Thraag reaches out with his mind at the crystal and flings it back at Tweety.
Eyve advances, throwing a punch at the remaining enemy, and missing wildly amid the chaos.
Thraag reaches out with his mind at the crystal and flings it back at their target.
Eyve advances, throwing a punch at the remaining enemy, and missing wildly amid the chaos.
Eyve missed her attack as she was forced to duck out of the way of a deadly crystal zipping first one way then the other. The crystal ended up embedding itself in the wall to the right of where the woman's head had been a moment ago.
But she had spun to grab Skylar by the neck. "Stop or she dies!" Skylar- something of an arcanist herself- could feel energy pulsing in the woman's hand. "Let me walk out of here and she lives. That's it."
OOC:
Idrassa's heart skipped a beat, and she fought for control. The expression that slipped over her features was abruptly the grim determination of the skilled soldier about to do something dangerous and unpleasant.
She reached into a part of herself, and power flooded through her. Not the warmth she felt when drawing Tweety to her from Beyond, but something cold and bitter, like old corruption leeching from melting ice. Her throat burned and her tongue tasted of ash, but her voice was a sweet and easy tone of familiarity.
"Oh, it's you!" She cried, slipping forward to stand before the thug. Her face broke into a wide grin. "Guys," she said, turning to look at her comrades, "This is the one I was telling you about! Tweety, shame on you for trying to bite him, you should know better!" She called up at her eidolon. The serpent somehow managed to look abashed.
"Listen," said Idrassa. "This is a misunderstanding. We can work all this out." Then she did a double take. "You hurt my friend!" She told the thug, pointing at his hostage. "Why would you do this to me? Here step back and let me look at her," She added, seeming to want to step up and administer medical help.
OOC: Move to where she can be seen, maybe 1W of Zander?
Std: Use Dragonmark to cast Charm Person, DC 16 Will
Note here: The spell gives him a +5 to his DC if he's under active attack, but he's also the one who took a hostage and tried to negotiate. So I'm going to make a rules-lawyery argument that since she's giving him the break in the fighting he wants he's not really under active attack.
Declan shook his head "You have no room to negotiate. You harm her, you're dead." But he didn't move from where he was. It looked like Idrassa had something up her sleeve, so he let things happen.
They were a sight for sore eyes-- literally. Skylar wrestled down the surge of hope and, yes, joy, at seeing Idrassa and Declan. She dared not move, nor show her emotion; she did not want this woman to know what they were to her, Declan especially.
Her injuries left her little choice but to tilt her head with the woman's motions. She could feel the magic singing through the harpy's skin, energy that Skylar wished was hers to wield.
She had prepared to utter defiance, tell the others to do what needed to be done, but remained silent at Idrassa's gambit. Idrassa was a sharp one, and the half-elf had learned to trust those instincts.
She did seek out Declan's gaze instead, subtly, through hooded lashes. He damn well knew what she would want him to do, if they were out of options. Not that Skylar was in any hurry to die, but she was unwilling to be a pawn for anyone, even a small-bit thug like this one.
The woman looked confused for a second before her expression softened, relaxing into a smile. "Sure, sure. Sorry." She stepped away from Skylar and Idrassa, backing all the way up to the bars of the cell welded into the corner of the room.
Thraag moves and closes the door.
Declan's thornblade dropped subtly as the woman backed off thanks to Idrassa's magic. He was most definitely ready to run the woman through, despite (or because of) her threatening Sky. He shook his head, not meeting Sky's gaze (yet). "Remember what we came for. Zander? Question time."
"As heartwarming as this is," Skylar commented, her voice edged with sarcasm and raw and dry, "I'd like to be out of these shackles. If you'd kindly indulge this frivolous request. And thanks."
She was relieved, to say the least, that Idrassa had pulled a trick out of her sleeve, yet again. That had been a tidy bit of spellcasting she had done.
While understanding of their priorities-- to be fair, she would do the same as Declan-- she wanted to be out of the bloody chair, and tend to her wounds. If she was able to move, that was. Her muscles were stiff and sore, and she had no doubt they would make their complaints known once she started moving.
The damn man wouldn't even look at her. Fine.
Her gaze flickered to the newcomers. New crew? Well. She'd learn about them soon enough, she supposed.
He did look at her then, with a self-deprecating pull at the corners of his mouth. "Yes, priorities. As always reminding me when I am hyperfocused." Declan looked for the keys to Sky's shackles, removing them from the thug's person, if needed. He then proceeded to unbind one prisoner, collecting the bindings for the next.
While unlocking the shackles, he lightly touched Sky's shoulder, "It is good to see you. We will need to talk, yes?" he whispered.
