Voren looks around nervously as they enter into the Worldwound. He's constantly muttering, "Th-This is it... The W-Worldwound... We're in the Worldwound... Screaming... the screaming... the running... the panic... the chaos... the demons..." Ayne is on his shoulder, waving her pincers and patting his shoulder, as if to try and calm him down.
When the army gets hit by heavy winds, Voren shouts, "Guys! Stay on your toes! Some of these storms could be supernatural! There could be rifts into the Abyss opening or strange perceptation coming down on us, like frozen eyeballs or shards of crystallized locusts!"
When the army is camped at the Ahari river gorge, Voren is taking care to heal the soldiers and looking over maps. Looking at the terrain of the riverbed, Voren says, "This terrain looks difficult. We're only going to be able to cover about 18 miles a day."
Arthas glares at a spot on a rocky outcropping.
”I just spotted Nurah duck around a that spot there on the rock outcropping, he cast a spell and dissapeared from view. He was supposed to be seeking survivors.”
”Let’s search his tent and possessions. Sense for auras. I want to know if he is tainted. I will not tolerate traitors in my host.”
Voren looks at Arthas as he reports on Nurah's actions. "That's really odd. Do you really think she might be a traitor, Arthas?"
"We may as well be safe," Jokum growls. He's seemed on edge, unhappy, ever since entering the Worldwound. And yet I've felt no stirrings of demons inside of me...I guess that Irabeth was right about me. What I might be, though...I don't know.
Glancing at Voren and Arthas, he adds, "I'm happy to be the Wicked Constable to Arthas's Good General if we need to shake Nurah down for information or extract a confession. Just tell us how you want to proceed, Arthas."
Voren wrings his hands a bit and bites his lip a bit. "I don't think I could intimidate the information from her. That's really not in my nature. Also, I'm not the most imposing looking tiefling."
Back at the encampment, before setting out...
Going to the command laager, you find Lady Nurah's small tent, bedroll and pack. She is not present.
Searching through it you find clothing, cold weather clothing, personal basics, several books and scrolls and a weeks worth of ration packs.
Seeing the stuff from Nurah's tent, Voren quickly casts detect magic to look for magical auras. He does see magic around the scrolls. "The scrolls are magical. There's nothing else, though." He then casts read magic and looks at the scrolls to identify the spells on them.
"Thank you Jokum. I know that you shall remain ever steadfast."
"And no need to worry Voren, Jokum has intimidating presence to spare."
"Let's check her tent . . . "
"No aura either, but these traitors of late have been able to fool the greatest Paladins of the realm. What would she be up to? These demons have known our each move and something disturbed me before the battle and I could not root it out. This troubles me."
"What spells do these scrolls hold Voren?"
Scroll of charm person,
Scroll of cure moderate wounds,
Scroll of dimension door,
Scroll of hypnotism,
Scroll of sending,
Scroll of sleep.
Then, as Voren is reading through the scrolls, Nurah is suddenly there amongst you.
"WHAT in the NAME of the GODS are you IDIOTS DOING!
"WHY are you GRUBBING through MY STUFF!" She screamed wrathfully at you all.
Danua looks between Arthas and Nurah and awaits commands. She didn't like this random search anymore then anyone else but it had to be done. "Nurah remain calm..." she reaches out to set a hand gently on the halfings shoulder. Hoping she'd calm down a little bit...
Voren looks over the scrolls. "Let's see... charm person, cure moderate wounds, dimension door, hypnotism, sending, and sleep. Quite the assortment of spells." His musing are interrupted by Nurah's wrath. Caught off guard, he drops the scrolls and flinches, turning to her and wringing his tail in nervousness. "N-Nurah! W-Well... it's... um... oh dear..." He looks at Danua as she tries to deescalate the situation. He clears his throat. "That's right, Nurah. We can explain."
He tries to weave some of his mythic power into his diplomacy.
Arthas turns to face Nurah. His voice is even, but commanding. His eyes open and fixed on the handling.
