Majenko swoops down from under the cornice of the hospice. He flares his wings and one clawed hind foot touches Heather's shoulder, when suddenly he is flapping hard. A wing smack Heather in the head.
Stink! You stink! The pseudodragon perches on a nearby hitching post and begins scraping the foot on it.
"So I'm the man with the mask. We go in first to see Davaulus for a "guard" chat. With the ledger? Then he blusters and chews the fat, spits it out. If that falls apart on the way out I slip on the mask and we head inside deeper on our own? I'm trying to keep this simple."
Blame Kenan for the stink..it was his idea..I told him it was a wild goose chase but would he listen..pah..typical man"
Heather scrapes her boots on a handy doorstep..hoping to reduce the smell of effluvia.
"Well my friend Kenan, if you need an excuse to enter in your mask and avoid questions ..."
Disguise:
"... a few red spots and blotches may do the trick, may they not? Oh! The fever and the pain!"
Bluff:
Kenan steps back from Emerion's and his childishness, "no thanks. Enough of your school boy pranks."
"I go in first to question Davaulus with Istas and Jeorik, masks and theatrics are for later."
Kenan starts towards the warehouse.
"We might do better if we took an hour to go home and change our clothes."
"One hour, I shall go and change too."
If so:
The Maidens look on impassively. One of them says, "I hope the Emperor doesn't turn them on us." Another replies, "They're sending reinforcements soon."
May as well ...
Diplomacy:
Emerion:
At the bridge
Emerion stares at the far shore in horror before turning away in agony. One task must be dealt with at a time, it seems. Emerion gets cleaned up and returns to join the others.
Heather returns home quickly changes into a more ladylike set of apparel throws her boots in the trash.
"Never get the smell out she mutters as the rest of her mornings attire follows it."
She knows that the items will be gone withing the hour as the poor always scavenge here
Along with a much happier Majenko she makes her way back to the warehouse cum Hospice.
Halstam greets you all as you return. "Nothing untoward has happened, but I didn't plan on rerouting the patrols past noon. You'd best hurry."
"Right" Heather says fixing Emerion with a look that he knows only too well "This time we'll try it my way. Just be prepared to back me up"
She strides towards the door going into full on noble lady mode.
"Naturally, my dear," Emerion links his arm with hers and adopts an arrogant swagger at her side, mentally adjusting to a role he seldom plays - but can!
A cleaned up Jeorik follows close behind Heather.
Heather pushes open the door enters the foyer and flips back the hood of her cloak her voice rising in a show of indignation..
"I wish to speak to someone in authority" she declaims
Bluff
"I wish to speak to someone in authority"
"That is, now, not in a a week's time," Emerion adds acidly.
Bluff (Aid Another):
The nurse behind the desk is built like a draft horse. She wears three scarves draped over her nose and mouth and the same gauntlet-like leather gloves as the Queen's Physicians.
"Name? You've got to sign in and we'll have a doctor take a look at you. "
Heather draws herself up to her full height( sometimes being an overly tall woman does help) and looks down her nose at the nurse..
"My good woman I am not Ill I was informed that my maidservant had been taken to this ...establishment and merely wish to enquire as to when she will be returning to my service.Now be so good as to summon someone in authority and who can answer those questions"
"Indeed, it seems good staff are hard to find," I muse aloud in a way that is ambiguous as to whether I refer to the maid or the woman in front of us.
Jeorik stands behind the other two for the moment, allowing them to do the talking as he takes stock of any potential combatants in the area.
A couple chairs and the nurse's desk are all the furniture in this small (10x15) room. A heavy maroon curtain in the far wall covers what must be the doorway into the building's interior.
The nurse stands straight too. She may not be as tall as Heather, but she must outweigh the sorceress by two or three stone. The speed with which she rises suggests that the extra weight is not baby fat.
"I'll need her name, madam."
"Name?..." Heather does a good act as a woman who never thinks of the 'little people' as having names "oh yes..her name is Marika" she finishes giving the most common Varisian female name she can think off
"Marika, who?" Heather is obliged to make up a last name also. Once done she begins searching through a large leatherbound ledger on the desk. "When did she come in? ... Do you know the Physician's name? ... I can't seem to find her. Are you sure she came here?"
