"Apologies my child. There is that better."
Tristans nods, :::yes sir, much better.:::
Sunny G kneels before the Waif and examines him and looks to the others. "If I may, I wish to mind-link all of us and I would like to hear your version of the events that led you to his discovery and recent troubles."
"Apologies my child. There is that better."
Tristans nods, :::yes sir, much better.:::
Sunny G kneels before the Waif and examines him and looks to the others. "If I may, I wish to mind-link all of us and I would like to hear your version of the events that led you to his discovery and recent troubles."
Devlyn proceeds to recount everything this group knows to date on the events that may be connected to young Tristan.
"Tea will be fine, sir, as well as some pointers for seeing the more 'interesting' sites of the city - like The Tunnels, for example," Devlyn says.
"The Tunnels you say? Hmmm, seems to be generating a bit of interest in the past day or so. It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the robbery at the jeweler's shoppe would it?" Ogiva asks.
"Only tangentially," Devlyn responds. "I understand the owner has started his own investigation into that little mess, but my interest is more in the tunnels themselves and the folks who use them for home and highway. I've also heard tell of some...active trading, let's say...going on down there as well."
"Sounds like you're digging for some information," Ogiva says. "I'll tell you two things for free. You'll never find an entrance to the Tunnels unless it wants you too. The slavers, the fences, and the cutthroats who run the Tunnels have an informal pact about their particular real estate. So don't scour the Tunnels searching for something you're not going to find. You'll end up dead in trouble, or worse. Now, what else can you tell me about the robbery. Anyone involved I should know about?"
Devlyn smiles politely.
"Only what the whole city knows by now - that a drow and two minotaurs decided to cause a scene and steal a shiny. As I said, we're not investigating the robbery. I'm just interested in the drow, and who she may answer to."
"Why with the simple inquiries. It's obvious if she were a drow she would answer to a certain Queen of Spiders unless of course something made her stand out from the rest of her violent ilk," Ogiva observes.
Devlyn nods.
"But a female drow going out and leading an operation personally? That sounds like something far less obvious is indeed going on, especially when combined with the fact that she also possesses powers of the mind. I think she marches to a different drummer than the norm."
"Any clues to her affiliations? I need something solid. Did she have any distinguishing marks?" Ogiva asks.
"She was accompanied by two minotaurs, one of which was the color of ivory, and had a strange symbol on her necklace," Oroth chimes in.
"What did this symbol look like? Can you draw a description for me?"
Devlyn pulls out a bit of charcoal and some parchment and draws out the design of the drow woman's symbol. Once Delvyn finishes the symbol, Ogiva looks at it for briefly then his eyes widen. He hisses deeply from the depth of his throat.
"Are you sure that's what you saw," he says through clenched teeth.
"Yes sir. I take it this is one piece of information you actually didn't want, is it?" Devlyn asks, noting Ogiva's reaction.
He rolls his tongue in his closed mouth. "It misfortune to speak her name and misfortune if you've crossed the path of those that serve her. That symbol belongs to a demon queen. She calls herself Decca, Queen of Ruin. She despises faiths and deity worship of all kinds. She servants are called Ur-Priests. They steal from the divine and use the magic for themselves."
Devlyn looks back to Ogiva.
"You've had dealings with her devotees before, I would guess. Any suggestions on 'dealing' with them?"
Ogiva's brow narrows. "You've misread me. I have heard of her and her mercenary band, The Company of the Ebony Harlot, but I have no direct dealings with her. It is rumored she has another high priest who attends to the flock, a devotee a herlot-goddess of misfortune and black luck. They say Decca is very selfish and possessive of her chosen, whenever and however she gathers them."
"So you're saying there are two priests of this demon queen running things in the Tunnels?" Devlyn asks.
"I deal with only information and cyrptic knowledge, and sometimes what I learn isn't good enough," Ogiva answers. "I believe the cleric is in her service and he worships a deity called Beshaba. That's what I've heard. And no one operates the Tunnels. They're too large and too deep to garnish total control. More Tea?"