With Sky free, he stood and extended a hand to the chair for their new "friend" to take a seat. "Your turn."
Idrassa kept up her smile, but sweated slightly. She wanted to throw her arms around Skylar and ask what had happened, but this was not over yet. And they should milk the moment for what it was worth. So even as Declan brought the chair around, the former dragonmarked scion continued the bit.
"Yes, let us check your injuries," she said, gesturing to the chair Declan had offered. "Sorry it got so bloody. It's just...Well, everyone's on edge. It seems like your lot is on to something big, and it's spilling over into lots of other things. You know how this city is," she added. "You pull one string, and all the others get tugged."
"Say," she continued, as if voicing a stray thought. "What is this all about, anyway? What are you guys after?"
Skylar had quietly given Declan a nod; it delivered to him all the information that he would need, which was this: yes.
She moved gingerly once freed of her shackles, shakily working life back into her hands, pressing her bruised fingers into her wrists. With all the care of one who was determined not to appear as weak as she felt, she stood, steadying herself against the chair that had confined her.
She limped passed him, her movements uncharacteristically rigid and stiff, as broken bone ground against itself and bruises awakened. As Declan had done with her, as she stumped past Idrassa, she lightly touched her arm and gave her a grateful look.
"It's good to see you," she murmured. "You'll want to ask about the dwarf in the cell, too." She edged past and found a wall to lean against.
She had things she also wanted to ask, but they might be the same things as the rest of the group had in mind. Skylar arranged her arms, slowly, so that they were folded in a way that allowed her to rest and observe. Besides, this was their operation, and they had more than earned the right to ask the questions they needed to. Once the charm wore off, she had no qualms about exacting a little revenge.
She also was curious to know if their captive would confirm the things she had learned already. She intended to share them with the group; things had gotten too big for her to put the puzzle together on her own.
Zander had questions, alright, but it seemed that Idrassa was to be the one asking questions at the moment. This was tactically sound. Zander knew better than to jog the sword arm of a duelist.
So instead he stood simply examined the people in the room - or rather, let J'r-V'zz do so...
With all enemies within subdued or eliminated, Eyve proceeds to relieve the fallen of anything useful, before moving to keep an eye on the exit, ensuring no one else surprises them before they conclude their business here.
"Say," she continued, as if voicing a stray thought. "What is this all about, anyway? What are you guys after?"
The woman shook her head, a wry smile on her face. "Half a million galifars, for one thing. Not that I'll see any of it, though, right?" She rolled her eyes. "It'll all go to Manshoon and he'll use it for whatever it is he's doing. Who can know what someone like that is really after, right? Supposedly we're fighting the Dragonmarked Houses but right now all it looks like is a never-ending war against those hairy trogs for useless territory."
Her wry expression started to take on the sheen of a zealot as she went on. "Manshoon says we're fighting for our very existence. Not just us but everyone. Look around you! Look at the world the dragonmarked masters of capital have built for us! A world of towering skyscrapers and sprawling slums, of immense wealth and grinding poverty, of abundant food and starving children. They tell us this is the natural order, that greed is good, and that profit is the measure of human worth! But we aberrants know the truth: this system is a fraud, a lie, and a machine of endless exploitation!"
Her volume gradually increased and her cadence rolled like she had given this speech before. "For too long, the working people have been told to accept their lot. To work harder for scraps while the wealthy and powerful hoard the abundance our labor creates. We produce everything, yet we own nothing! They own the factories, the land, the resources—they own the means of production—and then they force us to sell our time, our energy, our very lives, just to survive! This is not freedom; this is wage slavery!"
She looked like she was just getting started unless someone jumped in to stop her.
Idrassa had slipped Skylar a smile as the latter slipped by, but had said nothing for fear of interrupting the flow of conversation with the captive. There would be time to re-connect later.
The human managed to look sympathetic, and duly angry, as the woman began the windup to her screed. Inwardly, she wondered where an aberrant-dragonmarked excoriate child of privilege fit into this theory of history. She suspected she was simultaneously oppressed proletariat and near the head of the line for the guillotine, a position she still liked better than being a Tarkanan.
But she felt she should change the subject before anyone started singing revolutionary anthems. "Manshoon?" She asked eagerly. "You've actually seen him? What's he like?" Her voice suggested barely concealed hero worship.
Skylar couldn't roll her eyes any harder than she did. It was mostly toward the pedestal their captive had lofted Manshoon to. Here was someone who was so up their own arse with her righteous cause that she was blind that she'd been bought and sold by the King of Thugs. Oh, the things she believed in were noble enough-- power to the people, and all that. Sounded like the Tarks were just as much after the missing galifars as the ir'Cassalanters were.
