Arresting Altay
Night falls earlier and earlier with each passing day. Tonight it feels like it fell extra early. Still feels like it should be day, and yet the sky is midnight blue and the stars glimmer in the firmament. It's bitterly cold, the kind of chill that makes it feel as though the night is trying to gnaw at your bones.
You stand around Lord Altay's house. Hidden in the alleys waiting for the signal from the guard that it's time to move in. The people for this were hand-picked by Balderdan Veit. Men he trusts not to have alerted Altay to your raid on his house. Of course, you were chosen for similar reasons.
"I am still not used to this cold.", the Gobbo says, scarcely louder than a breath. "It comes too early and does not leave early enough. The people of this city have ice for blood, it seems."
Acedia peers curiously at the place of interest, squinting. "Nothing really to note. They have to know this is coming."
The chill of the night doesn't bother Thurid- as evidenced by her bare knees and elbows- it's the sculking about in alleyways that she does not like, though she had acceeded to the plan where she would have prefered to knock on the front door- with her hammer if necessary. Nevertheless, she is here and she waits with her companions- the hammer in question is ready, sitting on her shoulder and she holds the haft with one hand. In hushed tones, she speaks with the others- "I've spells to subdue and protect, if we need them."
Stealth on Seldan just looks plain -weird-. Fully armed and armored, as he always is, one would not know to look at him. Carefully crafted illusions, from both the armor and the hat of disguise he wears, renders the ginger-blonde much, much less - conspicuous. Dark shirt, trousers, and boots, a nondescript gray woolen long coat over it, and a plain-looking sword at his hip is strange enough, but for this, he has rendered his hair black as a mousehole at midnight, his features a little more crooked. He seems unconcerned about the cold, entirely so. "Well enough. Ware," he tells the others. "He may have anything prepared."
Verna would hope that neither she nor Seldan would be suspected of dealing with that sort, given their history with the fiendish aspect of Lord Altay's presumed dealings. As they await word, she notes softly, for all yet eyes to Seldan, "I have every reason to believe another of those ...abominations to be here, as we found in the tower. It must be destroyed." Neither person nor object, but something rather in between. "I know not what else we might find, so suspect everything."
The Gobbo shivers. "He is here."
The guards bristle, the awareness that the moment is coming shifts through them and like the surge of a bird taking flight, they move. Carrying you with them. Up to the house. The only warning is a knock and then the door is being pushed in and the guards are spilling inside. There's only five men all told. All that Balderdan could trust.
In a matter of moments they're pushing the servants outside, all of them looking surprised. Altay himself is the last to be exited from his home, and you are ushered inside even as he - in his dressing gown - is escorted out. He levels a flat glare at all of you.
Once the time for Subterfuge is over, Thurid stands up straight- clearly pleased that they no longer need to hunch in the alleyway. She catches the glare from Altay, and offers him a smile in return as she passes by him. As she turns her attention back towards the house they advance towards, she clutches her holy symbol to her chest and utters a prayer to her Patron, "Angoron, bless me with your sight, that I might root out evil wherever it may hide."
Her eyes glow, bright and blue as she advances slowly into the house, sweeping her view back and forth.
Thurid does pause, though, at the threshold. She whistles, and then waves over the captain of this little operation on the guard's side.
Seldan doesn't waste a moment of time with Lord Altay's reaction. Verna's words ring in his mind - if one of _those_ is here, it must be dispatched without delay, out of mercy for the person it once was, and for another reason. He completely ignores the man, striding into the house, and once inside, chanting a quick spell and drawing a simple sigil in the air. A golden-silver shen falls over his eyes, not so very different from Acedia's, and he surveys the inside of the house. "We stay together," he tells the others. "I know not what we shall find, and yet do I trust no friend of the black scourge that is Eclavdran's cult."
"We shouldn't split up too much.", the Goblin says softly. "Shut each door after we've searched each room."
She glances around. "If I were to guess, it'd be in the basement. But we should also secure the servant's hallways and stairs. Erf. We could have used a couple dozen more guards and it'd probably still not be enough."
GAME: Seldan casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 16 DC: 18 GAME: Acedia casts Detect Magic. Caster Level: 5 DC: 12
"Indeed," Verna confirms any or all of this as she moves in with the others. "The most recent information we received was of a summoning location, in the sewers beneath this home... but we should not split. Where should we seek first, Seldan," she defers to the Silverguard.
The lieutenant Balderdan comes immediately to Thurid's call, his expression concerned. "How can I help you? Did you find something already?" He seems slightly suspicious of this given the fact that Thurid isn't even in the house yet. Though, he doesn't seem entirely dismissive of the idea either.
Acedia pauses, going still, her head slowly turning. "His lordship has something on him that is magical.", she says quietly. "I can't make out what school it is from, but it is probably worth confiscating until we can work it out."