"Yes please," Devlyn says with a nod as he puts his cup down for a refill.
"Beshaba is a name I recognize, and that doesn't make for a pleasant pairing, even if it is most likely a temporary one. At least they haven't carved out an entire empire under the city to deal with, though."
"Well, it sounds like these folks aren't going to be good for anybody's business here if left to their own devices. I guess we need to see about relocating them elsewhere."
"Rumor on the street says they are looking for someone who can access a particular place not easily accessable to the Bazaar. Perhaps you should try and find this person before they do."
"Someone who can access someplace that isn't all that accessable to the Bazaar. That could be a bit tricky to pin down on short notice. Doesn't sound like there's much choice in the matter, though. I guess we'd better get started. Thanks for the tea and the atmosphere," Devlyn says as he settles up the tab.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
From Devlyn's recon of the warehouse in the Bazaar of the Bizarre
Now and then, Devlyn is forced to intervene a burglary or a back alley mugging as the day advances however, his back alley inquiries reveal little in the way any useful information. He heads towards the mercantile districts under a flash of insight. While investigating from the tops of buildings, he notices three cloaked figures and a fourth larger bulky figure draped in a thick canvass. All four proceed into a larger alley way and enter a large side-door in a warehouse.
The first figure, by its stride, figure, and heavily pace, is definitely an armored woman. Slung across her back is a large obsidian-colored spear. She carries a heavy shield.
The second figure, is male, heavily armored with a spiked mace slung to one side. A heavy shield is strapped to his back. The well recognized symbol of Beshaba is etched onto its polished surface.
The third figure makes Devlyn's skin crawl. He carries no weapons save a coiled bladed chain. He hands, the back anyway is covered in runes and symbols. The wind in the right direction, Devlyn can detect a scent, or rather stench of brimstone.
The fourth figure is heavily draped and it give no indications of its race or abilities.
Devlyn has seen this warehouse and its owner. The war-merchant only known as the Spirit of Vengeance.
A seemingly important wizard makes his way through the thick crowds in the Bazaar. Oblivious to Devlyn's observations, he passes within 40 to 50 feet of the Warehouse. He gives it the once-over then proceed into the sea of humanity that occupies the merchantile district today.
Finding a particular merchant dealing in magical statuary and sculptures, Solmyr purchases what appears to be a set of ebony goats and a white marble elephant. Tucking the goods under his thick cloak, he proceeds towards the warehouse Devlyn is monitoring.
The wizard places the paired goat statuette on the ground and runs his middle finger down the goat's back and utters and incantation. Seconds later as he steps back, the paired goats transforms into a vestige of magical energies. Dark and smoky, they launch themselves with mystical fury, striking head on against the twin warehouse doors. The doors splinter under the on-slaught.
He yells "I am Solmyr of the Azure Flame and I have come to retrieve my stolen property! Return my valuables if not, your lives are forfeit."
Placing the elephant statuette on the ground, he catches a glimpse of Devlyn as he rushes away form the scene. activating the statuette, it magically morphs into a bipedal engine of destruction, armored and armed to tackle whatever the inhabitants the warehouse decided to throw at it.
He utters a quick phrase at Devlyn before the Dalesman heads towards his next destination. "You'll be back."
Devlyn proceeds to recount everything this group knows to date on the events that may be connected to young Tristan.
Sunny G. studies the thoughts and memories of the group for a considerable amount of time.
Then he ceases the mind-link, and resumes normal dialogue. "It seems the Zhalail and her minions miscalcualted. There is a third gemstone needed to access the Tunnels and it seems young Tristan here is the only one who can obtain it. Sadly, Zhalail and her minions know this as well. Without Tristan or his hidden magics, however, they will never obtain it. They are waiting to strike again."
"And Tristan, you're a very powerful boy. The spirits of your ancestors will train you in your powers to come. Until then, you'll need to confront the man who murdered your parents. You'll need to go home again."
"Well isn't that a slap in the face! Now we learn that Tristan has to go and face the people we've been trying to keep away from him until we figured this whole thing out because that is the only for this to all be over!"
