Ingrid blinked, the water abruptly stopping from her now wet hand. She stared at Ingrid, completely unsure of what to say. "Sister?" She said, to nobody in particular. She wondered if Asmodeus was laughing at her. Then, snapping back to reality, she said, hurriedly "Oh! Look, Brogol is already leaving. We need to catch up. Can't let him go into the Gramel abode alone, aye?" As much as she did not want to admit it, this was the first time that anyone had acted in any way happy to be related to her. And while Eris was as crazy as a Grotean Oracle, it still counted. And that made her feel all kinds of uncomfortable.
Bo Gramel eyes Brogol suspiciously as he suddenly turns 'nice'. She eyes the gold like it's a viper for a solid few seconds before reaching out and taking it. "Apology accepted. Now shoo. If I see anythin' going on with the gate, I'll let you people know and it'll be your problem then." She doesn't look happy accepting the coin. Brogol gets the sense that she doesn't trust any gifts coming from you, despite the size and value. Additionally, he can probably tell that she isn't planning on being too forthcoming in the future if something comes up. But at the very least she's not snapping at your heels as you leave.
Eris lowers the bar on the Castle Gate to secure it closed and you start making your way to the Archbaron's manor - Scarlet Crown. Since the manor lies outside town to the southeast, your path takes you through the town's streets. Brogol is able to stop at a haberdashery on the way over.
---
The atmosphere in the town is tense. The few people you see in the streets this late in the afternoon don't meet your gazes when they spot you walking along. People you may have drank next to or eaten a meal together with now don't even acknowledge you with a greeting and instead give you a wide berth in the street. Though it's only been a few days, it seems everyone now knows who's been working at the Archbaron's side.
Those of you with sharp eyes notice something else beyond the reticence of people to interact with your group. Here and there, clusters of people talking, heads close together. When they spot you, the conversations halt, their participants unwilling to be overheard by the Archbaron's lackeys. None speak in large enough groups to be defying the Archbaron's notice, nor do you overhear anything incriminating, but the discussions are widespread enough that they attract notice.
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As the group works their way through the town, Eris occasionally stops when she sees groups of people talking, then falling silent.
"I like secrets, too!" she whispers, then giggles.
As they walk toward the Scarlet Crown, she says "Does anyone get the sense this place is like a pot that is almost boiling, but not quite? Sister, what do you think? Now that we're sisters, I'm going to value your opinion more than anyone else's."
Brogol glares at any folks that move out of the way, and glares at those that pause in conversation. And glares at anyone else. Grabbing a new wide-brimmed hat from the haberdasher, the driver tosses his old hat onto the dusty street and keeps glaring, all the way to the Archbaron's.
It took Ingrid a moment to decide on how to respond. At length she said "I suppose only the fortunate get to choose their family." Given that the world saw both of them as being fundamentally damaged, she came to the conclusion that they made a good pair.
The path up to the Archbaron's manor winds to a wrought iron gate manned by a pair of grim guards. They nod to you as you approach and swing the gates open. A pair of rampant iron stags loom over the entrance, red glass at the tips of their horns glistening. You continue along up through the grounds, passing groups of guards and are met by a butler once in the front door.
Once you've been some healing in order to look more 'presentable', you're ushered in to a side study on the ground floor. Towering display cases line the walls, each one filled with all manner of insects pinned against felt boards. Archbaron Darellus Fex turns as you enter, his pinched face offering what might be a perfunctory smile, or what could as easily be a mild sneer. The bloated form of Razelago hovers in the corner of the room, fly-wings buzzing slightly with discomfort at the surroundings.
Without preamble the Archbaron says "Razelago has kept me informed as to your activities today. The werecreature in our midst has been appropriately put to death, though..." He picks up a small obsidian figurine of a cat from a desk. "The execution was eventful. Decidedly too eventful." He grimaces.
"You have done a fine job thus far in fulfilling the tasks I have set to you. However, it has become increasingly clear that the good people of this town grow increasingly agitated by this Angel Knight and those who support her." He rubs the figurine with a thumb "People forget that this is a town of Cheliax. That they live every day under the goodly protection and guidance of Her Infernal Magistrix." He quirks a smile for a moment before it's gone.