When the Lieutenant comes over, Thurid nods her head and she leans in close so that she can speak in hushed tones- tones that hopefully don't carry far. "Keep an eye on that one." she indicates one of the guards with a cant of her head. "He's got a wicked streak. Might not mean nothin' but I'd be cautious." she offers quietly before glancing back to the other adventurers. "I reckon we ought to use our spells to take a decent scan of the place 'fore we go wandering in any deeper. Might be there's wards and the like, but might be there's not and it'd save sticking our necks out further'n we need to."
Once inside, Seldan adds, "Holy Dreamer, show me the presence of Your enemies." He looks around, then back towards the door, and _frowns_ at one of the guards. Thurid has beaten him to it, though, and he holds up a hand to the others. "Hold." He turns to await Thurid, but does not seem impatient, and when Acedia speaks, he strides back to join her. "One of our mages says that Lord Altay is in possession of a magical device." His eyes rest on the guard that registered evil. "The Warrior is correct, and not often does She warn me of those of Ea," he adds, with a warning tone. "We continue to search, but ware you."
Verna frowns as they do not even reach the interior when flaws are discovered in the plans. Flaws, or agents. She turns back to Altay and the guards about him. "The item should be removed from his person, carefully." As much as she wishes to make haste with their search, having a collaborator potentially escape or worse, cause more harm, would be untenable.
Balderdan looks toward the guards standing around lord Altay and motions for them to divest the man of his magical item. "We'll have to ask you to give up your belongings for the moment Lord Altay." He says this loudly enough to be overheard and then more quietly to Thurid and Seldan he offers. "I had all my men checked for... evil influence before this mission. You're saying one of them has changed that much in such a short time? Is that possible?"
He shakes his head, and then waves you off. "Nevermind. I'll keep an eye on him myself." He looks at the guardsman in question and then moves closer to the other man.
"That do I not know, Captain. I but know of Her warning. The judgment shall be yours, for it is not my place to command your men," Seldan answers, pushing that lock of black hair from his eyes. "Come, we search." A last _look_ at the guard, that in another place and time might have been accompanied by a gesture meaning _I'm watching you_.
He turns his back on the guard captain and strides back towards the others. "Come, swiftly."
GAME: Acedia rolls knowledge/arcana: (14)+13: 27
Verna now feels comfortable turning her attention back to the house and moves to the interior. Some are actively scanning for evil, others obviously for the presence of magic. From her recent experiences in the tower, she now invokes a simple divination spell of her own; one that seeks mudanely concealed passages, compartments, and the like.
GAME: Verna casts S1: Mei. Caster Level: 18 DC: 17
Thurid shakes her head, "I couldn't say- I don't know the man." she offers, "But I do know what I sense." she answers, mirroring Seldan's own Sentiment. And then she's finally heading into the house proper after Seldan, her eyes peeled as she looks back and forth around the room. "You said you sensed something below?" she wonders as she makes her way in, turning her own gaze towards the ground- to see if she can pick up any hints of evil presence through the floor.
"I think it best that the item be held by the Silver Guard, Seldan.", Acedia says firmly. "It will be in good hands then, and should it be an innocent trifle, then from his hands it will be surely returned."
The Gobbo turns to follow the others into the house, and she steals a glance or two at the suspected Guard. "Seldan, you should really, really look at the statue his Lordship has."
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20: (9): 9
Even as you enter the house, there's a sudden commotion from the guards. The guard that was taking the magical item from Lord Altay draws his sword, and suddenly attacks Altay and the guard on the other side of the lord. Altay lets out a surprised shout, and the other guard is forced to defend him from the one attacking. The two men struggle in a battle for supremacy over the sword which is... a fight which is more closely matched then is comfortable.
Meanwhile, Altay breaks away and makes a run for it.
GAME: Seldan attempts to cast Resilient Sphere but fails due to ASF. GAME: Seldan rolls 1d100: (32): 32
Verna's eyes alight in a soft Pantone 448 C glow. "There are several concealed rooms in this house. It will take some time to-" She stops at Acedia's mention of statue and scowls. She knows of only one statue in the context of Eclavdran. Well, two, technically, though they only differed in size. All were bane in one way or another. "She is correct, it should be-" Then there are two swords a-clashing and one Lord a-fleeing.
Seldan freezes, cold, his blood running cold at the mention of a statue. He stops short. "Hold. A statue, you say?" A moment's pause, eyes lowered, and he pulls from his belt pouch a small stone orb with a silver center, a thing that he holds in his hand for a moment.
It's at that moment that the fight breaks out, and he whirls. The orb is forgotten as he goes for his sword, and floats up to orbit his head instead. An interesting little thing, glowing gently with the cool silver of moonlight, but its purpose is unclear.