”I saw you Nurah. I saw you duck behind the outcropping and the spell you cast. You were supposed to be seeking out survivors. Explain yourself to me Nurah. Why did you do this?”
Having not seen what Arthas had and knowing the need for the success of their mission Danua looks between Nurah and Arthas. Though she keeps a hand gently on Nurah's shoulder, not in any way to restrain her but at least to let her know she is still among friends.
Jokum just watches as Nurah and Arthas confront each other, arms folded.
Voren continues to nervously wring his tail as he looks between Arthas and Nurah.
"All fair questions. Asked nicely. Care to answer them, Nurah? We are waiting. It looks like you are keeping secrets from us... and that won't do, obviously..." Karthak considers as he joins the others...
.
After a pause which felt like half a year, Arthas breaks the uncomfortable silence once more.
”It does not take many words to speak the truth. A lie takes time and must be constructed. No one teleports about their own camp. Speak now and speak the truth Norah.”
"Don't try to play us for fools, missy! We know you were up to no good! Now confess and save your immortal soul!"
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Nurah approaches Danua, as if trying to cover herself.
"What is wrong with you? Why are you screaming at me, and checking my stuff? I have been with the crusade for a very long time, serving queen Galfrey for years, and you think I am a spy? Will you put me on trial? Torture me? Or just kill me because you are suspicious? We are in the Worldwound, and more than one expedition has been destroyed not by the demons but from the inside. Because of the distrust of allies. Because of fear. Because of our weaknesses."
She looks away, as if ashamed.
"And weaknesses we have in our midst. You don't trust me. And I..."
She looks at you.
"I don't want to accuse anyone without evidence. And I do not have it, yet. I can tell you my suspicions. But you have to swear you won't act brashly, as you did with me."
She looks at all of you, defiantly.
”That was a politicians answer. You said nothing of substance. What were you doing exactly by teleporting and are you acting against this army in any way!”
Arthas growls at the halflings non answer.
Voren stops wringing his tail and looks at Arthas. "Easy, Arthas. No good can come from trying to force it out of her." He looks back at Nurah. "We're just trying to get to the bottom of this. We're in the Worldwound and we need to stick together. And if you're going around teleporting away from camp and dodging questions, then it will have us concerned. So, just tell us the truth. The whole truth."
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Nurah peeks from behind Danua.
"Or what? Torture? Execution? I can tell you what I know, but you will go around stomping around again! But ok, there you have it, and it is on your heads what you do. I had access to sensitive information while aiding Queen Galfrey. And I know Sir Aron has a weakness. A weakness that can be, and will be exploited by the demons of the WorldWound. He had an addiction. There you have it! Now go and confront him, and see for yourself, and I hope you banish him or kill him!"
Voren is taken aback. He turns to Arthas. "Do you think this is true? If he has an addiction, then we might need to help him. If he's sick, then we need to cure him."
Damn it Agatsu, it seems you have somehow convinced me again to go off to some cursed place and follow you on some fools adventure for too little loot and too many problems. How do you manage to do that to me EVERY time? Ravena says as she walks into the tent with a catlike sashay her tail twitching in the air.
Agatsu was a heavily built and scarred half-orc. The tattoo of a monarch could be seen covering most of his torso - not using any armor at all, with clearly worn out traveler's clothes, the Desnan monk was a figure that easily caught the eyes.
While intimidating on his build, his voice tone was calm and peaceful. He was one of those easy to trust people, with a captivating smile and the appearance of an old father that would protect you. When the catfolk spoke, he gestured back to Ravena.
You know very well you can't resist the opportunities, no matter the odds, right? - he replied. Ravena had been walking with him as a friend for quite some time now, and he was grateful she'd still want to follow him and "be a Dreamer" herself (on his words).
He turned to the people which were on the tent, and gave them an openly sincere smile.
Greetings, my gents. We bring with us a letter of introduction - but, much more than that, a true will of helping. Desna shall bless your nights.
