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"You're done? I'll let you out then." Merileth tells, as she appears only moments later. "Don't do anything stupid with your new powers. Don't turn in the city, if you don't want to create a bloodbath." Merileth lectures. But she feels compelled to add "If you do create a bloodbath, leave no witnesses and none wounded." All that with this expression as if it was a purely theoretical problem that one could discuss without emotional involvement.
The door opens again and Merileth stands in it. "You're having fun?" "Don't tear the sheets, don't claw the carpet or the wall. And when you're done clean the room. You know how it's done. I'll leave you out when you're finished." Merileth closes the door from outside.
Merileth flicks the cat on the nose. "Bad cat. Down." She makes sure Persephone snaps out of it before turning to Graydon again. "That's the girl you attacked at the last full moon. As you seem to have a hard time remembering what happens to you on full moons, I thought I'd show you." She let's that sink in. "You saw what happened to that cute little bunny in your cell. If you're not careful to be here in time, on full moons or don't take your situation seriously, that could be one of your loved ones." "If you want I can lead you out now. Just one more thing. If on the council there is a discussion about the position of Dearil, Duke of Seacrest, I like you to know that I'd really appreciate him to be welcomed among the nobles of Abadon." "Now follow me." Merileth shows Graydon out via his personal secret entrance of the temple.
"Good. I suggest you familiarize yourself with what you can and can't do while in this form. You could change back in a similar way, but it is much harder to change into human form. Especially during or close to a full moon. If you get bored you can try to get into your cat-girl form." Merileth suggests. "But for now you're coming along to meet the noble who graced you with this ability. No jumping at people though." She leads the way to the fine bedroom where she left Graydon.
Merileth retrieves Cilas Craydon from his cell and leads him to one of the fine bedrooms to prepare himself to leave. In the meantime she visits Persephone in her cell. She brings her a cloth, a towel and a wash jug and bowl. As well as a clean set of white clothes. "Clean yourself up." Merileth orders. Seeing the calm state of Persephone she supposes that it worked and Persephone remembers what happened last night. She oversees the process and then continues "Now change again into a cat. Your body wants to transform into a cat, it is easy."
Merileth also receives Cilas Graydon and brings him into one of the neighboring basement rooms. For being rich, he gets some more comfort in this room. She checks on Persephone again and casts a spell on her.
Merileth appears a few minutes later. "Put on the white dress." she orders. Then she leads Persephone inside. A different way this time, into the basement. There are no fancy carpets, no intricate wall papers. Just plain stone walls without decoration. But still impressive compared to the average house. She opens a heavy door made of oak reinforced with steel. Inside there is straw on the floor and a fat grey rabbit. A single magical flame lights the room. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll check on you every hour." After Persephone is in, Merileth closes and locks the door.
"You can tell him there is nothing to know at the moment, but we're looking into it." Merileth replies.
"Wonderful to see you again. I hear you're working on getting Dearil into the right circles." Merileth tells after leading Menan and Arawyn to a private room. "I have the contract ready. I suggest you have Dearil sign one copy of it, before you visit the temple. But you don't leave them the signed copy until they have signed it too. It's a simple deal. They recognize Dearil, we recognize them. It costs them nothing but saves them the trouble of us challenging their authority." She hands over two copies of the written contract.
Contract: The contract takes the original text suggested by the church of Abadar. In addition to that it reads:
The church of Abadar - who appointed itself to take over the duties of the Duke of
This contract closes the executorship of the last will of Fallon Duke of Seacrest as far as the Church of Abadar is involved.
Once outside Merileth starts summoning magical mounts until everyone got one. Then she hands Dearil a pair of sleeves and tells him a elven commandword. "It'll help with the garment until we get you set up with real clothes. And try not to screw that up tomorrow. Let the others do the work, and concentrate on looking noble. You get no second chance at first impressions." The only thing missing, is that she'd take a handkerchief, spits on it and wipes that speck of dirt out of his face.
Suddenly, Merileth walks in. She casts prestidigitation on the cloak while starting to talk. "I see you're ready. Besides you two, you need to wear those grey hoods too to hide your identity for the ride." "Menan, Arawyn, I assume you'll ride your own horses? That would add the luxury of not walking on the way back. Please buy a horse for Dearil, that is worthy for a duke from Lady Adelaide. And make sure she knows who it is for. Can't take chances and have him ride on an old mare, from the next village." "If there are no further questions, I'll summon the horses outside."
Merileth gets up and leads Menan and Arawyn to the secret exit. "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts. Let's make this a great play."