He doesn't care, though, instead taking two strides towards the door. The sword comes out as he does so, but the free hand is much busier, drawing much more swift and complex sigils in a blue-while silver glow "Stop, in the Dreamer's holy name!" he shouts, stabbing a finger towards the fleeing Lord Altay.
The Gobbo draws forth a thin sword, and charges towards the two fighting guards. "Stop! Cease fighting! Put your swords away!"
To Seldan, she calls out, "It's heavily enchanted, and in my humble guess, quite possibly the creature we fear."
GAME: Thurid casts Calm Emotions. Caster Level: 9 DC: 16 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+1: (7)+1: 8
"A statue?" Thurid asks, and gives a shudder. "I don't think I'll ever look at a statue the same way again- the other day I was-" but then she's cut off by the sounds of commotion, she turns and moves back to the door to see what's going on. Seeing Altay make a break for it- but be swiftly thwarted by a sphere of energy- she focuses on the guards. "STAY YOUR HANDS!" she bellows at them- it is not a suggestion, the words carry with them the weight of authority granted by her faith.
The spell that Seldan casts effectively traps and protects Lord Altay from the two guards. Notably for an instant, the two guards - affected by Thurid's spell - relax. Yet the first one immediately takes up his sword again, attacking his companion in spite of the calming effect. This allows him to strike down his fellow and the other guards are quickly heading in to put a stop to the fight. "Damn it all!" Yells Balderdan, drawing his own sword and heading in.
GAME: Acedia casts Cure Moderate Wounds. Caster Level: 5 DC: 14 GAME: Acedia rolls 2d8+5: (11)+5: 16 GAME: Thurid casts Hold Person. Caster Level: 9 DC: 16 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+1: (7)+1: 8
The downed guard is approached by the Goblin, and using a sturdy piece of his armor, she drags him out of the melee scuffle. She kneels by his side, and after a brief prayer to Eluna, she lightly places a glowing hand to the wound.
"Oh for the love of-" Thurid begins when the fighting continues despite her efforts to resolve it, "I said HOLD!" she bellows again, clutching her holy symbol with white knuckles and sending a wave of energy washing forth- over the guard who still fights. He freezes mid-swing, his muscles seizing up all at once, and topples to the ground, like a statue of flesh and blood.
GAME: Seldan casts Magic Circle Against Evil. Caster Level: 16 DC: 21 GAME: Seldan rolls will: (11)+31: 42
The sight of the statue in the guard's hand is explanation enough for Seldan. Another chanted spell, this one's sigils centered by the crescent and sphere of Eluna, and he raises his hand, still chanting, the sigils moving under his direction to lie on the cobblestones at his feet, forming a circle around him. A a single flash, and they vanish.
Satisfied, the paladin bolts for the guardsman, and fairly snatches the statue - a headless thing, a swollen, grotesque caricature of a pregnant woman rendered in stone - from the guard's grasp. A brief shudder ripples through him, but when he looks up, his eyes are sane, the very same as they were - and the orb around his head glows merrily at something.
"Captain, this is all the evidence you need," he calls. "None touches it save me, it is a thing of utter evil."
"Aye. Or so it seems." Offers Balderdan, looking at his guard who is blinking and looking around in confusion. "Yet he has been seen with such before, and I would search his house anyways. Brady, Alex, guard that sphere while we search the house. If he tries to escape put an arrow in his knee." Balderdan seems a bit _done_ with the situation. That said he motions for you to enter the house and search it.
There are in fact, as suggested before three various hidden doors/passages in Lord Altay's home. It takes time to find them all. One of them leads down into the sewers, and Balderdan marks it as soon as its found. The second is in the butler's bedroom. It's a small hidden compartment under his bed holding a knife and several vials.
The last... seems latched or otherwise locked and refuses to open for you though you are certain that there is something there. It's directly under the floor of the cellar which has a stone floor.
With Verna's guidance, Thurid follows the group as they check off the various secret passages. When they reach one no amount of poking or prying seems to help with, she says to the others. "Stand aside. If this is a dead end, I'll pay for the repairs later." she offers and then hefts her hammer into a two handed grip. She lifts it high and then brings the adamantine head of the maul crashing down on their suspected secret entrance, shattering the stone.
Acedia follows the others around, her eyes and 'detect magic' spell scanning for hidden things and magics. She stands back as Thurid goes to town on the stone floor, and whistles as it gives way in one thunderous hammer blow. "Remind me to never piss her off.", the Gobbo whispers to Seldan.
For the first time in weeks, Seldan's grin is boyish as he looks down at the gobber. "I strive to anger only that which deserves it," he answers. Somewhere in there, he'd stowed the statue inside the beaten leather sack he carries, and sheathed his blade, leaving his hands free. The orb has remained where it is, glowing gently as it circles his head. He, too, has been looking about, but secret doors are not his forte, and so he contents himself with watching, his Eluna-granted senses alert and active.