Intimidate
Heather draws herself up even taller and unleashes a fusillade of demands and insults typical of the self-important aristocrat. The nurse withers under the attack and there is resentment in her eyes when she agrees to let you into the sickroom to look for your maid. "You can talk Dr. Tosko. He's in charge on the floor."
Beyond the curtain is a large room with many rows of dozens of beds filled with patients. The warehouse’s vast interior has been converted into one gigantic convalescent’s ward, the stench of alcohol, sickness, and waste choking each breath. Tight rows of low, stained cots cram the stone-floored hall. Every bed is filled with a pitiful story—men and women of all walks groaning and wheezing as they’re consumed by Blood Veil, their sufferings multiplied by the echoing chamber.
More than 60 cots fill the area, each holding a helpless citizen—most of whom are too weak to even rise from their stinking sick beds. While most of the room is filled with beds and the dying, across the room the northeast corner holds an improvised kitchen with two tables, some chairs and a row of cabinets.
The ceiling of this room is nearly 30 feet high, though catwalks above rim the room at 20 feet.
Four Queen’s Physicians mill about the cots, cooing at their victims in unsympathetic voices and doling out watery gruel. Their avian masks giving them an unnerving resemblance to crows waiting to feed.
Two Gray Maidens patrol the catwalks above, while another two stand guard at the curtained entrances to a room in the northwest corner and at a door in the kitchen.
Almost as one the doctors turn to look at you. One of them puts down his bowl, stands and glides toward you, his footsteps covered by the coughing and wheezing of the patients.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
The Maiden by the curtained room begins striding toward you to support the doctor. The two on the catwalk drop their bows off their shoulders.
Perception DC 15:
"By all the gods - can you not even keep these poor wretches clean?" Emerion gasps in horror, utterly appalled by the lack of care the sick are receiving.
Perception:
Emerion makes a slight gesture upwards, meant to be unseen by the doctors but to alert his comrades as to the presence above.
Bluff:
Heather looks aghast at the scene but tries to maintain her cover despite her shock.She wraps a scarf over her nose and mouth as the Physician questions her.
"I am the Lady Iolanthe Vankaskerkin..I was told my maid might be in this place.The woman out in front told me to speak to Doctor Tosko"
Bluff
Istas steps forward at Heather's words, still processing the scene of sickness before her.
"I'm a healer from the church of Pharasma," she adds, "I'd like to look in on this maid and determine if my Lady can make her well again."
Though Istas obviously understands the ruse Emerion and Heather are carrying out, it seems she'd like an opportunity to examine the patients under the care of the Queen's Physicians more closely. It should also afford her a better view of the Gray Maidens and anyone else in the chamber.
"I am Tosko, Lady Vankaskerkin," the physician replies and executes a short, stiff bow. His voice is somewhat muffled by the long-nosed mask; his expression is completely hidden. He twirls his knob-headed cane idly before continuing. "You should not be in the ward. The patients are contagious. Nurse Torthus should not have let you in. You may be exposing yourself to the disease. Please wait in the antechamber, I will speak with you there."
He steps forward while motioning for you to precede him back to the antechamber. As he does so, he turns to Istas. "We appreciate the aid of all the gods in this crisis. If the young lady's maid is here, you may certainly examine her."
"We appreciate the aid of all the gods in this crisis. If the young lady's maid is here, you may certainly examine her."
"I would look upon the worst of your patients then," Istas says, "For if the maid was brought here, she would have surely had several days to worsen. Fear not for my safety...or Lady Vankaskerkin and this gentleman here. The Lady of Graves shall shield us from any malady present here, including bloodveil."
As long as she's allowed to do so, Istas will wander among the worse of the patients...her heart moved by their condition. She searches for someone she feels drawn to...either by their plight or her own conscience as guided by her goddess.
Heather picks up Istas'cue.."I have faith thatthe Priestess can protect us against the ravages of the disease..she has been quite effective up till now"
She describes Marika..who frankly could be any Varisian woman in her late teens to mid 20's
"Perhaps it would be possible to speak to the ...Director..or whoever runs this establishment.I am not without means and anything I could do to relieve the suffering of these poor unfortunates I would gladly do"
Bluff
So is the good Doctor all he seems to be she asks Majenko with her mind
"Indeed, it is clear that you and your staff are in need of additional resources. I believe that we may be able to assist in making these available."
Bluff (aid another):
Emerion also studies the doctor, trying to read his tone and body language.
