"Of course, my Lord," Melia says, nibbling on a tiny cucumber sandwich.
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"Your Grace, the books seem to indicate that His Grace Duke Beaumont learned of a top-secret Concordat operation to attack the Helmian village of Brookside, and that he used that information to impress the Ambassador from Helm with the depth of his intelligence. Perhaps the honorable Ambassador could corroborate whether such a conversation occurred, and what precisely His Grace the Duke may have said during it."
Mel speaks up. "Our initial source of information came from a group called 'The Circle of Friends'. They are interested in bettering the lot of non-human citizens of Iustia. That put them in conflict with His Grace Duke Beaumont, who as you know has been the driving force behind a variety of new restrictions on non-humans. As a result, they began to investigate Beaumont, in the hopes of uncovering damaging information -- which they found." "The Circle of Friends works through extra-legal means, but so far as we were able to determine, they have not used violence in pursuit of their goals. Their activities seem to relate primarily to providing material aid to non-humans who have run afoul of the law. Making contact was difficult. They were naturally suspicious of us. But in the end we came to an arrangement: they shared information with us, and we gave them some pointers on ways to evacuate people who no longer believe that they can live safely in Iustia." "Their ties to the non-human population allowed the Circle of Friends to establish contacts within the Concordat. It seems that Faedi was not quite so careful on her end as Duke Beaumont was on his. From those Concordat contacts, the Circle learned of the correspondence between His Grace Duke Beaumont and Magister Faedi. They were not able to get access to his end of the correspondence, but they learned where it was kept. They also arranged to feed Faedi some false intelligence regarding troop dispositions on the border, which she then communicated to Beaumont. The incorrect information undermined his trust in her, and seems to have placed the arrangement under strain, but not ended it altogether." "His Grace the Duke has long had a reputation for uncannily accurate knowledge regarding happenings in the Concordat. These allegations lined up too closely with his activities to be mere coincidence, and demanded further investigation." "We considered attempting to modify His Grace's Books of Whispers to send additional copies of correspondence to an empty book in our possession. But the nature of the sorcery powering them made such an approach impractical. We would have needed access to both his books and Faedi's to do so effectively, which lay beyond our means." "We also considered bringing allegations and calling for a formal inquiry, or organizing a raid in conjunction with Turick. But the risk was too great that His Grace the Duke would simply destroy his book of passwords and substitute an innocuous book in its place, thus making the evidence unrecoverable and putting him in a position to plausibly claim that the allegations were baseless and politically motivated. Therefore, we concluded that there was no viable way to proceed other than retrieving the Books of Whispers and His Grace's book of passwords by entering his estate with no warning and seizing them." "Which we did." She gestures at the books laid out upon the table, subtly inviting the King to inspect them.
"Your Grace, we had reason to believe that His Grace Duke Beaumont had been secretly communicating with Amrynn Faedi, Magister of Divination for the Elven Concordat, and that he kept this correspondence in his study. We entered and located the books containing that correspondence without troubling him or his staff." "Unfortunately, their contents were magically concealed using a series of passwords. The passwords were documented in a book that His Grace Duke Beaumont kept upon his person at all time. Had we been able to obtain those without confronting the Duke physically, we would have done so. Alas, that was not an option. Securing the book of passwords required securing the Duke. And considering the gravity of the matter, we believed that doing so was justified." "We were careful, during the confrontation, to ensure that he took no lasting harm. Once we had the passwords, we deciphered the correspondence, and then delivered both it and His Grace Duke Beaumont into the custody of Viscount Turick at the first opportunity."
Remembering the instructions from Turick's Master of Etiquette, Melia bows upon entering the King's presence, avoids making eye contact, and waits to answer his questions. As Kazador steps forth and claims his own name and title freely, she nods ever so slightly. Kazador, a bluff man of honor, had never been at home with deception or intrigue. It was, she thought, better for him to follow his true nature than to try and hide it, even though doing so carried risks of its own. Would that I could be so free, she thought regretfully. But the presence of a Concordat citizen in the group would instant throw all the findings into doubt. "I go by Melia Elman, Your Grace," she says. "Or sometimes just Mel, if it please Your Grace. And yes, we are Count Aral's investigators. At his direction, and later with Viscount Turick's assistance, we conducted investigations into the members of the Royal Council. We stand ready to report our findings."