Thurid's hammer collapses part of the floor and reveals not so much a hidden compartment, but rather almost... a hidden body. At least it _looks_ vaguely like a body. Like a grotesquely tormented body that is still somehow alive in spite of lacking skin and having been buried like this. It's twisted form bleeds constantly so that it sits in a pool of blood. Thurid's hammer strike collapsed the ceiling into the bloody puddle, and spilled some of the crimson stain out across the floor. Whatever that thing is... it gives you chills just to look at it.
GAME: Thurid rolls knowledge/religion: (6)+6: 12
Thurid doesn't even have time to be proud of her handiwork before she recoils at the sight of what she has uncovered, taking a step back. "A corpse... no- it still moves. Undead?" she wonders. But if it is, it's not one she's familiar with. "Whatever it is, I'd wager this is evidence enough for the guard- coupled with that statue you found, and his little escape attempt." she says, keeping her eyes on the corpse and her grip on her hammer in case it is needed.
The Gobbo makes a strangled sounding noise in her throat, and she looks away from the creature. "Gah... what is that?!" Acedia sticks out a hand to steady herself against a wall. "The smell..."
When Seldan peers down into the collapsed ceiling, his eyes immediately widen, and go at once to the others. There is a haunted look in them, a grave seriousness in the set features that make no attempt to still themselves into his usual reserve. "It is a Chorus," he explains soberly, his gaze drawn inexorably to the horror below. "A mortal being, twisted through unspeakably black and torturous spells into an undead focus that feeds its power to evil deities, lending them more strength. Destroy it! To do so weakens Eclavdran and releases the soul to the Halls!" He doesn't hesitate, drawing his sword and jumping down into the pit so created below.
"A.. a what?", Acedia wonders, looking unsteady on her feet. "H. How do we kill it?"
She follows Seldan to the edge, and carefully lowers herself down into the pit. Her expression is full of fear, disgust and stress. Attempting to keep her distance, she will stab at the thing with her rapier. "I've never seen a chorus before."
"Wait!" One of the guards that has been following you through the house runs forward as Seldan jumps into the bloody pool to strike down the so-named Chorus. "We need that... for evidence! If you destroy it there's only your word that the thing was what you say it is." The man looks pale, and Balderdan - hearing the commotion - enters the room himself, looking at the guard somewhat suspiciously.
"He's right. I don't like it either, but you can't go-"
He stops as Acedia stabs at the thing with her rapier. Thankfully - or not so thankfully - her blow seems to have little effect. "Wait! Are you sure you want to destroy this thing, knowing that Altay might get away with it being here in his home if you do?"
Cold hard truth hits Seldan in the face, and he looks up at the guard and his captain soberly. "He is right, but." He draws a deep breath, and releases it slowly. "Will you give me your word that, when the trial is complete, you will permit me to destroy this thing and release the soul within? It suffers immeasurably, and feeds the power of a demon. I was once witness to the spell that created these, and it is-" He looks away and down, his eyes lowering, tension gripping his shoulders. "There are no words foul enough."
Acedia frowns. "It should not be permitted to continue existing. This is suffering incarnate, and also, it feeds our enemies. Your, and Seldan's, word's can be verified by clergy, can the not? You can, yourself, see this abomination. Why would you allow it to continue? You have few you can trust with this duty, which means it would not take much effort to free this thing from those that would guard it."
"It cannot be permitted to exist," Verna states in a tone that is both raised and far more inflected than her usual. She looks to Seldan, Acedia, and the guards all. "Not only does it empower the fiend, but it is a soul deserving of rest. I seek justice, but I cannot abide it to exist. Our words of witness should more than suffice."
Balderdan seems torn himself. "I worry that our word will not suffice. It is ours against that of a nobleman, and that is a heavy weight. Yet I yield to your expertise on the matter. I would not want to stop you if it needs destroyed only... that it is evidence of his sins, and something that would be used against him as such." He looks at Seldan. "The goblin is right. I can not swear that it will be safe guarded in this city, but I would do my best to see it destroyed once his trial is complete."
"I don't think I can hurt it.", the Gobbo says quietly, in Seldan's direction. "Would fire suffice? Holy water, perhaps?"
Seldan's gaze remains on the floor, the orb that floats around his head flickering in its glow, the light suddenly an uncertain thing. He catches it absently, studying it, staring at it in his hand, then closes his hand around it, his eyes lifting. "I would have justice be served, Captain, but - do we leave it, we risk it being snatched away, as Acedia has said. I know not what other agents Eclavdran may have within this city, and he draws strength from these."
He falls silent a moment, holding up a finger to Acedia. "Vengeance is not the duty of a knight, and mercy is of the Light," he murmurs, half to himself. "I must place the mercy of the soul, and the safety of the citizens, first, Captain. I dare not leave Eclavdran a weapon with which to torment them further. Do you understand?" His eyes seek out the Captain's, pleadingly.