"This must be corrected at the root. Up to now, you have dealt with individual rule breakers and trouble makers. That is no longer enough." He clacks the figurine back on the table firmly. "I task you with digging out this infection. Find the Angel Knight and whoever the ringleaders are in fomenting rebellion. Question whoever you have to. Apprehend the guilty parties and all those who were accessories to this treasonous activity. And if they resist violently-" He knocks the figurine over with a light touch "-all the better."
"I expect you already have some suspicions regarding who may have the information you need. Or you have resources to tap?" He says it as though he would be disappointed if you didn't. "Either way, there is no time to waste. Any small indiscretions you make over the course of this investigation are hereby forgiven. My only expectation is that you leave me a functioning town once this is over."
He raises an eyebrow and pauses, offering you a chance to ask questions.
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Eris resists the urge to strangle the Archbaron.
All in good time, Father. All in good time.
"The rules must be followed," she says. "We must find this fluffy Angel Knight and put it to an end!"
She purses her lips. "We could try the hospice again. Or that guy who signed all the forms. I liked how orderly he was. The church would be fun to crash again. Umm--any other places we should try first?" she asks.
Brogol doffs his new hat, the scowl that seems to have been everpresent on his face since the Doctor brought him back deepening even further. "It'd be my pleasure to put some boots on necks. I've been cultivating contacts. I'll make sure to pay them a visit and ask some questions."
"One thing - if Razelagro hasn't filled you in - if you've got any guards to spare, the Castle Gate should be manned on a permanent basis. Folks are coming and going despite yer orders, M'Lord."
The Archbaron frowns just slightly at Brogol's news, enough that he looks a little disappointed. He glances at Razelago and then says "See to it that the Castle Gate is watched." The bloated fly-devil nods a couple of times before saying "As you wish."
The Archbaron steeples his hands "Is there anything else?" You get the sense that with the task placed in your hands, he's eager to be rid of you.
On the way to the manor Karik is uneasy.
"I don't like this restlessness. Even cows can stampede... I prefer my livestock much more settled than this." He murmurs once the group is clear of the town and any other ears.
----
He stays quietly at the back while in the Archbaron's presence.
"Nothing else from me my lord. I'm ready to hunt."
Karik grins with cruel glee at the idea and what seems like a pretty blank check in terms of methods.
"Aye. Ye've made yer orders right clear." Ingrid said. "Asmodeus' will be done." She finished, making the sign of the Dark Prince over her heart.
"Very good. I expect to hear good results from you soon." With that final dismissal, Razelago escorts you out of the room.
The little puffed up fly-devil closes the door and then takes out a parchment and pen to note something down. His faceted eyes glitter as he writes, before he addresses your team. "Yes yes. Eagerness is excellent. But one among you will have to miss out on what is likely to be a decidedly enjoyable investigation." He turns his eyes on Doctor Zieber "The Archbaron has plans for you and your Hospital, Doctor. In exchange for the support he graciously agreed to provide for Mz Rohalendi, he requires your... expertise in handling a few individuals. They have already been delivered to your Hospital for examinations." The quick clicking and clacking of Razelago's mandibles speaks to the devil's excitement at this prospect.
The Doctor looks disappointed and a little skeptical, but inclines his head and says "If zat is what ze Archbaron wishes..." He turns to the rest of the team and offers a slight shrug. "It seems ve vill be working separately for a short while. Perhaps ze patients that have been prepared for me vill yield something to aid in your efforts, or perhaps not. Either way, I expect ve vill work together again."
He offers a hand to shake with each of you. "I trust you vill keep yourselves alive until then, yes? If you have need of my medical or arcane knowledge, I vill be at ze Hospital. Do not hesitate to stop by." He waves a hand in farewell and strides away, rolling up his sleeves in anticipation of new patients.
----
As for your team, by the time you leave the Archbaron's manor, the sun has mostly set. However, the night is long, and unlike most of the townsfolk, you have no restrictive curfew to curtail your activities. Traitors and cowards are out there right now, somewhere, ready for you to root out.
"Where did we leave that bard? I feel he has some tales to tell."
After shaking the good doctor's hands, and exchanging well wishes, Ingrid said "As good a place as any. And likely the lightest on our coin." Ingrid agreed. "Let's go pay him a visit."
Brogol pushes aside the Doctor's hand and wraps the man in a warm hug. He'd proven a capable companion, and had brought Brogol back from the brink of death. "Anything you need. Until later then, Doc."
As they leave the Archbaron's Brogol adjusts his hat. "Kels is at the jail. He's a good place to start. I can check in with Ms. Cembers at the Arch and Lark as well - see if she's gleaned anything from her crowd these last few days."
