Aletoriss will continue to help transport the body of the fallen priest in silence until they get to the temple.
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"Well met Quzman Garhani of the Badawi. I am Aletoriss Van Zandt, originally from Absalom but more recently from Kelmarane where my friends call me Eli." Aletoriss will help transport the fallen priest back to the Dawnflower's temple.
Aletoriss turns back hearing Quzman's words and then Mahath's explanation. He listens quietly and then returns to Abd's fallen corpse as Ty is bending down. "Allow me, I hate that another soul is gone because of the evil of Father Jackal and his consorts. I am sorry Quzman...brother... I never meant harm by actions. The real Eli is dead, killed by the dark ones who are in league with the Jackal somehow. Eli had lured me out to get his revenge but the drow killed him for betraying the location of Jameen and the others. Let me help you take Abd al Halim to the temple, let me lead you to where the others are held captive, let me earn your forgiveness. It means more to me than my own life."
Aletoriss' heart sinks as Quzman announces the death of Abd al Halim and, as Aletoriss hears it, lays the blame of all those who have died in this mess at Aletoriss' feet. "I see. Then I shall be out of your way." Determined to make things right, Aletoriss heads of down the street taping the healing wand to his injuries again.
Eli smiles at Ty's kind words, "All right then...if everyone agrees." Aletoriss looks at Quzman, shame and hope in his eyes.
Aletoriss stumbles out of the shadows of the municipal building, shocked to see the others there. "I am surprised to see you all here."
Eli pulls out his wand of healing and uses it to further mend the wounds he suffered from fighting Eli.
Eli tries to duck into the shadows alongside the building while he digs another potion out and drinks down another dose of healing magic.
Aletoriss is shocked to see Eli fall and then the drow emerging out of the darkness. He looks at Eli contemplating briefly, hoping for a way to bring the man with him. Knowing he is unable to, Aletoriss quickly gets to his feet, and bolts off the roof letting his magic ring carry him softly to the ground a second time.
"OOH THAT SMARTS!" Aletoriss cries out in pain. "Well there you have it Eli, I fold. You are the better warrior, the one worthy of the name Eli Wynnstock...Sand Stalker, and there is the rub. You see I am only a fraud without the Sand Stalkers, nothing in the tales of Eli Wynnstock were done without them and here at the end I am alone. Your arrival has exposed my deceit and they have turned their backs on me, and now you will have your victory. Yet, you will still be under the thumb of that notorious Jackal......unless. Eli take this victory to restore your pride, and then together we can restore your life and take care of Father Jackal once and for all." Alteoriss crawls back away from Eli towering over him as he speaks, trying to once again convince him that the criminal is the one who really needs to pay. "Kill me and you will feel better tonight, perhaps even tomorrow.....but then He will call upon you to do more dark and evil things and the feeling of victory will be hollow. Let me help you end that torment."
"And that is why I will win this duel, I am faster...smarter...better than you. Even when I am YOU!" With a duck and a weave, Aletoriss spins and stabs at his enemy ending up next to Eli instead of in front of him.
"Ah, now you are on a hot streak, but like all who have ever faced me you to shall fall." Feeling the stinging burn of the flames on his flesh, Aletoriss steps back while diving a vial out of his pouch. Tipping it back, he quickly swallows the cool mixture that soon sends relief through his aching body.
"Then you are a nothing but a failure, as long as I am alive I will be better than you! Aletroiss charges across the roof Tempest in the lead.
The instant his feet touch the ground, Aletoriss leaps at the wall and scurries back up it. Leaping atop the roof with a shout, "Giving up that easy Eli? You are pathetic! I am twice the Eli you ever where, the Pathfinders were right in kicking you out!"
"Oh...your a trippy one Eli, but I have been in worse spots before. My perseverance trumps your rage." Aletoriss attempts to fling himself up again, stab Eli and step back off the roof.
"I have been in worse places before poor Eli, you will have to do better than that to best me." Aletoriss flips his legs and leaps back up in front of his attacker, and jabs Tempest at him before taking a step back closer to the edge of the roof.
"I have been in worse places before poor Eli, you will have to do better than that to best me." Aletoriss rolls quickly away from his attacker, right off the edge of the roof. Calling up he yells,"Catch me if you can!"
"If you want to kill me, you are going to have to come to me..or is that fear in your eyes. I thought it was hate, but no...fear. Fear that you have wasted your life, that under this moon light it will be proven that you are just a stupid, doe-eyed, want-to-be explorer who was tricked into drinking a few too many pints, and wound up in a whore's bed instead of on a ship bound for adventure. That is what you are feeling son, not courage or revenge...FEAR."
Aletoriss slips a vial from his belt and flicks of the cork while sliding Tempest from her sheath. "I have to had it to you Eli, you are deeply committed to your cause. A toast to you, the great and wonderful Eli Wynnstock of the Sand Stalkers." Aletoriss downs the potion in a quick gulp, "Ah, no wait that was me wasn't it? I am the one who stopped The Bandit, not you. I am the one who freed Kelmarane, not you. I am the one who took down the Carrion King, NOT YOU." Aletoriss recites the good things he has done, drawing inspiration for himself.