"Indeed," Verna whole-heartedly concurs. Is she biased? Likely, given that Vardamen are not known to tolerate undead nor other bound souls. She then calls upon her Mistress, that the creature, or what it once was, may move on to proper judgement and deserved rest.
GAME: Verna casts Undeath to Death. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23
Balderdan nods slowly to Seldan's words and does nothing to stop Verna's spellcasting as she tries to lay to rest the undead abomination which is the Chorus. It, like Acedia's rapier seems to have no effect however. It remains where it is, bleeding and... 'alive'.
"What should we do, Seldan?", the Goblin asks. "Should we call the clergy in to deal with this? It seems drastic measures such as that must be considered." Acedia rolls her shoulders in a light shrug. "Perhaps his lordship knows how it can be undone?"
“Let Her wrath be yours, and Her strength will be so also," Seldan tells Acedia. He releases the orb, which has returned to glowing gently and steadily, and it flies up to resume its orbit around his head. He does not explain its nature, only draws his sword. "It needs holy power, and a great deal of it."
Taking the hilt of the blade between his hands, the blade to his forehead, he begins a rote prayer, a call for aid. As if in response, the blade begins to glow moonlit silver, even as the orb does, and when he lowers it, he stares hard and none-too-kindly at the bleeding Chorus before him. "Holy Dreamer, lend me Your wrath, that I might release a tortured soul and deny evil that which it has wrongfully taken!" He then turns on the Chorus, opening up on it with the glowing blade.
Verna appears less than pleased that it is not undone; a miscalculation on her part of its potency. As Seldan imbues Reunion to strike it down, she nods and steps clear. "It can and shall be destroyed," she assures Acedia. "Seldan struck down another." While she observes, a though strikes in its own manner, and she notes, "... mortal man, now immortal sin..."
The destruction of the Chorus is a bloody affair. Balderdan clears the room for the event. Because really his men being associated with the destruction of it is not really something he wants. It is evidence, and he's allowing it destroyed for the safety of the city... but that doesn't make it terribly _lawful_ of him to do. It might be the right thing, the good thing, but...
It takes more than one strike of Seldan's blade, but eventually the Chorus falls apart. Bits and pieces of it floating on the top of the bloody pool that it sits in, but it's no longer... 'alive'. No longer moving. There's blood everywhere.
Acedia growls under her breath, and closes her eyes. A little flash of light emanates from the symbol on her chest, and the Gobbo stabs once more at the abomination, catching it in the neck. The blade sinks in more effectively than her first go.
When it is done, Seldan's eyes lower, and he murmurs a small prayer under his breath, that none other can hear. Something about these things affects him more deeply than most, but when he looks up, his eyes seek out first Acedia, and then the captain. "Thank you," he tells them both, quietly. "I shall speak myself to the nature of this thing before the magistrates, do you but ask."
It's only then that he looks around, at the gobber, and at himself, the filth already melting away. A swift gesture of a spell, and he begins to clean himself, and then Acedia, off. "I can get us back up. Will you allow me?"
The Goblin appears to be upset about the whole situation, her expression torn between disgust and fear. "There are more of these things, in the city? Have the nobility, clergy and wizards of the city been completely asleep to this? How has corruption gone on for so long?"
She nods silently to Seldan, in response his his question, eyeing the spell's results as it cleans the grime from her form.
Verna simply observes the destruction of the blasphemous prison. If the origins of this one hold any similarities to the previous, perhaps it is best that the other two are the ones to free the soul, as well. It is her duty to see it done, but it need not be by her hand.
"I know not if there are more in Alexandria. The other we found was not so. They may well be scattered across Ea. Come, let us get out, that I might finish." After all, it does not help, in cleaning oneself, to be standing still in the midst of the filth. He reaches to grab Acedia, pulling her close to his chest as he sprouts bright white, feathered wings and fairly jumps off the floor, winging upward through the hole created by Thurid's hammer, and setting them both down gently on the floor above. Here, he finishes cleaning them both off, once out of the bloodbath. It takes a minute or two, because it is a truly horrifying sight, seeing them both so coated.
When it is done, he looks at the others. "I yet have the statue. We should locate the summoning circle."
Verna nods. "It is in the sewers, if our information is correct." She has no reason to believe it not, but nothing involving the fiend is ever straightforward. She wonders if Seldan may have cleaned them prematurely, but does not speak of it. Instead, she turns towards the passage to the sewers. She is anxious to see this through... though does recall her prior visits to the sewers in regards to fiendish summonings.
Acedia squeaks at the wings' appearance, and is smiling by the time Seldan lands. "No place like the sewers for a summoning circle. So easy an excuse to say that it is not yours... except for the hole we found leading to the sewers. Most convenient, yes? If it is not down there... then we've got a far larger problem."