"A slight correction in this plan. You're sneaking out of town the old way and use summoned mounts to get to the next town. Are there any funds in the ruins of the castle that we can use to set all of this this up?" "And as we're talking funds and expenses - you still haven't told what you expect to gain from this."
Merileth crossready the contract. "There is nothing about the castle in that." she comments without looking up. "It is basically a 'That is all you'd get and then we're out and the rest is your problem' in nicely written form." "I'll set up something more fitting. Something where the signee will be the town and not our friend from the Curch of Abadar."
To get into the temple is the same routine as always. Inside Merileth opens the questionnaire. "How did it go?"
"I'll lead you out." Merileth offers. At the secret exit of the temple she tells Menan "I'm looking forward to hear how it went." She hands him the papers needed to prove the legitimacy of his claim.
"Of course, this is a temple of Clalistria, and if someone has a debt to settle with someone, this is the place to go. But so far I don't take you as one to go down that road. Or am I mistaken? What means are you willing to take to get to your goal? Where would you stop? Would you stop?"
"Another thing to consider is the question, if you want to go public with your request, or what happens if the other side goes public." "You have the well known and respected High Priest of Abadar. And a no one with four papers, who wants the city. And the church of Abadar has done a lot of good for the city. Also for themselves. But they have a very good standing not only with the nobles." "If you demand all and threaten them, they could publicly throw the gold from the account at you, and tell you to take what is yours and get lost." "It would throw a very bad light at all involved on our side, if that happens."
Merileth on the other hand keeps her cool and unfazed composure. She looks disapproving at Dearil. "It is a bold approach." she notes and takes a sip from her tea. "But what cards do you hold? You got an heir, and four legal documents. That holds some weight in regards to the church of Abadar. It would go against the core of their faith to dismiss them." "The major on the other hand - some noble by the name of Alaric Sonderburg - might as well laugh you out of the room." "So if I were the mayor, and you put those four documents on the table and demanded he'd hand over the city, or else you'd take it by force, I'd ask: You and what army?" After letting that sink in for a moment she inquires "What is your answer to that?"
A short backtrack later all sit in the same room again. The tea is now only luke warm. "So, what's the plan?"
Merileth leads Menan and Arawyn back to the secret entrance. "See you soon."
Menan and Arawyn are received by Merileth, or Ealoviel, and led to a private chamber similar to last time but with more seating furniture. It has two canapes. "Please take a seat." Merileth offers. "Let us wait for a moment." On the table in front of each canape is a teapot with steaming hot tea, and fine china. Two cups, a small pot with sugar and a small pot with cream. Merileth pours herself tea from the set where the Variels don't sit down and takes a seat in the armchair.
"Until Moonday. And don't mention my name to anyone." Ealoviel leads Menan to the hidden entance and tells him goodbye.
Ealoviel takes the testament and the contract. "I'll keep them safe. You keep the others, they can be created anew." "You were followed by one of my agents. You can't stir up the Temple of Abadar like a fox in the chicken pen and expect me not to look into it. I'll scold him for being seen though." "You need to think what you want from all of this too. If selling the continued non-existance of Dearil, then material gain it is. If you aim at reinstating the duke, then seneschal might be an option for a longer term. With both options you'll make yourself a name in Abadon. Win some allies, make some enemies."
"I said, that finding the heir is the easy part. I meant that." Ealoviel states with a smug smile.
After about half an hour Ealoviel returns with two letters in hand. She closes the door carefully again, hands the parchments to Menan and takes a seat in the armchair. Letter 1: To whom it may concern.
The House of Flame testifies that Fallon Duke of Seacrest signed a contract for us to take care of a young boy by the name Dearil. Details of the contract are confidential, but persons with legitimate interest may request to see the contract at the House of Flame. Together with the documented last will of Fallon Duke of Seacrest this contract proves beyond doubt that Dearil who was handed into custody of the House of Flame is the rightful heir of the Duke. Signed, Rova 26th, 4721AR
Letter 2:
I, Dearil Duke of Seacrest appoint Menan Variel my seneschal and authorize him to negotiate the details of the fulfillment of the testament of Fallon former Duke of Seacrest. Namely handing over all property that belongs to the of Seacrest family and compensation for the losses due to not fulfilling the will at due time. Signed, Rova 26th, 4721AR
"Within two days I'll have a copy of the seal of the deceased duke. Or we could check if the duke is still wearing his seal ring and get the original. It is not really necessary, but it would give the second letter a nice touch." "I suggest you sleep over it, consider which way to follow suits you most and then let the bomb drop on Moonday. I'm here for further consultations. But I need some time too now, to ponder the options."