Aletoriss' heart sinks as he hears the rage flowing from Eli's mouth, filled thick with hate. "I am truly sorry for what has happened to you Eli, I was a rash man back in those days and owed someone a great deal of money. I used you to get away never thinking about how it would leave you, I never could have foreseen it, but I sure wish I could reverse it. Too many have died or had their lives ruined because of me Eli, you are just another victim of my brazen disregard for life. So if you are going to kill me...so be it, it is what I deserve. I can tell you hate me, but it seems you hate Father Jackal even more. Sure I am the catalyst for you down fall, but he...He is the one who has made you do horrible things. He is the one who is never going to let you go, look how he treats his enemies....what do you think he is going to do once he finds out you have deserted him? You will always be in his shadow, under his thumb...as long as he is alive. I can not change your past Eli, but I can help you with your future. Join us, help us thwart the plans of this criminal and make right all the wrong things you have been forced to do. Help us bring him down and put and end to his terrifying grip on Katapesh. And when it is done the reputation of Eli Wynnstock is only going to grow. You can leave here and adventure or retire, but do it with your head held high...ELI WYNNSTOCK, hero. That will be you."
Aletoriss watches as the cloaked figure rises and joins him on the roof, his hand resting on the hilt of Tempest ready to draw should his secret admirer attack. The man gently touches down and speaks. "Aletoris, Eli, or whatever you are calling yourself these days, glad to see you made it. Trust me, I have been waiting for this moment a long time. A long time to make things right between us, to pay you back for the hell you've put me through. As I can imagine, this may come as a shock to you!" The voice is oddly familiar and then the stranger removes his hood. Aletoriss takes a deep breath, "Well well, Eli, you have finally caught up with me. I can not say I am too surprised, the Pathfinder Society has high standards for the members it takes in. Though I think 'Hell' might be a strong word, the lady whose company I left you in was more than pleasurable I am sure. Then again the past years have changed us both in ways I could not have foreseen when I made my escape from our homeland... and here we are. We have played the cards we have been dealt and it is all on the table now." Aletoriss pulls the Wayfinder he stole from Eli out of his pocket, "Unless you just want this returned. No? I suppose you are right, the stakes at this table a bit higher than magical baubles. Well you have the upper hand, pocket aces it seems, and I have been buffing. So here we are, you have Haleen, Rayhan, and Jameena...I have nothing. What do we do now?"
The Gnoll/Demonic DM:
The Demonic DM: Self doubt is a big part of what he is dealing with, but his desires to help Haleen, Jameena, and Rayhan will out weigh his self doubt in the eleventh hour so to speak. I figure about thirty minutes before the meeting is supposed to start is when he finally pulls it together and heads over to the meeting. If there isn't any easy access to the roof, (stairs or something), that he can take without drawing attention to himself, he will find a shadowy spot and walk up the wall with his magic spider slippers. Goal it get on the roof unnoticed by anyone hopefully before whoever sent the letter.
The Demonic DM: Aletoriss is caught up in his own thoughts and will wander around the markets not really looking at anything until just before the meeting time. He will then go and wait for whoever summoned him shows up.
Quzman heads into the house, Aletoriss is ready to follow after him prepared to plead his case then he hears her name...April "I need to be alone." With out another word Aletoriss turns and leaves the compound. The Gnoll DM: Aletoriss will wander to the section of town where the municipal building is. Lost in his thoughts he is just working his way towards where he ultimately knows he has to go alone. I will roleplay if anyone wants to try and follow him, but his goal is to get alone and by himself. My plan is for him to wander the streets lost in his own thoughts until about midnight when he forces himself to summon up the courage to go and face this enemy, alone.
Quzman's silence weighs heavy on Aletoriss' soul. "I have never used that name here, it is my birth name and I left it behind in Absolam. I have racked up some serious debts, much like Haleen, to a money lender who operated the gambling den I spent most of my nights at. Time was running out to pay off the large amount of gold I owe, and even though my family has it I know my father would not have given it to me. I am a disappointment in his eyes. " Eli pulls his familiar Wayfinder compass out and turns it over and over in his hands as he continues, "This belongs to the real Eli Wynnstock. I stole if from him along with his adventuring gear and his letter of introduction to Garavel and his passage aboard a ship headed to Katapesh. He had just been inducted into the Pathfinder Society and was celebrating his first quest, to travel here and explore the ruins. It was easy to get him drunk and get him to tell me his life story, and his plan. A few well placed coins with one of the pleasure girls at the bar, and I ensured poor Eli would miss his ship. I took his gear and have never looked back, his journal provided the rest I needed to know to pretend to be him, and even helped us out when we were first headed to Kelmarane. I have been living a lie." Aletoriss looks up at Quzman tears forming in the corners of his eyes, "I am sorry bother, I should have told you long ago but I was too afraid."
Eli drops his head, shame washing over his face as he says, "I am Aletoriss...." |