Hmm. Well, I can't tell you how to play your character. And I've always respected your commitment to RP and playing your character as a living, breathing person, ever since you were Hob Smith and I was Katsanóron Vazrasti in that Tiny Little Frozen Village campaign that fizzled after 271 posts when the GM up and vanished. (Poor Katsa; she's been peering through that cracked door for six and a half years now, and most likely will be for the rest of forever). Anyway, your RP skills are the main reason I suggested you to Brookside GM as a player here when we had an opening. So I encourage you to follow your instincts for how Hal would behave. That said, I would like to make an argument in favor of his accompanying us. We started this campaign with NPC class levels, doing a simple defense of a village against orc raiders. In the following years, the campaign has blossomed into a panoramic sweep of high politics and intrigue. But that fundamental core has remained the same. It's about common folk. At heart, Mel's an anthropologist with a literary bent, born to a locksmith and a jeweler. Perrin; a small town doctor. Vors; a tired veteran. Brolin, a sea captain. Of the core characters, only Kazador approaches something like the status of nobility. But even that was due to his combat skills. His training made him an elite warrior -- not a noble who inherited unearned privilege. At its heart, the core questions of this campaign are: What happens when simple people, ordinary people, get swept up in events far beyond their usual scope? How do they handle being forced to make grave, consequential choices that nothing in their background truly prepared them for? And, in the end -- the rapidly approaching end -- how will these experiences have changed them? How will those choices and deeds shape the people they are becoming? You describe Hal as "an insane paranoid known criminal hunted by assassins." I would submit: that was Hal, when he joined the campaign. A great deal has happened since then. We have not destroyed the Reaps utterly. But we have dealt the organization a great blow. It will take them many years to recover. Furthermore, Hal is far, far more dangerous now. An eleventh level wizard is not a target to be trifled with. Do they truly, at this moment, have the resources to pursue Hal with assassins? As for being a known criminal, perhaps he was, in Helm. Not in Iustia. And even in Helm, he has made good much of his earlier misdeeds. He left the Reaps long ago. That's the whole reason the Reaps stuck him in that mirror hideaway. They did not want him to cooperate with the authorities. Which is exactly what he did, at the first opportunity once he got free. At most, I would argue, Hal is a former criminal. Paranoia is only a madness when you're wrong about people being out to get you. When you're right, it's just survival instincts. And as for madness -- that, I would say, is the one challenge Hal still faces. He spent so long in that hellhole, all alone except for himself and himself and himself and himself and himself -- all of his infinite selves fading into minuscule infinity, all sharing silently in his suffering. It's no wonder that his mind was shattered and split. But he's been out of there for some time now. Out in the world. Enacting vengeance on the bastards who put him in there. And no longer alone, even if he has not sought the arms of his wife and daughter. Is it madness, to protect them by dealing with the Reaps? Is it, really? Is it madness, to seek time and space to deal with his trauma before he dares see Margie and Sheila once more? Is that how Hal's story will end? How long will he go on hiding from assassins that never come? Is he doomed to spend the rest of his life scrabbling through mirror shards, trying to rebuild the man he once was from fragments of his shattered psyche? There cannot be much left in this campaign. If there is some other destination you have in mind for Hal, it's likely time for Hal to step off the path he has been on and take a new turning.
Mel smiles faintly, sympathizing with the guard captain's departing mutter. "Very well," Melia says to the second guard captain. "I will heal him, which should restore him to consciousness."
Melia takes a moment, placing a gentle hand on the Duke's head and chest. Silently, inwardly, she calls out to Ostara for healing. It comes so easily these days, she thinks as a wash of pale green light sweeps over him, healing his wounds and easing his aches. I don't even need the healer's kit any longer, even if it's still helpful. The Duke's eyes flutter open. "Welcome back to the waking world, Your Grace," she tells him. "His Grace the King will shortly have questions regarding your correspondence with the Concordat."
Mechanics:
"Indeed it is highly irregular, Captain," Melia says, unsmiling and serious. "Would that none of this were necessary. But unfortunately, this touches on the security of Iustia. His Grace the King needs to hear what we have learned, review the evidence we have gathered and listen to any defense that His Grace the Duke might raise. If there were any other recourse, we would of course take it. But unfortunately, the gravity of the Duke's offenses are such that the King's Justice is the only power in the land that can adequately address them."
Mel finishes her puzzle and sits on a window seat, waiting. Idly she wonders if there might be time for another puzzle before Hal finishes his preparations.