He sighs.
"And we're down one person."
"Well isn't that a slap in the face! Now we learn that Tristan has to go and face the people we've been trying to keep away from him until we figured this whole thing out because that is the only for this to all be over!"
He sighs.
"And we're down one person."
Allura reaches out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Aidan will get things sorted out. It's going to be okay. I'm sure of it."
"Well isn't that a slap in the face! Now we learn that Tristan has to go and face the people we've been trying to keep away from him until we figured this whole thing out because that is the only for this to all be over!"
He sighs.
"And we're down one person."
Allura reaches out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Aidan will get things sorted out. It's going to be okay. I'm sure of it."
"Well isn't that a slap in the face! Now we learn that Tristan has to go and face the people we've been trying to keep away from him until we figured this whole thing out because that is the only for this to all be over!"
He sighs.
"And we're down one person."
Allura reaches out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Aidan will get things sorted out. It's going to be okay. I'm sure of it."
"Well isn't that a slap in the face! Now we learn that Tristan has to go and face the people we've been trying to keep away from him until we figured this whole thing out because that is the only for this to all be over!"
He sighs.
"And we're down one person."
Allura reaches out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Aidan will get things sorted out. It's going to be okay. I'm sure of it."
"Thank you Allura. I hope you're right."
Sunny G. studies the thoughts and memories of the group for a considerable amount of time.
Then he ceases the mind-link, and resumes normal dialogue. "It seems the Zhalail and her minions miscalcualted. There is a third gemstone needed to access the Tunnels and it seems young Tristan here is the only one who can obtain it. Sadly, Zhalail and her minions know this as well. Without Tristan or his hidden magics, however, they will never obtain it. They are waiting to strike again."
"And Tristan, you're a very powerful boy. The spirits of your ancestors will train you in your powers to come. Until then, you'll need to confront the man who murdered your parents. You'll need to go home again."
Devlyn just shakes his head, refraining from his usual colorful epithets.
"...So there are three gemstones needed to access the Tunnels, Zhailal has two of them, and Tristan is the only one who can access the third one? I'm assuming this means there is some other part of the Tunnels that hasn't been accessed yet, since they're already down there?"
Devlyn just shakes his head, refraining from his usual colorful epithets.
"...So there are three gemstones needed to access the Tunnels, Zhailal has two of them, and Tristan is the only one who can access the third one? I'm assuming this means there is some other part of the Tunnels that hasn't been accessed yet, since they're already down there?"
"No," he says to Devlyn. "Zhalail and her her crew do not have it yet. They need Tristan to enter the house and retrieve it. I suspect there's more to gemstones than opening portals."
He turns to look at Tristan sadly.
"You know you will need to go back and confront the man who murdered your parents."
Tristan looks at Sunny G with tears swelling in his eyes. He yells loudly across the minds of everyone.
:::No! I won't go! You don't know what he can do to people!"
Tristan looks at Sunny G with tears swelling in his eyes. He yells loudly across the minds of everyone.
:::No! I won't go! You don't know what he can do to people!"
"You're sure that only Tristan can do this? He's a child. I don't like the idea of taking him into a dangerous situation."
"You're sure that only Tristan can do this? He's a child. I don't like the idea of taking him into a dangerous situation."Tristan looks at Sunny G with tears swelling in his eyes. He yells loudly across the minds of everyone.
:::No! I won't go! You don't know what he can do to people!"
Sunny G. kneels before Tristan and places his hands on his shoulders.
"You need to do this. It's the only way to make it right. It's the only way to give them justice. You have the power to go home."
He turns to Allura. "I'm hoping he will have companions to help him as well. I'm adamantly against the idea, no the thought of sending Tristan all by himself. This boy is truly fearful of something in that house. There is something elusive about the house. Something that blocks the light of day and my divine sight. It's like its pushed partially into another realm or some such."
Tristan looks at Sunny G with tears swelling in his eyes. He yells loudly across the minds of everyone.
:::No! I won't go! You don't know what he can do to people!"