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As they hear the news that the doctor will no longer be working with them, tears stream down Eris's face.
"Well, there goes my shot to be normal," she cries as she hugs him, despite his efforts to fend her off.
"I'll try not to let you down, though, Doc! Do you have any parting advice?! Baby steps I can take?!"
Eventually, the others pry her away, and they begin heading toward the jail again.
"La la la," she sings, her mind already on other things.
Brogol splits from the rest of the group briefly to go and visit the Arch and Lark. When he arrives at the tavern, he finds it surprisingly lightly patronized. The few locals who have decided to spend the evening there look far from happy, though its not clear if that's due to the prices or the lack of ale on the menu. The tavern is quiet, with hushed conversations, the clinking of glasses and no music or revelry. The looks Brogol gets as he enters aren't exactly hostile, but they're not friendly either.
Up at the counter, Fordaneil Cembers gives Brogol a primly polite smile. She speaks in a low voice that doesn't carry "Ah, there you are. I haven't had a chance to thank you for the good word you put in." She glances around the tavern. "I'm doing some of the best business I've done in months."
When Brogol asks his questions about the crowd, she nods "Well, it has only been a day since I got my exemption. So far, I'd say folks are just happy to be able to get a drink. I get the sense that no one much wants to talk about the town while things are... still being sorted out, as it were." She nods to Brogol. "But I'll keep an ear out if you're trying to overhear something specific...?"
----
You arrive back at the jail, which still shows signs of the struggle from the day prior. Blood stains and broken or dented posts haven't been cleaned or repaired. The guards themselves are quite undermanned after losing a few of their number, and the one who is currently guarding Kels mentions "Me mates are out on patrol for curfew breakers. Yer welcome to interrogate who'ever you like in back."
In the back, you find the cells don't hold just an unconscious Kels, but several other locals. One girl in overalls, scarcely older than thirteen, glares daggers at your group as you enter. Two middle aged men, local laborers sporting black eyes and other bruises, lie in separate cells. They look up when you come in, but then back down after they recognize you.
Kels has been kept to his own cell and looks about as bad as when you dropped him off.
Karik steps in and casts Infernal Healing.
Vaelor eagerly follows her master into the cell and wraps her spiked chain around Kels as he wakes up.
"Wakey wakey!"
Brogol gives Cembers a flat smile and slides a gold piece across the counter. "Has it only been a day? Time seems stretched out somehow..."
"Anyways, I'd like a fine glass of whiskey. And I'm glad your business is doing... better." Pointing to a menu left atop the bar, Brogol continues. "Give me a quill and that menu there please. And whatever is the best meal you've got."
While she fetches his whiskey, Brogol juts his tongue from his mouth and scrawls names over the menu's text, his handwriting shakey, his spelling atrocious. Sliding the menu to Cembers, Brogol lifts his glass. "To your business. If you'd like to celebrate your newfound influence some evening let me know. In the meantime..." Brogol taps one gloved index finger on the menu, his voice growing quiet, "...those names - work them into conversation when natural. Keep your ears open for them. I want to know everything you hear, overhear, and think you hear about them. Or any other suspected sympathisers."
Tipping the whiskey back, Brogol slams the glass on the bar. "And order some ale. Your business will be even better. I'll skip lunch after all. Probably need to get back to the jail."
----------
Back at the jail, Brogol drags a chair into the cell block, relishing the sound of the chair's legs scraping across the stone floor. The looks the party gets tells Brogol one thing - they were somebodies.
Sitting in the chair, Brogol waits for Kels to come to. As the bard blinks, Brogol hisses, "Thank Master Karik for your good health. We'll give you a second, but you should know, Kels... yer in a heap of trouble."
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As Eris follows the others into the jail, the cleric noisily runs her armor against the bars, producing an annoying banging sound.
"I once spent six months in a place like this," she muses to the inmates. "Well, mainly because I wanted to be there. I didn't really do anything. What are all you in for?" she asks.
Cembers' mood sours when Brogol starts writing on her perfectly stamped menus that she had made in one of Egorian's fine printing houses. Nevertheless, she nods at his request, though not at the one to order some ale.
---
One of the two laborers speaks up with "Fightin'" in response to Eris' question, but the others are not particularly talkative. The little girl in particular grits her teeth and keeps her mouth closed.