She did wonder at Idrassa's strategy; was she keen for information? Or was there some admiration in there? Impatient, tired, and desperately wanting a healer, Sky recognized she wasn't fully seeing what the young woman was doing. Then again, Idrassa had a sharp mind on her, and a way with people. Sky didn't need to know what Manshoon was like. Should she step in? No. She had to trust the crew to trust Idrassa, and she had to trust herself to do the same.
So. Manshoon was also after the galifars, which she surmised meant he was also after the Vault. That was why they had kidnapped her; the ir'Cassalanters were after the same thing, and they had a piece to the puzzle that the rest of the street didn't. That they were in the running for the Grand Game was old news, but did the Tarks know what Sky now knew? No, they couldn't. That's why they wanted to shake her down, surely.
In any case, once their captive was no longer in earshot-- whether her ears didn't work because she was dead, or she was elsewhere-- she had to tell the group what she knew. They would know what to do with it.
She glanced at the still dwarf in the cell. They needed to see if he had a pulse. She pushed away from wall and limped over to give him a once-over.
Eyve listens to the exchange. Though she was far from the best at reading emotions, she could recognize the woman's tone as one of building...enthusiasm, common to people who were likely to do something drastic.
She wordlessly moves a few steps closer to where Idrassa stands, should the need arise to intercept an attack.
But she felt she should change the subject before anyone started singing revolutionary anthems. "Manshoon?" She asked eagerly. "You've actually seen him? What's he like?" Her voice suggested barely concealed hero worship.
The woman smiled at Idrassa. "Seen him? Of course! I've had dinner with him! He's amazing! A true visionary! And what a presence! Not the thunderous bombast of some mere thug, some physical brawler, but a quiet, powerful storm. The sheer aura — it was tangible! I swear the very air in the room crackled with the energy of pure, unadulterated Destiny!" Even Zander could hear the capital-D Destiny in her words. This was a true believer, a zealot, full of conviction and revolutionary abandon. Someone who would stop at nothing to fulfill her cause.
"And when the Dreambreaker speaks, the words resonate deep within you. It wasn't just a leader speaking; it felt like the very heart of our movement found a voice. Every sentence carried the weight of our shared struggle and the promise of a better future. And his eyes — they held a wisdom and a fire that I will never forget."
"Meeting Manshoon wasn't just an encounter; it was a transformation. It solidified my resolve and reminded me why we are fighting. My spirit felt renewed, my purpose clearer than ever before. I am more determined now to contribute to the cause, to work alongside my comrades, and to help build a future free of the control of the Dragonmarked Houses. No one can stand in his presence and not be carried away on the wings of revolution!"
She looked ready to go on ad nauseam if she wasn't stopped again.
She glanced at the still dwarf in the cell. They needed to see if he had a pulse. She pushed away from wall and limped over to give him a once-over.
Sky found the cell locked. She couldn't tell the man's condition from outside the bars but he seemed to be breathing.
Dec leaned over to Idrassa and says in a low voice, "Seems she's been magically charmed before in relation to Manshoon. Maybe his aura gives that vibe?"
Idrassa gave Declan the slightest of nods. This was very bad and very good, if she could just figure out how to pull on that lever.
"So he's everything I've heard," breathed Idrassa, seeming pleased. Then she frowned, seeming disappointed. "Still, it's as you say, the Dragonmarked Houses hold all the power. All the vision in the world cannot win a contest like that - Surely he can't beat them to any of the pieces he needs, let alone keep safe any that he finds."
If his face could do so, Zander likely would have frowned. Something about this humanoid was... "off," he believed the term was.
But he wasn't sure what, or how, and he knew enough - well, J'r-V'zz knew enough, and told Zander so - not to interfere with Idrassa's magically enhanced interrogation.
So, he stood still, waiting to see what would happen next.
The woman seemed utterly convinced of this Manshoon's cause, clearly one who was fully devoted to her cause.
Idrassa gave Declan the slightest of nods. This was very bad and very good, if she could just figure out how to pull on that lever.
"So he's everything I've heard," breathed Idrassa, seeming pleased. Then she frowned, seeming disappointed. "Still, it's as you say, the Dragonmarked Houses hold all the power. All the vision in the world cannot win a contest like that - Surely he can't beat them to any of the pieces he needs, let alone keep safe any that he finds."
"Everything and more!" the woman gushed. "You should meet him, it's like nothing you've ever experienced before. I'm not supposed to go back to the tower until we finished interrogating..." she glanced at Skylar, a sheepish look on her face "Well, until we got some useful information, but if you want to wait you could come with me? He's not always there, of course, but maybe you could volunteer and meet him that way, eventually."