Camlo accepts the gruel, grudgingly. He sits quiet, and head hung though, looking absolutely and completely guilty.
She notes Camlo's dejected look and smiles at the defiance she sees in others' eyes, nodding.
"When the prisoners have been fed, leave us. I would speak to them of their crimes." When one of the guards turns toward her as though to question the order, she raises one hand. "Stay close enough to hear my shout, but no closer or you will answer to me later."
She waits for them to finish their task.
The hellknights complete their task, salute and withdraw out of earshot.
She watches them go and waits, looking carefully around the clearing before moving close enough to the center of the line of captives that she can speak in a low voice. Those on the ends can just make out her words.
"Those Hellknights," she indicates the majority of the encampment, "believe the charges against you are warranted and that you deserve the death penalty. I know that not to be the case. But I have to work within my authority and, fortunately for you, most Hellknights follow orders without question." She holds up a finger, "Most. You are here because of the actions of one that did not. Your friend ran afoul of this man. Zenovia, tell us what happened. I can see on your face that you recall the day clearly. Keep your voice down lest they decide my orders are no longer to be followed without question."
"Oh, ah, that day, yes. Well, it's a short story. Although I expect Illes could make something better of it than I will." Camlo begins chattering away, he seems almost relieved to be telling this tale, as silly as it may make him look.
"I'd managed to make myself somewhat, ah, unwelcome in Magnimar. For some stupid reason I thought Korvosa would be a bit more friendly, and errmmm, well, lucrative than Riddleport. I didn't even make it into the city."
"The guards on the gates were a couple of hell knights. One of them took a disliking to me, and picked me up. Started searching about for weapons. He found a few and they started talking about throwing me in goal, so I pulled one they haddn't found, cut my way free and ran. I've, ah, never been quite sure how I managed to outrun them, probably all that armour. I didn't think, they'd errr, chase me this far."
"You leave out an important part of the story. The Hellknight that gave you such trouble died that day when you 'cut yourself free'. You were indeed sought for killing that man. During our investigation into how a man stationed in Magnimar came to be watching the gate in Korvosa, some ... irregularities were discovered. The man was serving two masters. His other master was - is - a man the Hellknights are far more concerned about catching than any thief."
She pauses, looking at each of the party members in turn before continuing. "The problem is that the man has been far too successful at evading our efforts. It's believed that he has others within the Order of the Nail that are providing him information. We cannot catch him with Hellknights because we do not which ones to trust in this matter. That is where you come in. As prisoners, you have the perfect cover for me to discuss this with you. And you will have additional legitimacy to get close to him later should that become necessary."
Just then, she sees the sergeant approaching. "Remember, tell no one. The less you speak of doing the Order a favor, the better. If they suspect what we are talking about, you will be easily dispatched as you are. Without changing her tone, she continues. "You will have your opportunity at a fair trial in Magnimar. If these extenuating circumstances are true, we will find proof and your sentence need not be so severe. That is up to the magistrate to decide. You will have opportunity to obtain counsel, of course."
"Sergeant. Did they find the elf?"
The sergeant salutes.
"No ma'am, she appears to have been taken by the sea. However, I came to report that the goblin nest has been destroyed and the vermin all eliminated."
"Excellent. Tell the guard responsible for the prisoners this shift that they may return to their posts."
Turning toward the captives, she adds, "We will speak more tomorrow. Will you need assistance in finding counsel when we reach Magnimar?"
"M-m-m-Magnimar?" Camlo goes a distinctly ghoulish shade of green.
"What's wrong, lil dude? Magnimar's a happenin' scene!...."
The woman casts a glance at Camlo's reaction, but says nothing. When the guards return to their post, she returns to her tent and closes the flap.
"So,......what now, Hellknights? Since we're sitting around bored, could you break us out some wine or ale? I'm a man of action, but I can enjoy some downtime too."
"What's wrong, lil dude? Magnimar's a happenin' scene!...."
"I've been trying to get away from that place for months. I just keep being drawn back." Camlo replies, glumly.
"Well, considering the patrons we have in Magnimar, I think we should be OK. If the Lord Mayor's office has any clout with these guys at all, we should be able to walk out free. If not, we're looking at getting very well acquainted with the rack and the branding irons before we get out hearts cut out on Asmodeus' altar."