The guards exclaim to one another as they notice the bewinged Seldan, murmuring to themselves in interest. It's like a wind through them, the news of his wings. Balderdan is the only one that seems unaffected, and he nods at the idea of heading down to find this summoning circle. "If we can locate it, that'll be a nice thing to see destroyed. Last thing we need is things being summoned into the city."
He leads the way into the sewers then, but only that far, allowing the rest of you to lead the way once you're there.
GAME: Seldan rolls survival: (17)+25: 42 GAME: Acedia rolls survival: (16)+1: 17 GAME: Verna rolls survival: (9)+6: 15 GAME: Seldan rolls knowledge/arcana: (5)+18: 23 GAME: Verna takes ten on knowledge/arcana+4: (10)+29+4: 43 GAME: Acedia rolls knowledge/arcana: (14)+13: 27
Seldan almost immediately colors at the interest from the guards, and immediately dismisses the wings with a diffident apology. "I had not intended to startle," he tells them, quietly. He turns away, drawing a deep breath, and returns with the others to the concealed access to the sewers, descending without hesitation.
Once there, something in him leads him unerringly to the circle, not that far away. He kneels down, well clear of it, and studies it closely. "A working summoning circle, but - there is something unusual. Mourner, Acedia, perhaps you might spot it."
The finding of the circle was not difficult, thankfully. "Nothing here.", the Gobbo breathes. "Thank the gods." She glances at Seldan, and then crouches, peering more curiously at the circle. "It is a perfectly working summoning circle. However... it is missing the binding aspect. Anything summoned here is... free to go... this is how Eccles is doing it."
"Indeed," Verna agrees. "It was most inconvenient in the past." As they reach the circle, she immediately notes two important details: it is not occupied nor actively summoning. She pauses some steps away to study it. "Yes. It summons yet does not bind. This is unsurprising given that his conspirators created it for his use. That he is summoned grants him a measure of immortality in addition to the freedom to arrive as he wishes."
And suddenly, Seldan sees it. They are quite correct, and he shakes his head in annoyance that he did not see it. Almost at once, he rises. "Captain," he turns to Balderdan respectfully. "Can the summoning circle be disabled and yet remain as evidence?"
"This, too, should be destroyed. And perhaps, the entirety of the sewers should be scoured. There may be more down here, as well, perhaps links to other places of ... ill intention." Acedia looks to Seldan, and then the Captain. "It is dangerous, however, we can make the circle incomplete. It would become non-functional, but, the risk is that it could be repaired. With it damaged, it could not be used to summon, thus, unless the demon himself walks here, the only dangers are likely... mortals. Easier to protect, I think. You still have the issue of whom do you trust to protect it."
Verna frowns. "The sigils are carved into the very stone, but they can be broken. We need not destroy the entirety to render it useless." She considers Seldan's possibility. "I may be able to remove the magic from it, but if left intact, it might require little effort to be restored."
Balderdan shakes his head. "The new laws leave no leeway here with this. If someone is using this thing, they are violating the new laws. A guard will be set here to see if anyone is going to try, but a mage will be sent to nullify the circle and see it utterly destroyed. There is a zero-tolerance for demons and devils in Alexandria." His eyes are stern and his voice bland. "We thank you for your assistance with this, if you like... Altay is upstairs. I can give you a few minutes with him while I deal with this down here."
"Let us break it now, and the mages can clean it up afterwards. A few heavy blows with a hammer should suffice.", Acedia says softly. "Then it will be much safer for your guard to remain here."
"Laws long past due, Captain." Seldan's gaze holds real, naked gratitude, a thing he seldom shows, usually preferring the quiet reserve he so commonly affects. "I shall make no objection. I would speak with His Lordship, although we shall disable this circle, do you wish it." He nods once to Acedia.
Verna looks to Balderan. "With all respect, I recommend that it be disabled here and now, with all involved or to bear witness. There is far too much distrust and doubt between the city, and members of the various guilds and temples that work to aid the city. Trust can only be earned anew by cooperation."
Balderdan nods to Seldan. "Indeed. If you would speak to him, then I suggest you go now." His eyes slip to Acedia and Verna and he sighs. "I fear here I must insist. Much as I want this thing destroyed as soon as possible; it is mages work and the guild is not trusted enough to allow you to do with it what you will. I took something of a risk allowing you to destroy what was above us. I ask you to allow me to do my duty here and trust me in turn."
"Your trust in me is deeply appreciated, Captain, and I shall ask naught further. You have placed your trust in us, and we should return the favor." Seldan seems willing to accept the captain's word readily enough, and turns away, back the way he came, breaking into a jog to return to catch Lord Altay before he is spirited off.
Verna is not delighted, but respects Balderan's insistance. "Very well." There is also the matter of dividing the group, and Seldan has already moved to return to the surface. She promptly turns to follow.