Mel has two uses of her Community blessing left for the day. Do you guys want that? When you successfully take the Aid Another action, it lets you give someone a +4 bonus instead +2. It only lasts for one minute, though, so we'd have to do it right before going into the audience and it wouldn't last very long.
No worries.
Túrion quietly bows out of the royal audience, but offers to prepare a written report to be included in the evidentiary package. He also assists the others, concealing the auras on their persons and on some carefully selected pieces of gear. Melia pays attention to the Master of Etiquette's instructions, and selects a courtier's outfit: first a tightly-fitted inner dress of plain white linen, then on top of that an outer gown of deep blue tiretaine (a light, tightly woven wool). The outer gown reaches down to her ankles. A geometric pattern embroidered in gold thread marches around the hem, neckline and cuffs of the outer gown, and the white linen of the underdress peeks through at the chest and through laced slashes along the sleeves and both hips. A belt with a long, dangling tongue cinches this ensemble at her waist, her belt pouch hanging on her right hip. After tending to the details of her disguise in private, she adds back in her Hat of Disguise, transforming it into a net of dark brown thread containing her blond hair, and also making her Boots of Haste look less like boots and more like the fashionable slippers that she tucks into the wardrobe in the changing room. Alone in the changing room for a moment, Melia pulls out the book that allows them to communicate with Count Aral and pens a brief note: Preparing for royal audience. Turick supplying suitable clothing. Only Kazador, myself and Hal -- you met him briefly when we visited your estate -- will be present. We have told Turick that we are acting here on your behalf, and will similarly present ourselves to the King as your agents, should he ask. Beaumont will no doubt try his best to undermine or evade the charges. May all the kindly gods lay blessings on our tongues. Shutting the book, she closes her eyes and prays, silently, one hand on the holy symbol tucked beneath the top of her inner dress. Oi, Ostara. Olemme löytäneet tämän yhteisön sydämestä kasvavan syöpäsolun. Hän pettää oman kansansa henkilökohtaisen vallan vuoksi. Ole kanssani, Ostara. Auta minua kitkemään tämä rikkaruoho, että Iustian puutarha voisi kasvaa rauhalliseksi ja seesteiseksi. Elven:
O, Ostara. We have found a canker growing in the heart of this community. He betrays his own people for personal power. Be with me, Ostara. Help me root out this weed, that the garden of Iustia may grow peaceful and serene. Content, she picks up her copy of the Encyclopedia of Iustian Law and emerges from the dressing chamber, leaving the vast majority of her possessions within the haversack tucked in the wardrobe. The Mistress of Etiquette scrutinizes her (somewhat unnervingly) for a few moments. "Here, young woman," she says, passing Melia a simple golden necklace and a single gold ring with a small but brilliant sapphire. "You would look out of place without at least a little jewelry. Mind that this is on loan for this audience only." "Yes, ma'am," Melia says meekly, feeling highly overdressed. And with that, Melia does a puzzle to keep herself from worrying while she awaits her companions.
Really? Each attempt at a Disguise check takes 1d3 * 10 minutes, so an average of 20 minutes per attempt. Taking 20 means it takes 20 times as long. So taking 20 on a Disguise check would take anywhere from 3 hours and 20 minutes up to ten hours, or six hours and forty minutes on average. If I had the skill unlock for Disguise it might be practical, but I don't. If that's DM fiat overriding the regular rules let me know and I'll happily take 20.