Meanwhile Karik manages to bring Kels back to consciousness. The bard springs up with a frightened yelp and then falls back down on his ass. His eyes go wide with fear when he sees where he is and who seems to be arrayed against him. He nods to Brogol's assertion that he's in trouble, but doesn't say anything beyond faintly whimpering.
He seems to be ready to bolt... if there were anywhere to bolt to.
"Don't worry, we don't need to hurt you. We just need an introduction."
Karik smiles softly but makes sure to expose his fangs in the process.
Vaelor smiles too "Don't need to at the moment but that can change."
Brogol smiles his flat, mirthless smile, and removes his hat, resting it atop his knee. "Everything Master Karik says is true. We don't need to hurt you. But we can. Hurt you, I mean. We've been unleashed, see. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. You're a dead man walking, but you don't need to die painfully. We're civilized folks."
"Or, you don't need to die at all. We need an introduction, as Karik mentions. To the Angel Knight. You do that, and you can walk out the city a free man. That and only that saves your life. We have the authority to cause pain, but we have the authority to be merciful too. Which ending shall the bards write about you, Kels?"
As the others worked their 'charms', Ingrid leaned against the wall, all smiles. Fanged smiles with a clawed hand tapping against her shoulder as she watched, and waited.
To Eris' eye, the little girl's facial features aren't particularly reminiscent of Caggan the wereboar, suggesting they're probably not related. The girl looks away from Eris, staring at the wall, and remains sullenly silent.
Meanwhile, Kels squeaks in alarm at the threats "I-I-I- I'm sorrrrry!" He almost begins to sob "You got this all w-wrong! I don't know the Angel Knight. I just met her that one time. I- I already told you about it, remember? I swear that's all. Please don't hurt me!"
Upon further pressure he adds "B-B-Back at the execution, that was uh, that wasn't right. I mean, I didn't mean, uh, I thought I'd help Caggan get free, that's all. If I looked like the Angel Knight. I, uh, I just figured people would rise up to free him!" His pupils are all dilated as he confesses, his whole body shuddering with fear. "I wasn't thinking right. It-it-it was just a uh, lapse, of uh, judgement. I swear! Please, don't kill me too! Please! Mercy!"
"Well I think you better find her fast." Karik says coldly then nods to Vaelor.
Vaelor tightens the chain, drawing blood.
"If you introduce us, you live. You don't you die. Simple as that. If you don't know how to find her I suggest you work it out fast. Or I will kill you and drink your blood." Karik speaks calmly and matter of factly
Ingrid frowned as the torture commenced. It seemed to be counter productive to do so. Once the pain began, people would say anything to make it stop. And it didn't matter whether they knew anything or not, they'd say what they thought the torturers wanted to hear. This meant that whatever information the man said couldn't be trusted. She watched as Vaelor and Karik continued, wondering if either would come to the same conclusion.
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Eris winks at the angry young woman. "I was like you once," she giggles. "I've found it's much easier to laugh at what life throws at you. Otherwise, you have to cry. Ha!"
She turns back to the interrogation of the bard.
"I have seen some court trials when my father was a ruler and in less-portable form. I've seen enough to know that sometimes, even when someone is guilty, they can provide some information that reduces their sentence."
She smiles sweetly at the bard. "In this case, it seems you've been sentenced to death. If you provide information about how to find this Earth Angel everyone wants to know, that can be reduced from death to not-death. If not--I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do."
Brogol sits quietly, intent to let this play out for a few more seconds. The driver makes an exaggerated display of feigning interest in his new hat, as if brushing a bit of dust from it.
Kels' screams upon being cut by Vaelor's chain echo through the small jail, drawing uncomfortable winces from the other prisoners. As Karik lays out his desires for the bard, Kels nods slowly in between his sobs. "I'll find her, I'll find her, I swear I'll find her!"
He collapses to the ground. "I'll find her, somehow, just don't kill me!"
Karik nods and after delivering a loving kiss on the bard's cheek Vaelor unwinds her chain and they both leave the cell.
Brogol stands, the chair legs scraping across the floor. "Very well. You have 48 hours to come up with a plan. Guard, gag Mr. Kels, please."
Kels looks across the faces of your group. "Wait, you're not going to let me out? How am I supposed to find her? This... this isn't some joke is it? You're not going to just kill me regardless? I'm... I'm too young to die!!!" He starts hyperventilating, frightened beyond reason.
Karik frowns at Brogol.