"I do trust you, Captain. However, I trust also that the demon will do as he will do, and that this puts us all in danger. Best of luck, sir." She eyes Seldan's quick departure, and then Verna's. "Be well." The Gobbo turns and hurries off after the other two.
Upstairs, Altay is no longer in his circle, as it's been a bit of time, but he is surrounded by a pair of guards who are ignoring his patent glares. He notices your advance on his location immediately and growls low in his throat. A combination of irritation and frustration. "What more can you possibly want? Invading my home. Attacking me in the streets. I'll have the lot of you strung up for this. Your corrupt little organization will soon fall apart." He sneers at the group of you.
For answer, Seldan fairly stalks in Lord Altay's direction. Where he had been diffident and gentle in the search of the house, there is no hint of gentleness now. "How long have you been serving Eclavdran, Your Lordship?" That cool reserve is very much in evidence. "The guard has evidence that you have been summoning and allied with a demon, and given the new laws, you shall be fortunate to not hang. Tell me of your service to Eclavdran."
Verna has a number of requests come to mind concerning Altay; some are constructive inquiries, whilst others would be simply ...satisfying to observe. "I would not consider the temples represented here little nor corrupt. The evidence indicates that you are the one corrupt, consorting with a Duke of Hell." Her constructive inquiries were very much inline with Seldan's, thus now already asked.
"When the court sees the creature found hidden in your home, and come to understand the object wrested from your grasp, as well see the summoning circle that rests below your residence, it will be you that will be strung up." The Goblin gestures with a hand towards Seldan. "You had best answer the Silver Guard here, else you will have no protection for when Eccles comes to claim your part of whatever bargain you have made with him."
The nobleman seems ready and spoiling for a fight - right up until Acedia mentions what they found and then he pales. Turning a bit red then he fumes. "I mean the Adventurer's Guild. You've all been dealing with demons for ages." He looks at Seldan. "I have it on good authority that even the mighty Seldan has had dealings with them. For all his pompous talk."
Altay glares at the lot of you. "Why, from what I hear one of your members _is_ a demon. Yet you think to judge _me_? You've found nothing I can't explain to a friendly judge, and they're all my friends." He smiles thinly.
The black-haired man merely regards Lord Altay steadily, the alabaster pillar very much in place. "I defied him, and do so even now. You serve him. That is the difference." He never takes his eyes from the belligerent lord's face as he removes the hat of disguise he wears, to reveal ginger-blonde hair and the crescent-and-sphere of Eluna. "I shall not tell you of all that we found. Demons walk this city, and it is your doing that that is so."
"I do not deny that there are those among the Guild who are not to be trusted, and no few that I would wish to beat sense into, were it my place to do so, Your Lordship. That does not mean that we are all so, nor that we are all fools. Do the judges serve demons as well? It would explain much of this city."
"You believe that your 'friends' are going to protect you? Dealing with demons, and running at the mouth how you have judges as /friends/? How on Ea do you believe that any of them will want to acknowledge you now, let alone give a positive judgement in your favour?"
Acedia tosses her head towards the house. "It is unlikely that you will even make trial. There's enough there to have you executed on the spot. That is, unless your demon patron arrives, likely to do us the favour of killing you himself."
"I am not here to judge you," Verna notes. "That is ultimately the purview of The Gray Harpist. Prior to that, the duty would fall to the magistrates." Her hood tilts. "Indeed. You are a friend to demons. If the judges are your friends, does that make them demons, themselves, or fellow servants? At best, you publicly announce that you would influence them in your favor, in violation of the law? Is that not the definition of corruption?"
As Seldan reveals himself _as_ himself the nobleman hisses and narrows his eyes. "I notice that you don't deny that you've dealt with demons. Well... I do. I deny it most vehemently. All your evidence is flimsy at best." His dark eyes narrow at the two women. "I am no friend to demons, my friends are simply in high places as suits a man of my station."
He seems to relax. "Lord Erik for instance, will be very interested in hearing about all this. When he does... you'll all wish you'd left well enough alone."
GAME: Seldan rolls diplomacy: (8)+20: 28
Verna bobs her hood. "Indeed. We have dealt with them in the manner of standing against them for the sake of the city and its citizens. I presume that you would deny such, as the defense of your kin and neighbor would ... not be suited to a man of your station."
A very faint ghost of a smile tugs at one corner of Seldan's lips, and he turns his head towards Verna. "Oh? Should I fear Lord Erik? Tell me of this Lord Erik. How did you come to know him, and what think you that he shall do for you?"
The noble smiles thinly. "He may be a noble from another land, but he is powerful enough to make waves where-ever he goes. He will bring down the Adventurer's Guild; it's his goal almost more than it's mine!" He puffs out his chest. "He offers _real_ power to those that ally themselves with him. This? This is nothing beside what he's capable."