Okay, so Túrion will cast the following spells: One casting each of Greater Magic Aura on Hal, Kazador and Mel to suppress the auras of any spells that are cast on them personally. Hal, Kazador and Mel can each pick 2 items for Túrion to hit with Greater Magic Aura so that they can use them in the coming scene. Mel chooses her Hat of Disguise and her Boots of Speed. That uses up all of his 4th and 5th level spell slots for the day. He'll also cast Mage Armor on Mel. He can do the same for Hal or Kazador if they wish, though I suspect Hal already has his own casting, and if Kazador is taking his armor the bonus won't stack. Please let me know if you're taking advantage of that so I can mark off a slot. So going into this, Mel will having the following buffs going:
I've gone through Mel's entire inventory. She has access to the following things in this scene:
Everything else she owns is in her Handy Haversack, with the exception of 4 Scholar's Outfits that wouldn't fit. The haversack and the outfits will be left behind. I very much wish I had gotten a Pathfinder Pouch earlier. Oh well, too late now. Mel is not heavily reliant on her spells, but it's worth noting that having to remove her Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2 means that she can no longer cast first-level warpriest spells. I only had one left today (a casting of Cloak of Secrets which just never came up) so it's probably not a big deal. She does still have cantrips (Light, Sotto Voce and Detect Fiendish Presence) and some SLAs (Read Magic, Detect Poison, Dimension Door from her shiny new feat). Mel's going to accept whatever outfit the Master of Etiquette suggests. I presume it's a Courtier's Outfit and have equipped one. The item description mentions that if you lack jewelry to go with it, the outfit makes you look like an out-of-place commoner. If Mel can borrow some suitable jewelry to go with it that would be nice. Mel is mildly annoyed that she can't wear her lovely (and very expensive) rings because they're magic. Lastly, regarding Disguise. I just wanted to check the numbers, because they're likely to be relevant. Mel's base Disguise is now: 10 ranks + 3 class skill + 6 skill focus + 2 Disguise Kit -1 Charisma = +20. I am assuming she gets the +2 from the Disguise Kit by using it during prep time and then leaves it behind. We previously established that an elf disguising themselves as a human only needs to obscure minor details (+5) but still takes the -2 for imitating a different race. So if Mel takes 10, she gets: 33. Could I ask for an Aid Another check from someone to get the details right? That would bump it to 35. She customarily completes an entire disguise without any magic, and then adds the Hat of Disguise for a +10 bonus at the end, in the hopes that if the Hat gets dispelled she won't immediately get spotted. With the Hat of Disguise, the total is 43, or 45 if I get that aid another. I'll write an in character post soon to get all of this down.
GM, are weapons allowed in the presence of the King? I can see how they might be chary of letting a bunch of unknown yahoos who successfully abducted a Duke from the middle of his own estate carry weapons into a royal audience.
So, looking into the details of Magic Aura and Greater Magic Aura, I think we'll have to be judicious about using that. Greater Magic Aura (the version that Túrion has) works on objects or people. If you cast it on an object, it suppresses any aura that object has, just like the basic Magic Aura. If you cast it on a person, it can suppress the auras (plural) of any magical effects on that person. So, per RAW, I think there's a weird edge case where you have to cast it twice in some cases. A sword or something is simple: suppress its aura and it looks like a masterwork sword. But something like a Hat of Disguise is both a magical item in and of itself, and also applies a spell effect to its wearer. So that would take two castings to hide -- one casting on the item to suppress its aura, and another on the wearer to suppress the aura of the effect the item applies to them. Túrion can prepare Greater Magic Aura, no problem. He picked up an additional 4th level spell preparation slot at level, and it's in his book already. Then he can cast it up to 9 times -- six using 4th level spell slots and three more using 5th level spell slots. So I think that might mean we need to cast it once on each of us (to suppress the auras of any effects on our persons) and then once on each magic item we want to keep to suppress the auras on the items. So if we're hitting each of the three of us as people, that means each of us can keep at most two magical items. Unless Hal has Magic Aura also?
So, Turick said: magic of any sort in the king's presence will not be allowed..." He gestures to Mel's and Hal's magic items for changing their appearance. "...knowingly" he says meaningfully, gesturing now to the Duke's items and giving a small, half-wink. Am I correct in thinking that he's implying that we can wear our magic stuff as long as its aura has been suppressed? That would make our lives simpler. Túrion just happens to know Greater Magic Aura. Also, a refreshed Tears to Wine spell might be a good idea, Hal. It won't help with charisma stuff, sadly, but at least it can get us some boosts on INT and WIS based skills.
Uh, what shall we do with Túrion during this scene?
"Two hours should be sufficient, though we'll need to work quickly to make ourselves presentable," Mel says. She tugs on her sleeves, causing her clothing to shift immediately into an elegant gown, similar to one she saw on a passing noble the previous week: a kirtle in pale blue over a white smock whose sleeves dangle from her wrists, secured with a long belt. She taps her scarf and turns it into a net of dark brown, holding her hair back.
"Before I forget, here are His Grace Duke Beaumont's personal effects," she says, setting the bag on the table. "I would have spared him the indignity if I could, but he apparently had his mages suppress the magical auras of his gear, making it impossible to distinguish between magical and non-magical. In the absence of any way to determine what we needed to worry about when securing him, we just confiscated all of it."
