withheld information long enough. There fresh blood outside the council chamber doors and there on the floor as well. And now we see that you are burning paper for some reason other than warmth. Someone with access to your keys put an undead Finas in that store room, likely for Brae to find. Whoever did this likely killed Finas in some horrible. I want to know who. She was annoyed at Nikolai's tone and her tone is accusatory. She walks to the fireplace and pulls any unburned paper out, patting any embers to extinguish them. We have much to offer the people where and still want to help you. But for me to stay there must be more openness and honesty.
Whisper nods at Euron as you enter, stepping back slightly as if to give room between you and Nikolai. Her arms remain folded in front of her.
Nikolai explodes after Lilith's verbal assault
You forget yourself! Who are you to dictate the laws of a community to its leaders? This community has survived because of strong leadership, because of rules put in place, because the community's people aren't too worried or scared about just how secure their shelter is that it affects their efforts to rebuild it!
His eyes are wide, his tone strong and fearless, his face flushing as he clenches his fists
You have not been here to see the decisions we have had to make that have led us to this moment, you blindly judge based on the slim amount of information you have. We have protected and guided this community for months with the full support of those living here. We are no tyrants sitting on a stolen throne waiting for you to topple us!
Lenneth's conciliatory words appear to fall on deaf ears. He stands, visibly shaking as his words get louder
Nor is it your business what we burn nor why! As to your accusations, this talk about bloodstains, how dare you sugge...
He suddenly clutches his left arm and grimaces, the strength and poise of his demeanor drains away in moments and he collapses back in his chair. Whisper immediately moves to his side but he shakes her off, hissing in pain through clenched teeth. She shrugs and steps away, moving around in front of the desk, placing herself deliberately between you and Nikolai. Her arms are by her sides and she looks to all the world like a statue.
Why are you getting so angry? Flynnvas asks with a kind of curiosity than anything else.
He pulls a chair out from the table and helps himself to a seat.
Let's just all calm down. Clearly there's something going on and if we are going to become your people you can't expect us to ignore it. Listen, I can quite literally fly away from this place. I'd rather not, and I think we can help eachother. But a man is dead after all and you don't seem to cut up about it.
Say, where's Radek in all this?
Lives, as usual, stays to the back, near the wall, carefully observing the heated conversation.
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Forcing the anger from her voice Lilith responds in a calming monotone with no hint that she is going to advance.
Nikolai, you are wounded. That is obvious. You should let us look at the wound. Is it a bite? And there is blood there on the floor and on Whisper's cot there. She points. You all know we can help. We do not wish to harm this community but to strengthen it. It is not too late to bring us into your planning and let us help you. If you do not do this then I fear your community is lost. You have already resorted to actions and means that you are ashamed of. She holds up the burned edge of the ledger. For what reason are you keeping notes in Necril? She passes the note to Euron to see.
Crossing his arms Azmerai looks from one of the gathered to the neck, strong cords of muscle bulging, saying nothing but his threat is obvious if subtle.
Flynnvas looks from Lillith to Lenneth to Nicolas and sits back in his chair, awaiting the response
Euron looks on as Nikolai is in clear pain then continues to stare as Whisper puts herself in front of him protecting him. "People don't like to be lied to as Lenneth said, if you are keeping secrets for the people Solace you will only end up making a divide between you and the people you govern." He pauses for a moment, with his past throw out for everyone to see can he really talk of what the future can hold.
"After everything that has happened, that fact this place exist is amazing. But you can't build something new on a bed of lies, something will give the cracks will begin to show. Please let us help, tell us what is going on here."
Nikolai remains silent, clutching his arm with a red face. Whisper looks at Lilith, gnashes her teeth and shakes her head, pointing at Nikolai and then putting her hand over her heart and shaking it. As Lilith mentions Necril and bloodstains around her cot, Whisper's eyes squint in the dim light and glance around her sleeping area, before her brow furroughs. She shrugs and places her hand on the sheathed dagger at her belt.
You hear boots scrape the floor behind you and Radek enters the room, sizing up the situation.
I have heard some of your debate, as has half the keep.
he shuts the door then walks over to stand near Whisper. Meeting each of your gazes, lingering slightly on Euron, he then intones
Nikolai is right, and as some of you have suggested, we've all done things we never thought we'd have to do to get to this point. To stay alive.