Verna's hood pans to Seldan for a moment and back to Altay. "Intriguing. Perhaps I stand corrected. This Lord Erik seems a formidable and respected ally ... or patron, of yours. What manner of power does he offer that is real?" If all the guild are corrupt, and all are members of the guild, would Altay consider it odd at all that she appears interested?
GAME: Verna rolls diplomacy: (1)+14: 15 (EPIC FAIL)
"This, do I not doubt." Seldan's smile is very faint, the alabaster pillar very much in evidence. "A noble in his own realm is he indeed." There's something secretive in the words. "Come, tell me of your friendship with this man. A profitable arrangement, indeed."
GAME: Seldan rolls diplomacy: (12)+20: 32
Lord Altay laughs. "He knows things! Knows people. It's him that arranged my dealings with Charn which were so profitable before the Guild got involved." He frowns and then archly lifts his chin. "He that arranged my engagement after you killed my wife!"
He seems to have gotten onto a bit of a tangent. Waxing eloquently about this Lord Erik. "If you want to really know power, you should talk to Mei!" He blinks a bit and looks suddenly like he swallowed a lemon.
"Charn, eh? Surely someone so well-connected as yourself has plenty of contacts in Abyss'a. What made this one so profitable?” By now, the smile has faded from Seldan's face, leaving only the stone-like impassive reserve.
It is just as well that Seldan steps up to further implore Lord Altay, as Verna is not the most ... adept at social interactions (despite recent earnest study!). It is also a boon that her visage is hooded, as the final comment makes her blink, as well. What manner of innuendo, implication, or recrimination might that be? She would note that she did not know Lord Altay's wife, much less contributed to her demise, yet the statement leaves her speechless for the moment.
Lord Altay of course didn't mean Verna or Seldan specifically had killed his wife, but rather that guild members were responsible for her death. He glared at Seldan now, as if blaming him for something. "You think that there's something untoward in my dealings with Charn? Well all my paperwork is in perfect order. Can you say the same for your husband Seldan?" He leans toward the paladin. "When do you think his deals will come due? What will you do when he's dragged down to where he belongs?"
Seldan flinches at that, but his gaze on Altay does not falter. "What I must," he answers simply. "Even as do we all. But come, I would hear more of this profitable venture of yours. Shipments of statues to Charn, was it?" A hunch, and only a hunch, but he states it with his usual calm.
Verna defers to Seldan in this matter, given his strengths and apparent progress. She turns her attention to the remaining guards, briefly, and then looks back towards the house. There is no shortage of distrust already, and it is not that she did not believe Balderan... yet she has concerns all the same.
Verna's glance back at the house is a timely one as Balderdan is just exiting it at that moment. He notices Seldan talking to Altay and slows his steps a little, but he's on his way, and his presence will likely end the conversation. "Yessss." Hisses Altay at Seldan, his eyes narrow. "They were statues. Highly profitable _statues_."
GAME: Seldan rolls will: (4)+31: 35
"Such tales were told within the city, yes. I thank you for the information." Seldan now turns to the guards, and to Verna. "I have nothing further for His Lordship. Do you?" Although the expression is entirely serious and sober, one corner of his mouth is twitching.
Verna's hood pans back from Balderan to Seldan at the inquiry. A pause before it shakes in the negative. "No, I do not. Thank you."
Balderdan quickens his step a little seeing that the conversation is over, and motions to the two guards. "Take him into custody. We have enough to charge him with conspiracy to deal with a demon, and possibly even dealing with one. Take him directly to the Arcanist's Dungeon. In case his demon friend tries to break him out." Altay looks surprised to be taken into custody, but outright outraged to be sent to the Arcanist's Dungeon.
"I'll have you all fired for this! Just you wait and see!" He yells as the guards cart him off. Further indignity, he's still in his nightrobe as they take off with him. It's almost amusing to watch him try to tell them that he can walk on his own thank-you-very-much.
When Altay has been carted off, Seldan turns to the captain, still with the impassive, stone-like sobriety he'd affected towards the end of the discussion. "Captain, Lord Erik is none save Eclavdran himself. I did not wish Lord Altay to know that I have encountered that guise. Those who may discuss the statues are known to me. I will answer honestly any questions put to me regarding his words."
Verna exhales a sigh that holds both annoyance and relief and likely both due to Lord Altay. "I suspected as much," she notes. It was hardly a stretch given the context. To Balderan, she inquires, "Was the circle disabled, or is it secured for the process?"
Balderdan nods to Seldan. "Hopefully what we've found is enough. Or one of his servants will speak against him. In either case we appreciate your help." He shakes hands with each of you and then nods once to Verna. "The circle is secured, and I'm headed back down there to guard it myself until the mage arrives to destroy it for good. We'll take care of it ma'am."
With that, you are left to your own devices once again as Balderdan heads down into the house to wait for the mage to arrive. It seems he'd only come up to make sure that Altay was arrested. Which seems in retrospect, far past due.
-End