"But we should be OK. We have enough money to retain good lawyers, we have purged the judiciary of shapeshifing demons and we are official, if low-key, agents of the city."
"But what about the crime lords? Can you keep them at bay?"
"I eat crimelords for breakfast."
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"But what about the crime lords? Can you keep them at bay?"
The Varisian smirks and looks to Camlo.
"Camlo... we just killed a black dragon. And Hudak dropped a tower on the Black Magga in Turtleback Ferry. I'm hardly worried about crime lords at this point."
Camlo looks dubious, but a little pacified.
Vethran beams confidently at Camlo. But his bravado is somewhat undermined as the hellknights shove the bridles back in everyone's mouths and prepare to move out.
The pace of the march back to Magnimar is punishing. The hellknights barely pause to rest except for a few hours at night. The routine of the journey is quickly established - the day spent shackled and trussed up in the back of the wagon, a couple of meals of gruel a day, a bucket of cold water thrown over them to clean them up when they soil themselves. The female hellknight doesn't speak to them after their initial capture.
It's almost a relief, a few days later, when the wagon trundles through the gates of the Pediment Building and into the high security wing of the Hells, Magnimar's prison beneath the Justice Court. Security is tight, handled by the supposedly incorruptible hellknights rather than ordinary prison guards. They are finally let out of their chains, which after several days were becoming an agonising torment in themselves, hosed down and put in their cells.
"They only captured us because they ambushed us immediately after fighting our way through an entire tribe of goblins and a black dragon. At full strength, they would've needed more men... and maybe some more devils, too." Vethran continues to defend his ego even days after the fact, unwilling to admit that they were outmatched.
"So now we just sit around and wait for another mockery of 'justice' then? Great," he casts his gaze towards Illes and shrugs.
"So, what now?"
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"I guess we wait for the hellknight girl to tell us what she wants us to do. Is that guy in jail? Is that why the diabolists can't get to him?"
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Footsteps can be heard as a familiar voice speaks up, "The 'hellknight girl' is named Valerian, Gorumite. And if only it were so simple as that."
She is wearing more formal gear than at the campsite, but it's the same woman you saw earlier. She looks likes she's come here between other more official destinations and carries a strange helmet - you are pretty sure that if she put it on, it would cover her eyes - under her left arm. "Welcome to the Hells. There is no one close enough to overhear us and the antimagic field prevents magical listening, so we can talk."
"The Hellknights have been unable to locate the man we seek. Of course, many Hellknights don't believe he exists. Others," she gets a hard glint in her eyes, "know exactly how to reach him. Our problem is we do not know which Hellknights remain in the latter group."
She takes a deep breath before continuing, "Our attempts to locate this living ghost have resulted in the former group deciding he's a myth because the latter group, corrupt and unknown themselves, always manages to warn him. We have no physical evidence of him other than the corruption in our ranks, so the signifiers cannot locate him. Our ... questioning of the traitors that we have found have only revealed that he is very skilled at hiding his identity from even those he deals with - both magical and mundane means are used to great effect. On the verge of death, those former Hellknights could not tell us how to find him."
"We have taken a new tack to catch him. No signifiers were found among the corrupt and it was thought that such an ally within the Order might be intriguing. So my superiors determined to provide one, bait the trap if you will, and wait."
"I was the bait in that plan. I first received what we thought might have been contact a year before the Order received reports of a member of the Order of the Nail that was killed on the outskirts of Korvosa. I believe you will recall that tale."
She looks at Camlo, her face devoid of emotion, "I think our target made his first - maybe his only - mistake at that time. He contacted me via means I could not trace back, but it was clear that it was him - and it was clear that his emotions were ruling him rather than his intellect."
"The dead Hellknight was one of his. The man had been dispatched to collect a nuisance that had escaped Magnimar. Apparently, the one that brought the Hellknight low was the nuisance. I am to collect the nuisance and turn it over to my target. I hope you realize that I have no desire to turn Zenovia to be killed by this man - he has indicated rather strongly that a simple death would be too quick - but I must bring this man down at all costs. That is why you are here. Why we sought to bring all of you in - we could have captured the halfling alone several times. As a group, you are a formidable force. One that does not always act predictably. Not a strong suit for Hellknights." She gives a faint, and actually appealing, smile at that last comment.