His eyes are fierce
Have any of you had military command before? Been governors of a civilian population? I'll bet none of you has had leadership experience, understood what it takes to lead a community. Your group has made it this far because you rely on each other, you each have different strengths that you all use to benefit the group and take turns to lead. That way of doing things is fine for a small unit, but simply does not translate to larger scale organisations.
he sighs and shakes his head
You have a point about transparency, I'm sure the people around us now would frown and chew their lips and dislike being misled. But then they would worry, that worry would spread, soon you would find a fall off in work ethic, people would start to talk about breaking off from here and finding somewhere else. The community would break up and disintegrate without enough people to support it. And then the individual groups would die out in the cold. They are simply incapable of seeing this is their best chance. Have you any idea how many lies a government tells its loyal populace each and every day?
he waits a moment for his words to wash over you, then continues
Now let's put issues of governane aside for the moment, what is this about a note in Necril and bloodstains?
he walks over to Whisper's cot and frowns, then reaches down between the wooden frame and the mat and plucks something out of hiding with a look of puzzlement on his face.
As he brings it in to the light you see it's a nice-looking dagger with a black snakeskin hilt, still covered in blood...
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Lilith is not surprised as the blade is produced. I believe it must be Finas' missing dagger. Too obvious of a place for Whisper to have left it there. Someone with access to this room likely desired to implicate Whisper. She looks at Whisper as she says this. Whisper, you all need our help here. Won't you let us help you? Nikolai, you have not answered my question. Lenneth and I are both trained in Healing. Might we have a look at that wound? She takes a tentative step forward.
Flynn has nothing to add to the women's words but casually rests his hand on his sword hilt nonetheless.
Whisper looks curiously at the dagger, and looks at Lilith as she comments at its rather conspicuous hiding place, and nods at the elven wizard firmly.
Radek shakes his head though
I don't know what to think here, Whisper you're a damn secretive one, and I wouldn't put it past you to plant something obvious here, exactly because it IS too obvious...
Whisper glares at Radek, then moving slowly she backs up and away from you all, before drawing her own knife from its sheath. A twin blade coalesces like smoke from the air, forming a duplicate knife in her other hand. She draws the blade in a shallow line on her forearm and holds the knife up to show the blood on it, then drops the blade on the floor where it clatters on the stone. A heartbeat later the blade seems to melt in to the air, leaving no trace of itself or Whisper's blood.
Radek raises an eyebrow and Whisper shrugs at him.
Nikolai takes in a great heave of breath and rejoins the conversation in short bursts of labored speech
It doesn't matter...someone is working against us...if we don't...find out who then...all we have built will...be for nothing...
he gestures weakly at everyone in the room
We can help...each other...if we trust...each other...
he rests then, and as Lilith makes mention of healing he actually smiles
You are welcome...to attend me if...you desire to help...though if you have...a cure for old...age then you may truly be...the miracle workers we...have been waiting for...
As you examine him he takes the time to reply to Lilith's question
Why pretend we are still...blessed by Abadar?..These folk have followed gods their whole lives...to have them told those gods have turned away from them... our little bit of theatre is to shepherd...that most rare of things in this new era...hope...
he breaks in to a fit of coughing
...As Radek said...sometimes you cannot trust people...to make the right decision for themselves...Perhaps some would recover...from having their spirits crushed...flourish on their own...but not most...and we try hard to make the right decisions...for the good of the majority here...
Radek scoffs and glances towards the closed door
What are we going to do then? Lilith, you mentioned paper written in Necril?
"Alas, worst is not pleague, but still people support undead. Horrible!"
"It wouldn't be Whisper and she has my backing whatever sway that holds now. I agree someone must have planted this but who else has access to the council chambers?" He thinks for a moment.
"While it may be true our link to the divine was weakened not everyone was lost. The god have not abandoned us, they still hold faith in us as we should in them." He echos Lenneth's words.
Euron takes the note and begins to read what is left of its burt remains. "The page shows a report... a report of the defence of Solace, its weaknesses. It also contains mine and.. polo's name." He stops for a moment as he reads the last words. "The last worlds read 'help spy'"
--
Letting the contensts of the note hand in the air for everyone to think about Euron steps beside Lenneth and take a knee as he looks over the old man.
"I'm afraid you're right, age is the problem here. You need to rest, you can't push yourself like you have been or you won't be long for this world."
He then continues to check him over making sure there is nothing else wrong spotting the slight bluish tinge to Nikolai's fingernails, and a slight yellowing of his eyes Euron stands. "There is something more here... Poison. Separately your symptoms could mean anything but all together i think someone is poisoning you, who bring you your food? That is the person we have to speak to, couple this with the note and we have some big problems."
Flynn decides not to react to the obvious implication that 'Euron... Help spy' is cause for concern. The others have clearly shown their support for him. So no, he decides to play that particular issue as a patient eagle, slowly circling it, before closing in for the kill. Instead, he brings up the other important issue.
Where did these notes come from. Finas death and these are clearly nota coincidence so it begs the question that if someone is here spying, who are they spying for?