Sense Motive:
Tosko and his Maiden begin gently herding the party back toward the vestibule, "I see Lady Vankaskerkin.... We have several young ladies who fit that description. ... If you will wait in the antechamber, I will ask Dr. Davaulus if he will speak to you." Replying to Emerion, "Even with Her Majesty's generous aid the grand scope of the epidemic threatens to overwhelm the healing resources of the city. We would gratefully accept any assistance you might provide."
Istas manages to drift sideways. Most of the patients are older and even in their uniform gowns look somewhat disreputable. Halfway down the next row of beds, the Pharasman sees a small patient, a young girl with pigtails.
The second Grey Maiden on ward floor steps forward to usher the cleric back to the others. Her mail clinks as she moves into the center of the room. Behind her a thin, long-haired filthy figure of an elf stands unsteadily and lurches toward a door on the far side of the room.
"Even with Her Majesty's generous aid the grand scope of the epidemic threatens to overwhelm the healing resources of the city. We would gratefully accept any assistance you might provide."
"Capitol! I am sure that among those that have survived the plague are many who can assist you as nurses here. They may not be able to heal the sick, but they can assist in making them more comfortable and ensuring they are fed under your supervision, can they not? With the curfew many will welcome gainful employment."
... and if you are killing these poor folk, it'll be a lot harder to do it with twice as many 'nurses' here as doctors. Let's see you back out of that one ...
Istas manages to drift sideways. Most of the patients are older and even in their uniform gowns look somewhat disreputable. Halfway down the next row of beds, the Pharasman sees a small patient, a young girl with pigtails.
The second Grey Maiden on ward floor steps forward to usher the cleric back to the others. Her mail clinks as she moves into the center of the room. Behind her a thin, long-haired filthy figure of an elf stands unsteadily and lurches toward a door on the far side of the room.
Istas intentionally steps around the cots, putting them between her and the approaching Gray Maiden, while making it look like she's simply taking a more circuitous route in her examination of the patients. Upon seeing the young girl, she pauses and kneels down for a moment.
"What is your name, child? And where are your parents?"
Heather allows herself to be 'guided' waiting for Majenko to tell her what the doctors thoughts are.
The guard on the catwalk above you shouts out a warning to the second Maiden on the floor. She wheels toward the elf, drawing her sword as she turns.
The girl shies away from Istas as another physician approaches behind the cleric.
Heather:
[i] Why did I give you a flying lie detector.[/ooc]
DM
Cavern..really..and tell Istas the rest off what you picked up she might get a better reading on him that way once she decides to use her magic
Istas :
DM:
The pseudodragon's familiar mindvoice says, "Heather wants me to tell you. He wants to get rid of us. He's worried what Davaulus will think. He'd like to see us all infected with Bloodveil. Wait, something about a cavern below!"
"So noted," Istas mentally thinks back at the pseudo-dragon, "Tell Heather to request an audience with Davaulus. If not today, then tomorrow...when we'll have the others with us. In the meantime, I intend to rescue this one and get her out of this disease-ridden sanctum."
Noting the disquieting fear in the child's eyes, Istas leans in close and whispers. "Don't be afraid. I can help you if you want. Take you from this place. And make you well. But you must choose now. Quickly!"
Jeorik speaks up finally, saying increduously to the doctor, stepping forward as he does so, "Do your nurses always draw swords on patients? This seems an unusual form of care."
Emerion takes several swift strides over to the elf to lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, friend, you're in no shape to be out of bed," Emerion declares. He glances at the grey maiden.
"Lass, if you're drawing your sword to fend off a man that might give you the plague, you're too close to him already. If you're drawing a sword without fear of the plague on a sick man you could knock over with a sneeze, shame on you."
"Emerion?" the elf mumbles, trying to keep his balance.
"Keliwyn?" Emerion whispers, hiding his shock, moving to support the man and guide him to his bed.
"Istas, I fear this man may be in greater need of your blessings, he is near death's door," he calls.
Heather turns to see Emerion guiding the elf back to the cot..for a moment she does not recognise him then her jaw drops as she realises it is her erstwhile lover.
"Kel?" she whispers before she rounds on the man in the mask beside her eyes sparking with electrical fury.."Whether you have my maid or not we will be removing that man from this...place" She spits the words out her anger evident.