"My superiors have a plan, but I feel that you know your capabilities far better. Sadly, you know as much as I do at this point. Probably more - I am sure that Zenovia has valuable information from his previous life here in the city. I want to know your thoughts on how we should proceed. Everything I can bring to bear is yours to catch this man, but remember that the other Hellknights cannot know. Any one of them might give away the game."
Vethran scowls a bit when the woman begins her speech. As she continues, however, his brow softens and turns instead to contemplation. He casts several glances towards Camlo during the process, but finally clears his throat when she is finished.
"So we have no idea what kind of person this man is? No estimation of his abilities or skills? It seems like, if he is but a simple man, a contingent of us could follow you under invisibility and simply ambush him when the prisoner exchange was to take place," the mage scoffs.
"If he is a mage, or cleric, or some... other thing... then it's possible that he may have means by which to compromise such a simple and direct plan. In that case, I have contingencies which could be enacted."
The mage paces a few steps inside his cell, scratching the chin now several weeks old with beard growth. "The simplest, of course, would be to have you carry a mark which could be used as a scrying focus. I could watch you from a distance and then, when the time was right, simply teleport the group of us in to apprehend him. Of course, you would need to be certain that whatever meeting place you would rendezvous with him at did not bear any kind of dimensional warding... gah! Can you truly give us nothing at all about the man?"
"Why do you say living ghost? Is he ghostlike for real, or is that just a figure of speech?"
Hudak looks around, for improvised weaponry. Could be handy later on.
A loose rock, a toothbrush that could be sharpened on the floor,.....anything.
Frustration clear, she shakes her head. "At this point, I have nothing. All contact has been through intermediaries of intermediaries, who knows how many layers deep. I do believe he is a member of an organization of some sort - there's no reason to believe that whoever I delivered 'the package' to would even be the target. He might not even know who he is picking up 'the package' for. Surely Zenovia has some idea of why he is wanted and by whom."
"Well, that's true. Maybe, though, "delivering the package,"" aside to Camlo, "no offense friend....." then to Sefayll, "would......lead us to the next step or give us some idea what the next step is."
He's thoughtul.....
"I bet they'll move on us though. We're kinda sedentary at the moment. And relatively unprotected. Hard thing to tell is if they're part of the ghost conspiracy or just some random a@!$&@%."
"I have reason to believe that none of the corrupt Hellknights know which of their fellows is corrupt, either. This shadow organization operates with absolute minimal shared information. In a year, I am no closer to identifying my 'fellow' turncoats. I have not reported success in finding Zenovia and this is one of many missions I've had out of the city. The reason you are in this part of the prison is because we can absolutely minimize your contact with anyone - especially rank-and-file members of the Order. We believe you to be safe here, especially if turning Zenovia over is some sort of test of my usefulness to the target."
"My superiors' plan is as you suggest, though. Arrange to turn Zenovia over to whoever I am ordered to - 'lose' him from the Hells, if you will - while scrying him and those he comes into contact with. Tallomane and I can both scry - if the sensor for one is detected, the other might be overlooked. The original plan would have been to bring a squad of Hellknights to bear on the target once he was identified, but that could just as easily be a squad in support of you and your friends. And perhaps more effectively. Or a squad on one front while you approach from another. That sort of planning will require more information. Information that only Zenovia can provide, either from his recollections or from his participation now."
She looks at Camlo.
"Scry and die, baby. Wanted to try that for a long time."
Hudak perks up.
"Is there any heavy stuff to lift? Like to keep in shape when I'm in the hoozegow, man."
When Camlo speaks, it's with an authority unusual for him. "The Black Mark. I hadn’t realised he was connected to the Hell Knights. I fled Magnimar in the first place because he gave me the choice of Single Combat in front of the one of the criminal gangs or to face his poison. He's an assassin. The best there has ever been, and always was masked, or used a proxy as the lady says. I pulled off a job that happened to cause one of his Mistresses some grief, and my penalty was a death sentence. It was only some pretty necklaces too."