"A traitor to Iustia, my lord," Melia says. "And here is the proof of his treachery." She pulls out the documents, laying them out side by side on the table. "You are, perhaps, familiar with books enchanted to carry messages between people? These are pages from such. They were carefully disguised, and difficult to obtain. The pass phrase to decrypt them is: Court, Spear, Child, Eagle." The false, mundane words on the pages fade away as she speaks. She taps the documents on the left. "These, here, are messages from Amrynn Faedi, the Elven Concordat's Magister of Divination, revealing the details of certain Concordat operations. Among other things, they include a recent assault on the town of Brookside in the Bishopric of Helm." "And these," she taps the matching documents on the other side, "Are correspondence back to Faedi, revealing Iustian state secrets to her. The two of them exchanged quite a variety of things over time. Most damningly, this traitor sent her details regarding Iustian troop dispositions and weapon shipments -- information that the Concordat acted on, raiding the border and stealing weapons intended for Iustian soldiers." "And they were written," she concludes, pointing, "By that man there: His Grace, Duke Roger Beaumont, whom we now deliver into your custody along with the evidence of his betrayal."
"Right," Melia says. "That does it. Let's get all of this to Turick." She takes a moment to check her disguise, then asks Túrion to teleport them to an inconspicuous spot at the back of Turick's garden.
3. The Duke told Faedi about a shipment of weapons down the western coast of Iustia that was intercepted by "pirates" actually flying a false flag operation for the Concordat, greatly raising Faedi's stock in the Concordat. ... huh? A) Who owned the shipment of weapons? Iustia? The Concordat? Or does it not matter because the shipment wasn't real? B) The pirates were not real pirates. Were they Iustians posing as pirates or Concordat sailors posing as pirates? "for the Concordat" could mean "attempting to trick the Concordat" or "a Concordat ship attempting to trick someone else". C) How did knowing about this boost Faedi's reputation? Was she able to prevent an embarrassing loss somehow? Or just explain something after the fact? Sorry, but the action in this one is totally unclear.
Go ahead and guess Court, Hal. I don't think anyone will mind -- it can't really be anything else, and then we'll have the evidence we need to take down the Duke.
Mel spends quite some time jotting notes, crossing off words, and staring into space while chewing the end of her quill. "Ah ha!" she says, finally. "I think I've got the last word." She taps it. "Eagle."
Yeah. Go ahead and lock in court, we have to do it anyway. And you're right, steal didn't actually get used.
Okay, getting close here. DM says we have four guesses left, but I think his count is off -- we've made the following guesses:
That's 8 guesses out of a possible eleven, meaning we have three left. We're pretty sure the first word is "Court", but we will have to spend a guess to confirm that. So at best, we have two guesses to figure out the fourth word. Here are all the letters we've guessed, including how many times we've guessed. The ones in parentheses have not yet been guessed.
We're missing two letters from the fourth word: _ A _ L E. We know it does not contain any of the letters that have already been guessed in either of those two positions, because the GM would have told us so. Therefore, both the missing letters must be from the seven that have not yet been named: G, J, Q, V, W, X and Z. Here is every possible combination of letters using those, which I have cross-checked against the OED to see which ones are actually words: G A G L E - variant spelling of "gaggle" (c1399)
J A G L E - not a word
Q A G L E - not a word
V A G L E - not a word
W A G L E - variant spelling of "waggle" (c1594)
X A G L E - not a word
Z A G L E - not a word
GM doesn't strike me as the type to dig deep into the linguistic past, so those are out. I bet it doubles up on one of the letters already in the word. Let's see. Ah ha! EAGLE. I bet it's EAGLE. Man, words that double up on a single letter are the reason I quit playing Wordle.
Mel shakes her head. "The second one can't be 'spare'," she says. "That would put E in the fifth position, and we know that it cannot have an E there. So it must be 'spear'."
"Ah, no L in the fifth position," Mel says. "Hrm. There are two vowels left we haven't tried -- O and I. And T is common in common. We should try to get those in." With this in mind, she points at the third one and says "Child."
Mel studies the arcane diagram. "You mean the first one? Can't possibly be 'curly' -- the U is in the third position, not the second." She points at the second one. "Steal."
"Sauce," Mel suggests.
Oh, we're playing Wordle? In multiple dimensions. Are those 11 guesses each or across the group? Do we know the length of the words? Are they all the same length, or different lengths?