"Whoever he is doesn't know what we can do, Tristan. I swear I'll get you out of there if anything goes wrong. No matter what."
"Whoever he is doesn't know what we can do, Tristan. I swear I'll get you out of there if anything goes wrong. No matter what."
:::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
:::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
"'Wasn't there' as in you put your hand straight through him, or just the feeling that he was 'disconnected' from the world in a creepy way?"
"Whoever he is doesn't know what we can do, Tristan. I swear I'll get you out of there if anything goes wrong. No matter what.":::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
"It seems to me they all are afraid of you, since they all want you out of the picture. Don't fear what fears you, Tristan."
"'Wasn't there' as in you put your hand straight through him, or just the feeling that he was 'disconnected' from the world in a creepy way?":::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
:::No. It went through him. It felt cold, like a cold winter wind. I can't put it into words.:::
:::No. It went through him. It felt cold, like a cold winter wind. I can't put it into words.:::"'Wasn't there' as in you put your hand straight through him, or just the feeling that he was 'disconnected' from the world in a creepy way?":::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
"So we're dealing with a potentially undead opponent. I think we should probably invest in some ghost touch weapons. It's alright, Tristan. We're going to be right there with you. And we will be doing everything in our power to protect you."
"It seems to me they all are afraid of you, since they all want you out of the picture. Don't fear what fears you, Tristan.""Whoever he is doesn't know what we can do, Tristan. I swear I'll get you out of there if anything goes wrong. No matter what.":::I don't know. I touched him once and it's like he wasn't there.:::
Tristan shivers with fear.
"It seems in our communion, that Zhalail and her followers want Tristan alive. But for what, I have no clue. If you're going to aid Tristan, I would advise caution. And from what I've seen, he'll need to confront his parent's murderer first. I have something that may aid you in your little adventure."
He moves towards his large desk and opens a drawer. he removes a gold box and remove a gold plated arrow, no more than two inches in length.
"This is an arrow of direction. A small, but useful trinket in locating lost or hidden objects. Tristan, if there is anything that aide you, now is the time to speak."
He looks to the others.
"Anything you think you'll need, let me know. I will fund this little endeavor."
:::My grandparents told me that when I am stronger and more skilled, my blades can become, uh, what was it, Uh ghost-touched and wraithstrike weapons. I'm not sure what that means...:::
"Other than rations and fresh water, in case we do find the Tunnels, I do not believe I need anything else."
He pulls a small rectangle out from within his sleeve, and can be seen looking between it and Tristan. After a few moments, he slips it back into his sleeve.
"Well, we can hope that the attacl at the warehouse isn't being staged by them, and that they'll be distracted while we take care of this."
"Well, we can hope that the attacl at the warehouse isn't being staged by them, and that they'll be distracted while we take care of this."
"Attack?"
Sunny G. motions with his hands and the memories of Devlyn's encounter come to mind.
"My acolytes have been observing a wizard in the Bazaar lately. A wizard named Solmyr. All they can gather is that he was a victim of larceny on the part of Zhalail or one of her allies. Perhaps, he can aide you in his quest?"
:::My grandparents told me that when I am stronger and more skilled, my blades can become, uh, what was it, Uh ghost-touched and wraithstrike weapons. I'm not sure what that means...:::
Morning from the Southwest. Oh, check this out.
"Other than rations and fresh water, in case we do find the Tunnels, I do not believe I need anything else."
He pulls a small rectangle out from within his sleeve, and can be seen looking between it and Tristan. After a few moments, he slips it back into his sleeve.
:::What's That?::: Tristan looks at Oroth with some curiosity.
:::What's That?::: Tristan looks at Oroth with some curiosity."Other than rations and fresh water, in case we do find the Tunnels, I do not believe I need anything else."
He pulls a small rectangle out from within his sleeve, and can be seen looking between it and Tristan. After a few moments, he slips it back into his sleeve.
"Oh. You saw it, huh?"
With a slight hesitation, he pulls it back out and flips it to the floor, where it expands and floats a few inches above the ground.
"I was thinking about giving this to you in case we get into trouble and you have to get away fast."