Is there any way to tell what he was poisoned with? That might shed some light on the matter
Nikolai coughs as Lenneth asks after the council's lives before the Red Harvest, his voice sounds a little stronger now the redness has gone from his cheeks and he seems calmer
It would take a long time to share such...experiences of our lives...but in time that would...be agreeable.
he looks at Euron, then at each of you in turn, and seems to collapse in on himself a little
I don't have the trust you do of your friend Euron, but I believe you are good folk so I have to trust your own judgements of him. We can't hold this place together by ourselves, not if there are others working to undo it. There are scarce thirty people here, I can't believe anyone would wish the community harm. But the evidence outweighs my desires it seems.
he sits up a little straighter and responds to Lenneth's question
To summarise...Radek here was a paladin in service to Ragathiel, I was a clerk...working for a merchant house in Magnimar...caught away from home on business when...the Harvest came.
a flicker of sadness passes across his face, he quickly covers by pointing at Whisper
Whisper here...she hasn't told us her real name but we had to call her something...she can't or won't tell us herself...refuses to write too...
Whisper glares at Nikolai for a moment, he smiles slightly and continues
...she has skill as a warrior and a scout, she has proven invaluable to us...saved lives whilst risking her own...I trust you...
he nods at the halfling woman. She seems to have relaxed a little now it seems no-one has batted an eyelid to the discovery of Finas' blade in her cot.
Radek laughs coarsely at Azmerai's black humour as he talks of 'the worst'
Indeed, you have to wonder at those who would throw their lot in with the dead, those foul cultists, it amazes me how such short-sighted folk fail to see the long-term result of such an alliance, a dark land scoured clean of the living...
As Euron states his own trust of Whisper, she looks on and nods at him. Radek thinks for a moment
Well we each have a key and the door is supposed to be kept locked when we're not in here, stop the children messing with the books, but there's been more than one occasion where it's been left unlocked I'm afraid. This must have been recent though. Nikolai, did you lock the door during the...commotion earlier?
Nikolai glances at Euron again and grimaces
No, the door was shut but not locked when I came back in from the courtyard...
Radek nods
There you have it then, we were all out front, ample time for someone to slip in, either then or maybe even before.
As Euron continues and reads out the contents of the note, Nikolai frowns at the Oracle and opens his mouth to say something, only for Whisper to catch his eye and wag her finger. His mouth shuts and he glances at Radek. The ex-paladin shrugs
We either trust them or we don't, words on a bit of paper that could have been written by anyone, that's all that is...
as Flynn asks about who the spy might be spying for, Radek chews his lip
Well it's either bandits or the cult, and the bandits are hardly subtle or patient enough to infiltrate a community. Especially with such misdirection being employed. One of the survivors came through here, he told me about some of the army barracks in Riddleport, the cultists had converts there. Waited till they holed up, some of the populace with them, made them felt secure, then one night ripped through the place killing as many as they could in their sleep, letting in more of their own. Poor lot didn't stand a chance, them or the civilians they were trying to protect...
he shakes his head sadly.
We've had herds of the damned things pass by us, we see cultists following them sometimes...Violet has always helped hide us from them though, apart from that one time they just kept coming...
his gaze meets Nikolai's, and there is an almost-imperceptible shake of the head. There is a *thunk* as Whisper notices the exchange and stamps her foot.
Radek continues
We should say something Nikolai...
the old man shakes his head and retorts
Allies they may be, but must we reveal everything in one fell swoop? Perhaps we can deal with this first before announcing out most valued secrets to all and sundry!? he starts to flush again and his breath becomes ragged
Radek holds up a hand placatingly and turns back to you
We have more to share with you about how this place protects us, but that can wait for now, we will speak of it later though
Nikolai finishes a bout of coughing, then nods his head, giving in to the pressure of his fellow council members.
After the last coughing fit, as Euron and Lilith note Nikolai's symptoms seem more like poison, his eyes grow wide and he sputters
I don't understand! I eat and drink the same as Whisper and Radek do! Violet conjures the food, everyone eats the communal food, we all drink from the well...
for the first time, Nikolai looks almost frightened
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At the decision to continue to keep secrets from them Lilith looks somewhat bewildered, but does not waste her breath in argument.
Lilith looks to Lenneth and concludes Dogspaw? checking he thoughts with the witch.
From now on you need to prepare your own food, or take directly from the point it was conjured. I do not think the poison could go unnoticed in water so drink only that. There is no doubt in my mind that someone here wants you infirm if not dead. Let us all work to disappoint them. I'd like to question everyone. There are those among us that are quite good at telling when someone is lying, and the act of questioning might make the person or persons behind all this act rashly.
Flynn looks at Lives and then back around the room.
Lillith, Lives and I don't know any of these people or this place. What can we do? If nothing else I'm happy to scout the area for signs of camps. This cult has to sleep somewhere nearby. he shrugs
Lives meets Flynn's eyes and nods, turning back to Lilith with a light questioning expression.