"We already put him in a different outfit," Melia says, gesturing at the unconscious, bound Duke. "Those are not his original clothes. It was only sensible when we couldn't distinguish the magic bits from the mundane." "As for, err, conveniently misplacing his gear, well, bear in mind that Duke Beaumont is one of the most recognizable people on the continent. It seems to me there's a good chance if we walk around wearing bits of his equipment that would draw unwanted attention pretty quickly. Better to just hand it over, if you ask me. Much less complicated. Besides, I just don't like taking things from people by force. It just ... doesn't sit well with me. Even if there's good reason for it." She rubs the ring on her finger self-consciously.
"Yes," Mel agrees with Kazador. "Hal, can you disable that trap? It's a definite problem for reading the messages in these books."
Just the book would be fine for now. That's the bit we need done to move forward.
Yeah. Also I doubt the Will save is that hard. Assuming it's regular Magic Aura -- not Greater Magic Aura -- it'd only be 11 + the caster's casting ability modifier. Should be doable for Hal even if the Duke's personal wizard has a ridiculous Intelligence score.
Huh. It's not a spell interaction I've ever considered before, but True Seeing would probably let you see the auras normally. Magic Aura is an illusion spell after all, and True Seeing lets you see through illusions. Also it seems entirely fair to let a level 5+ spell trump a level 1 spell. As for whether Analyze Dweomer would work, I think that one's down the GM call. That phrase "and spells with similar capabilities" in the Magic Aura description leaves a lot of room for interpretation. To my mind, Analyze Dweomer does exactly the same thing that Detect Magic does, only faster and more reliably.
Yes, Identify can overcome Magic Aura if you pass a Will save versus the Magic Aura DC. Though I don't think I knew that till I checked the description of Magic Aura just now. Greater Detect Magic also grants a Will save versus Magic Aura (but not against Greater Magic Aura). Analyze Aura would work also, but it's an occult spell that none of us have access to. Yes, I'm pretty sure we've leveled. At any rate I gave myself the benefits. Túrion has a couple open spell slots now but hasn't taken any time to prep new things in them.
Melia frowns. "Nothing like that. When I resisted it, it felt like the sorcery was trying to push me back into one of the worst moments of my life. Like it was dredging through me looking for the things that give me nightmares and pulling them out to make me live them again." She shivers a bit, involuntarily. "It didn't feel like a killing spell -- it's a noise maker, I think. It wanted me to scream. Draw attention to myself, maybe leave me unable to defend myself. It almost worked. If it had, our exit from His Grace's house would have been considerably more fraught."
Fishing? Where on earth did you drop the poor butler, Hal?
"Oh good, you're back. Fishing? Huh. Well, I'm sure his cat will be happy about the fish." She gestures at the unconscious, tied-up Duke sitting in borrowed pants and shirt. "It turns out that none of the Duke's equipment is enchanted, including the obviously magical potions. It looks as though he's suppressing the auras of his gear. So since we couldn't distinguish between the mundane and magic equipment, we just took away everything he had." Inclining a head towards the table where Túrion has been working, she adds "The book of passwords likewise doesn't seem magical, but definitely has some kind of magical trap on it. Both Túrion and I have successfully resisted so far. Could you please take a look at that and see if it's something you can undo? It might be challenging without the auras to study." "After that, I think we need to get our ... guest ... to Turick post haste. I sent him a note letting him know to expect us in his garden shortly.
"There are many passwords," Túrion reports. "It may take some time to identify the specific ones that reveal the text of the relevant letters." After sharing Count Aral's message, Mel says "I think we should head straight to Turick once Hal has woken up. He has better facilities for securing the Duke. Also, if we decrypt the letters in Turick's presence, he'll be able to attest that we haven't meddled with the contents to frame the Duke." "I just hope Hal finishes up soon. How long can it take to retrieve one cat?"
Err ... I think that's up to you? Whenever you're done dealing with Mr. Rogers and his cat.