"I know how to get to the Lady. I know at least one gang he leads, although I doubt it's the only one. It looks like I make good bait. But to set foot anywhere in Magnimar, let alone the gang halls, would be sure death. I wish I could say 'sure and instant'."
"I'm gonna put the Black Spot on his ass. Send him a love letter......"
"If I may... Why did this shadowy figure, the Hellknight nemesis if you will, contact you? Why didn't he just dispatch one of his own agents instead?"
Her brow furrows for a moment and she begins to pace, helm still under her arm. "That is a question I have asked myself several times. My only theory is this is an opportunity for a new recruit to prove herself useful."
"I do not know that he considers the Order of the Nail his nemesis as much as some of its members useful tools. He is a cancer - he undermines the Order with his activities. If it became known that members of the Order could be bought, that they no longer served the law and only the law..." She stops speaking, lost in thought - or unwilling to put the thought into words.
She stops suddenly and turns to face the occupied cells. "No one else is being held in this portion of the prison and the only times you should see guards is when they bring your gruel, but the exits are few and heavily fortified. I am due for a meeting shortly with my superiors - the ones that know who you are and why you are here - and will find out how they wish to proceed." Her gaze passes over all of the party members, "I will share your thoughts with them," before settling on Camlo, "and your concerns, of course."
"I must be going. Any other questions?"
"I can't think of nothin, but......that's not my stong suit."
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?", Alwyn mutters as the Hellknight walks away. "Having said that, this stinks to high heaven. Keep in mind that the regular Hellknight goons don't know about this mysterious man. Thus, the only thing he needs to do is to dispatch a couple of 'corrupt' Hellknight tpo deal with Camlo - if we fight them, we're just incriminating ourselves further, and if we don't... And that's assuming this corrupting agent even exists in the first place, which seems unlikely to me? Note that she didn't specify what those corrupt acts were, most probably because it was bullying, robbery and murder - which is the default mode of operations for Hellknights to begin with."
"But we can either play along with this harebrained scheme or face the rack and then the headsman's block. As they took all our funds, we can't afford legal assistance either. So how do we do this?"
"I'm willing to give them the benefit of cooperation. After all, they wouldn't have involved us in this scheme if they didn't earnestly need the assistance. If it was a ploy to further incriminate ourselves by attacking other agents... what would they do to us? Execute us twice? I think we should follow her lead. Like it or not, if we do have a chance of getting out of this, she's it."
"I say we play along. As long as it suits us. Hell, it might be fun."
Go for it!
Hudak does pushups.
"So what do we do? Have the trial, get acquitted and then leave Camlo exposed, planning to 'port in if he gets nabbed? Or should we rather seek out the Mark's girlfriend, make her tell us how to find the man and then unravel the mystery from that end?"
Hudak does pushups.
The hellknight woman returns a few hours later.
"Can I get a steak? Kinda hungry."
Frowning a bit, the woman reappears. Replying to Hudak, she shakes her head curtly. "For the moment, you remain prisoners in fact as well as appearance. It must remain so."
To the party, she says, "Your reputation precedes you. I hope you live up to it. My superiors' hands are tied - they cannot provide any assistance other than what you yourselves can provide. The charges brought against you are quite valid and you were tried in absentia. You were found guilty and sentenced to death. I was allowed to grant a temporary reprieve until our return to Magnimar. Your reward for aiding in capturing this," she looks at Camlo for confirmation, "Black Spot? is a reduction of your sentences. How successful you - we - are determines how much of a reduction it will be."
She sighs, "The plan is much as we surmised - to turn Zenovia over to whoever it is I am to turn him over to and follow him by scrying. A physical tail is likely to be caught and executed - the Order has lost three good men attempting that, all before I was set up as bait. I can send my signal that I have Zenovia in hand whenever we are ready. What do you need to make this happen? The only manpower I can offer you is what I can bring to bear personally. I am not to bring any other members of the Order into this." She does not try to mask the frustration in her voice.
"There's a sword, I have named Nualia's Tongue. Your....comrades have this blade from me in their keeping.
That is all I need.
This Black Spot swiftly approaches the last breath he will breathe."
"I will need my book, my components, my coin, and the time and freedom to prepare an appropriate cocktail of wizardry for this mission. Nothing more," the mage states with a smirk.