"Well, that is all we need." She hands back the testament. "If you'd excuse me for a moment. I need to get you two letters that will strengthen your position tremendously when negotiating with the High Priest of Abadar." She gets up and leaves with a fast pace through the same door she and Menan came in.
"You met the high priest? Well, that's good news. We know that they already know that this is serious business. As for accepting you, it doesn't matter, as the heir can declare you seneschal. You made the first move in the game you are gonna play it as the key figure." "May I see the testament of the duke? I'd like to know what we're talking about to assess our options."
"Locating the boy is the easy part." Ealoviel states without elaborating on it. "To get the boy what is rightfully his is basically impossible." "He should have been appointed duke decades ago, and inherit a castle, the wealth and the privileges that come with being a duke. The privilege to collect taxes alone..." Ealoviel gestures what is gone is gone. "The question is, what can you get him today. You assumed that there is no need for him to hide anymore. There might be people who disagree. The question is how much are they willing to pay to keep it this way." "Or if you are bold, you could try to get him some of those rights back and profit in the long run." "So I ask you again: What are your plans?"
"The duke paid generously as long as he lived for taking care of the boy. I don't remember the sum that was donated regularly. But the agreement ran out with the death of the duke and the end of the donations. With no one ever asking for the boy, the requested education was changed to prepare the boy for a life without a rich noble to back his livelihood." "But your request raises interesting questions. You seem to know what the last wishes of the duke were. You seem to have access to some inheritance from the duke which allows you offer the temple payment. And you call the boy his heir. This is priceless." This is the first time you see Ealoviel excited. "So, what are your plans now? I mean besides settling the debt with the temple to be done with that part of the will."
"A relative of yours? He practiced as a scribe. He died about the same time as the duke. There wasn't anything special about his death that I remember. He was of venerable age."
"Fallon Duke of Seacrest. An unlucky guy. The last one to bear the title of duke. His wife died early and he had no heir when he was murdered. That was quite the uproar. The duke had fallen on hard times and agreed to sell the land between what is the old town today and the docks for a big lump of gold." "The contract was sealed, proclaimed publicly on the place in front of this temple. And the next day the duke was dead. The clerics of Abadar were almost murdered too. But the attempt failed and the man was brought to justice. Public beheading." "It is only speculation, but I believe, had he done the deal under our patronage and not with Abadar, he would have lived to enjoy the money. It is hard for me to imagine that we would have fallen for a trickster. Malicious gossip has it that it takes one to know one, but that isn't always a bad thing."
"For all practical purposes in regards to Seacrest, always. The town isn't that old."
"You're trying to keep your cards close to your chest." Ealoviel states the obvious with a smile. "This temple isn't about education. It is about lust, revenge and trickery. Of course we'd welcome money, especially for services yet unpaid. But if we ever educated someone then it wasn't because we have the best reputation for higher education." "It could be someone who became a priest. Or someone who has something to hide. I can introduce you to the head of the pleasure department of the temple. Maybe you'd find that educated person there. But I can't show you those who came here to not be found." Ealoviel lets herself sink into the armchair and looks at some features of the room. After that pause she continues. "How about you put one of your cards on the table. You know what you would look for, if I had a list and you could see it. So why not tell me, and I see if there is any information I can give you about that. I promise I won't forge an educational record to cheat you out of your money."
"The options are business or pleasure. The kind of business you want to do is of no interest to our concierges." Ealoviel ensures Menan that there was no misunderstanding. "I wonder what gives you the idea, that we have education records, and if we had some, why would they be of interest to you?" Sense Motive DC17: There is a slight amusement about the demanding tone of Menan.
"The pleasure is all mine." the elven priestess replies. "Your memory works just fine. I didn't tell you. Call me Ealoviel."
A minute later the door opens again and the dreaded witch enters the room. She carefully closes the door before facing Menan. "Good evening. I hear you are here for business again?" She sits down on the free seat. If Menan hasn't chosen a seat yet, she sits down in the armchair and offers him to sit on the canape.
Entering the temple of Calistria, Faerveren finds, that there is practically no common folk there. Almost all of the attendees wear the revealing clerical garbs in white and gold. About half of them are elves, the others half-elves, about evenly men and women. The service has already started. Harp music is echoing through the hall and the atmosphere is tense with joyful expectation. All surround the white marble altar, the centerpiece under the depiction of the goddess. A young man is lead in by the head priestess, his gown taken away, and he is laid on his back on the altar. The priestess pours oil from a carafe over his body and then all step closer stroking and massaging the man. From the incantations of the priestess it becomes clear that this will be a sacrifice of virginity to please the goddess.