Melia returns, extracting a shirt and some pants from her haversack for the Duke, and helps Kazador get him situated, trying her best to preserve his modesty while doing so. The rest of his gear she puts into a bag, and tucks the bag into her haversack. "Find anything?" she asks Túrion. "Still working," he says. "The book of passwords is definitely trapped, but like the rest of his effects shows no sign of magic. Fortunately I was able to resist it. But no one else should touch that book until we can figure out how to bypass or disable the trap." Melia nods. "I hope Hal gets Mr. Rogers sorted out soon. He was able to recalibrate that teleportation trap on the Cust manor, and it wasn't even attached to a physical object. Hopefully he can deal with this one even though its auras have been hidden." Leaving Túrion to his devices, she pulls out a piece of paper and writes a note: To the Honorable Viscount Turick, greetings. Our errand met with success. We are tying up a loose end, but should be able to join you in your garden within an hour or two to tell you all about it. I do hope your cook has more of those delightful petit fours on hand. With greatest respect, M. Popping outside briefly, she locates a message runner and pays him to deliver this note to the Turick estate. Returning inside, she opens the journal that connects them with Count Aral, and writes a much more specific note: Infiltrated Duke Beaumont's estate and located his correspondence with Faedi. Getting the book of passwords to decrypt them required abducting the Duke. He is in our custody and should take no lasting ill from the battle. We got away without drawing attention from his guards, but his absence has no doubt already been noticed. Reporting to Turick soonest. Will share what we learn once we've had a moment to study the books.
"Fine, fine," Túrion says.
"Tch," Túrion mutters. "We knew he suppressed the auras of magic items on his person, and we took this book from his pocket. Ergo, it would show no auras." Mildly annoyed at himself, he settles in to study.
Túrion checks the books for hostile magic before touching them.
Then he sets to examining the evidence.
"If I recall correctly from my Arcana for Non-Majors class, there are spells that can suppress the usual auras of enchantments. They would have to be cast on each item individually, and perhaps on the Duke himself to hide the signs of any long term effects on him personally. It would take a bit of work. But if he's got several mages in his retinue, hiding all his magic from casual detection is definitely possible. And it looks like that's what he did." "Since we can't distinguish between the magical and mundane, I think we have to assume that everything in his possession is enchanted, and confiscate all of it." She blushes faintly. "Including his clothes. I suppose we should provide him some pants and a shirt at least. I'll ... uh, run and borrow some from Fyrtor. They're about the same size. I guess you can just, um, leave him tied up naked till I get back. Undignified, but necessary. Keep an eye on him, please? I guess if he wakes up, just knock him out again." She turns to Túrion. "Here are the books and the passwords. I think there's some kind of enchantment on the book of passwords -- I felt it try to do something to me when I checked it in his study. Could you start investigating that while I run and get some pants for His Grace?" Túrion takes the books with a nod, retreats to a corner of the room and begins studying them intently.
Mel trots off to retrieve clothing. Ai, Ostara, she thinks as she goes. How strange my life has become. Half an hour ago I abducted this man, and now here I am running off to fetch him some pants!
Once Hal has made his exit, Túrion incants his spell, teleporting the group back to the townhome.
He places them neatly on the second floor, and moves quickly to pull closed any curtains throughout the building. Mel hauls Hal's unconscious form into her room and arranges him as comfortably as she can on the bed. "Whew!" she says, returning to the others. "I can't believe that went as well as it did. Let's secure him." Túrion examines the Duke, using magic to divine the presence of any magical items, so that they can remove them. Melia searches him as well, looking for any mundane tricks -- lockpicks, hidden knives, poison teeth and so on.
Once they have removed anything that might help him escape, Melia hands a rope to Kazador. "Would you care to do the honors?" she asks. "I think you may be better at this than either of us."
I did some digging through the archive. Our security arrangements with Turick are as follows: Each of us knows two passwords. One of the passwords indicates "all is well", and another indicates that the person giving the password believes that at least one of the group members has been compromised -- magically or otherwise. In order to authenticate the group, each member has to give the "all is well" password. We don't know one another's passwords, so that an enemy gaining access to a single password would not be enough. Which is good security. But problematic in this instance, because Hal's body is currently unoccupied and incapable of giving his password. Also, it occurs to me that on our previous meetings with Turick, Hal has been disguised as Don Haroldson, the aging academic. And I don't think that's the face he's currently wearing. Also, I went back an checked and Mel is still disguised as a maid in the Duke's livery, which is another unfamiliar face. So maybe we should bamf back to the townhome and reset before we go to Turick. We can secure the Duke -- who is unconscious for a while anyway -- by relieving him of any and all magical items he might be wearing, and tying him up. If he wakes up, Kazador can bash him with some more nonlethal damage. Shouldn't take more than a single tap to put him out again. Meanwhile we can start going through those books. Maybe even send a message to Turick's place to expect us in a couple of hours in the garden. Once Hal has returned from his errand dealing with Mr. Rogers we can go turn over Turick and the evidence.
Yeah. With that superb escape artist I don't think we could plausibly hold him for long. |