"He needs to be let out do follow my orders. I'm sure he knows better than to try to flee as there is nowhere he can go where my minions or myself cannot track him down and subject him to horrors he cannot begin to imagine."
Ingrid shrugged as she retrieved the keys. As she did so, she looked at the other prisoners, trying to see who she could remember.
"Lucky." She muttered, as she got the key and unlocked the bard's cell. "Chances like this are rare. Don't screw it up."
Kels nods furiously and utters promise after promise that he'll find the Angel Knight and let the Archbaron's enforcers know as soon as he does. Once the cell is open he scrambles out and walks, fairly hastily, out of the jail. You hear him breaking into a run once he's outside.
As for the others in the cells, Ingrid recognizes the girl as Jemmy Kemmaino, the daughter of a local grocer. She's known to be a bit of a troublemaker, at least as far as Ingrid has heard. Ingrid thinks the two men look familiar, but can't put names to the faces - they may be from one of the lumber camps relatively close to Longacre, or they could be non-permanent residents who work in the markets or stables.
The girl continues to give Eris the cold shoulder.
Brogol smiles at the sound of Kels' foosteps quickening away. "You know he's not coming back, right? Ah well, he's not a half-bad bard. Maybe he gets his head on straight and puts his second chance at life to glorifying the Empire."
Turning to the others, Brogol surveys the remaining prisoners.
Brogol recognizes the two laborers as Barek and Ebran, both loggers working in the Whisperwood who occasionally come in to Longacre with bundles of excess wood to sell in the market. After some inciting incident years ago that neither wants to talk about, they've often tried to one up or undercut each other, even sometimes coming to blows over minor disagreements.
As for Jemmy Kemmaino, Brogol knows about the same as Eris.
"Ah, Jemmy Kemmaino." Ingrid stopped. Looking at the girl she said "Always heard that ye've been a trouble maker. How'd ye end up here? Found the grocery business to be too boring?" She asked, conversationally. She watched the girl's body language and listened for the tone of voice, trying to gauge whether it would be possible to recruit her to voluntarily act as eyes and ears.
Ingrid has no better luck with Jemmy than the others, earning nothing more than a cold shoulder with her words, but she does get a fairly clear impression of her from the girl's heated glare and standoffish attitude. Jemmy clearly hates the whole group of you, openly and with the kind of reckless, unbridled abandon of a young teenager. She's only just barely able to keep herself from speaking because that hatred is accompanied by a lot of fear.
From the front room, you can hear Cimri call out "What, Jemmy's in there?" before she speaks in a quieter (but still audible) voice to the guard keeping watch. "What you put her in for?" You hear the guard scoff as he responds "Throwin' rocks through windows. She jus' needed a time out, yeah?"
You hear Cimri laughing before she says "Guess she hasn't heard of not getting caught."
Back in the cell, you notice Jemmy scowling even more strongly than before.
"Boys, boys, boys," Brogol says, sizing up the other prisoners. "You been fighting again?" Brogol can't help but feel a bit of disappointment. None of these folks were likely to be involved with the Angel Knight.
Stepping out of the cell block, Brogol gives Cimri a nod and touch of his hat's brim. "How's it going, Cim?"
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Eris laughs. "Ah, the old rocks through the window trick! I've done that plenty of times!" she exclaims in excitement.
"Do you want me to show you some tricks to avoid getting caught next time?!" she asks the girl.
Continuing to get the cold shoulder, the cleric sighs and gives up. She shrugs and walks back to Cimri.
"Well, you learn anything else? The rest of these prisoners don't seem willing to help us short of some domination magic. Though that does sound fun."
Cimri shrugs to Brogol "It's going. How did it go with the Archbaron? I noticed that Razelago whipped our new guards up something fierce. They've been out all afternoon, after the execution, looking for troublemakers. Is that what the Archbaron's plan is now? Crack down on people in the streets?" She doesn't seem entirely happy about the latest crackdown.
She grins at Eris' comments "Nope, I've got nothing new. I was actually thinking of going back to the Ash House to turn in for the night. Unless there's something urgent come up?" She looks between the two of you, an eyebrow up "Because I saw Kels running out earlier? Is that part of something?"
"Yeah Kels is theoretically giving us a hand."
Karik lounges against a wall. "It might be worth doing a patrol ourselves to see things for ourselves."
"...and I could do with a feed."
Karik stands straight and stretches before checking his weapons and getting ready to head out.