"Don't do anything hasty. IF your stepmother is responsible, she won't go anywhere. She probably is in for life, or even for a death sentence. And if we can prove two more murders that will ensure that even further." Merileth takes two gold coins from her pouch. "Here take these, in case a donation to Pharasma's temple is needed to persuade Father Grimburrow to allow the disturbance of the eternal rest. The less people know the better." She then leads Persephone back to the exit.
Merileth can see the curiosity in Persephone's face. As she needs to stay on top and Persephone to accept her as authority without asking questions she needs to throw her a bone. And gold coins won't do this time. She takes a deep breath. "My condolences to your loss. Even when I'm up to a decade late in case of your parents." "This Menan is turning every stone. And he suspects foul play with the deaths of your parents. And it can't be that he arrives here and asks questions I don't know the answers to." "Therefore" she looks Persephone deep into the eyes "I need to find out if these deaths were caused by administering illegal substances. With your parents buried in a crypt this would still be possible for some substances from a few strains of hair. You want to know that too, don't you?"
It takes all her mental strength to not to facepalm. I'm getting negligent. Mental note: thorough background checks on everyone I use for work. The question Persephone states is a welcome distraction to play over her own astonishment. "You're not supposed to know my name. And you're not supposed to address me without being asked." "Please repeat, what you told to Menan about your family." After listening to Persephone reiterating everything Merileth adds another question. "Where are your parents put to rest?"
Merileth's eyes widen. "Please state your full name."
A short time after Persephone appears at the temple Merileth opens the door for her. "Follow me." she orders and leads Persephone to her retreat. "Take a seat." "This elf named Menan, that I had you deliver a message to and the plaque. What do you know about him?"
After Menan leaves the House of Flame
Merileth withdraws to her personal retreat and rings for her acolytes. "We have a problem. That elf guy that turned up earlier to find that family heirloom is now an investigator of sorts for the city. And he claims there was a murder that involved poison. That came up during investigating the murder of that kid by his mother of the name Pembrooke." "I need detailed information about the man, the murder, who those Pembrookes are, and where any poisoning could be involved to these. Top priority, everything else can wait. Pembrooke, the name sounds familiar. Wasn't there a shop some time agao? And get me the limping girl from The Pig's Whistle. She met him, maybe she overheard something." "That's all, get on it."
"As you wish." Merileth replies and leads Menan to another alcove and then through a labyrinth of secret doors and corridors until he finds himself outside in a niche that is protected from viewers outside. "When you step out, turn around and closely examine the passage, as there are many around the temple." She closes the door on him. The 'door' is an intricate work, but even though you know it is there it's almost impossible to tell the crack of the door apart from the chiseled pattern that covers the whole wall. Stepping out of cover Menan finds him self at the back of the temple. The passage has a framed round depiction of the Savored Sting chiseled into the lime stone. Or for more numerically inclined people, it is eleven strides away from the southern corner.
"Well, I understand your reluctance to spill details, but we don't have any books about that. If you have a fresh poisoned body it is easy to determine if it was poisoning. Also one could try to determine from the sensory information the kind of poison. "If the person can tell symptoms that helps also. But that only works if you have knowledge about the poison used. And we have no books about that. Determining the presence of poison is just a simple casting." "So either you have something to bring to me, that I can examine for you, or you at least have some description of the effects and I could try to find deduce what kind of poison it is. But the first case would be much better."
"If you don't plan on coming more often, but find yourself in need of our services anyway, invisibility would work. Please be aware, that you need to drop that immediately when the curtain closes behind you. Sneaking in further using invisibility might lead to an unpleasant experience for you." the elf explains. "If you plan on coming more often, I'll lead you out another way, that will be your future entrance." "About your request. You are suspiciously vague. I'm not interested in guessing what you mean. What exactly is your connection to the city, that has you call your visit official? What ordeal of what Lady Pembrooke? And as you're asking for knowledge about a topic that is frowned upon in town, you need to explain where you see a connection that would justify gathering knowledge about poison." Merileth clearly becomes even more formal and reserved.
At the House of Flames it is the same procedure. Menan is seated in the alcove and the elven woman comes to parlay with him. "Do you want to become a regular visitor of the House of Flame? Because you're not supposed to come regularly through the main entrance." Merileth schools Menan. "But what is it that leads you here?"
After about half an hour she comes back, speaks some unintelligible words, waves her hand and touches Persephone.
Then she casts another spell to check the result. "You're good. Rest yourself and you'll recover soon. Latest the day after tomorrow come here again. I might have a job for you." Without further words, she ushers Persephone to the exit.
"Good. I'll be back soon." Merileth leaves the room. |