Voren is surprised when Ravena and Agatsu walk into the tent. He looks over the new arrivals. When Agatsu says that they have a letter of introduction, Voren says, "Oh... um... Well, my name is Voren. Could we see the letter of introduction?"
Ravena reaches around tapping her hands and then the scroll suddenly drops into her paw and she smirks at Agatsu and shrugs handing the scroll to Voren.
Queen says hey, these guys are great, you need these guys to save your bacon
Voren nods at the newcomer and takes the letter. He looks it over before passing it to Arthas. ”Thoughts, Arthas?”
As Voren passes the letter to Arthas, Agatsu approaches and extends his hand.
My name is Agatsu Hulla, monk of the Council of Dreamers. This is my friend, Ravena.
"An addiction to what exactly? And how can we confirm your story? Let's make this clear: unless you can prove your sincerity you will be considered a potential threat to this expedition and as such you will be shipped back to the queen. I want people I can trust near me... and you strike me as the untrustworthy kind..." Karthak states in his typical gruff and angry tone.
When he notices the newcomers and reads the letter along with the others Karthak seems puzzled by their arrival:"Oh? New faces? Sent by the queen you say? My name is Karthak, an humble servant of Torag. Unfortunately we can't waste time exchanging pleasantries. As you can see we are in the middle of an interrogation here..." the uncouth dwarf states, pointing his finger at Nurah...
”Words flow from your mouth freely when you aren’t answering my questions Nurah. I am taking that as a sign that you can’t give me the truth, because my suspicions are right.”
”Duana, seize her.”
”Inquisitor Karthak, Nurah is to be taken into custody at once. She will have to be questioned in a more formal setting.”
The paladin said with great regret and a heavy heart.
Voren nods at the newcomers. ”A pleasure to meet you both. I’m sorry about the current circumstances.”
He watches as the situation with Nurah continues to escalate. He turns to Arthas. ”Commander, not that I’m sticking up for Nurah, but if there’s any validity in her words about Aron having an addiction, I request a chance to look him over and aid him, if need be.” Turning to Nurah, he says, ”We are not going to kill you. We are just trying to get to the bottom of this.”
actually Voren, there is really no reason to send her back to the queen. I am authorized to be an executioner for her majesty as well as an operator of other special operations. I would be happy to kill a traitor for her Majesty right this moment.
Agatsu was a little confused, feeling as if he was trying to board a boat in full movement - he especially didn't understand what Ravena meant, and was a lot more inclined to be as reasonable as Voren was sounding. He stepped back for moments, looking around and trying to understand the situation. When Nurah tried to dash out of the tent, however, he instinctively moved his considerable body in front of the door to prevent the passage. The monk opened palm and spoke in a calm, yet firm tone.
Calm down. You won't be executed immediately, unless we hear clear proofs of a treason. The inquisitor shall question you and determine the right steps, as the commander said. - he paused for a moment, looking imposing - However, I do agree with also investigating her accusations towards the addicted. No reason not to do both things at the same time.
Voren sees Nurah begin to run out when Agastu blocks her path. He prepares his mythic slumber hex if she tries to flee, through magical or mundane use.
"We don't want to kill her. Yet. We want her brought back to Nerosyan as quickly as possible. In chains. She stands accused of treason and has to face trial, but we don't want her here where she can spy on us. So restrain her and have a few of your men escort her back to the capital. And keep an eye on her. She's a trickster..." Karthak tells the paladin.
Arthas dismisses the paladin guard before continuing.
”I am not sure we can let her go. She will just escape and we need to know who she was teleporting to. Nurah is working with the enemy. Though I am sure Aron has an addiction as she says, Nurah can’t even state she isn’t working against us.”
”There May be a path for redemption for her, but it lies in the truth.”
”If she needs to be executed I can do it myself. Radiance wont allow me to smite an innocent.”
Arthas bares the holy sword and bids it to release its holy brilliance.
”Nurah. It is time to speak the truth of where you are teleporting and what is the name of the demon you call your master!”
Voren feels the tension as he holds a breath, looking around nervously as he waits to see how the situation turns out.