Aza Answers
GAME: Telamon casts Mage Armor. Caster Level: 17 DC: 19 GAME: Telamon casts Overland Flight. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23 GAME: Telamon casts Resist Energy. Caster Level: 17 DC: 20 GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26 GAME: Telamon casts Resist Energy. Caster Level: 17 DC: 20 GAME: Telamon casts Mind Blank. Caster Level: 17 DC: 26 GAME: Dolan rolls diplomacy: (17)+15: 32 GAME: Telamon rolls talky: aliased to diplomacy+5: (20)+30+5: 55
The sky is dark blue, but without a trace of stars. They seem in fact to have been completely obscured by the bright light of the moon, or perhaps unseen clouds high above where they are invisible against the darkness. It's a warm evening, the cool breeze coming off the river is particularly pleasant, but there are few people out - none really - owing thanks to the lateness of the evening.
A woman walks along the shore of the river itself, her clothes of Selentia fashion, her long dark hair cut short just above her shoulders. In spite of her clothes there's a look of Charnesh blood about her. The angle of her gaze, the haughty line of her shoulders. It's more than nobility in her manner, but a way of looking at the world as though it was made to serve her purposes. She walks slowly along the water.
Alone.
For Telamon, there is no darkness. Whether bright daylight or deepest shadow, it no longer seems to make much difference; he sees through eyes changed forever by his talent. And yet, he still enjoys it, for he is a guardian of travelers at night, after all.
And that's why the elegant half-elf comes ambling along the path, dressed to impress in his ruffled white silk shirt, dark trousers, boots, and a light cloak tossed carelessly over his shoulders. Where Lady Aza's expression is haughty, his is welcoming, warm.
As his pace takes him closer, on a direct intercept course, he smiles innocently at Lady Aza. "Good evening," he says languidly. "A wondrous night, is it not?"
Dolan is a good bit quieter than Telamon, clearly letting the sorcerer take the lead, at least at first. Harsh shadows fall across the scarred half of his face, into which is set a faceted black garnet into a steel and bronze ring etched with arcane runes. He, too, is dressed well, in the green and gold he'd chosen for Auranar and Verna's wedding, complete with white trousers and tall black boots, although he has left the sling that fits within detached for this. He does wear the longsword at his hip, but fresh new, tooled leather gives it the look of an affectation in the darkness. The stylized dragon is notable for being visibly absent, the chain hidden beneath his clothing.
The lady looks up at the approach of Telamon and Dolan, her eyes flickering with a mixture of disdain and displeasure. "A more pleasant night when one is not interrupted by those that they have no desire to entertain." She says stiffly. "If you would gentlemen; move aside. I have no interest in discussion with either of you - Telamon Lupecyll-Atlon; and Brydion ‘Dolan’ Donnelly."
Well, Telamon did want to try and do this the soft way, but he has a feeling this is not going to be one of those nights. "Well now, aren't you grumpy, Aza Derwes -- or do you prefer Aza Chidea? Are things not quite going according to plan? But then, mortals plan, and Coyote laughs."
The pleasant, languid expression melts off his face, and what's beneath is cool and distant, like the stare of Eluna. "You've been quite busy, milady, and it really hasn't been very constructive. Perhaps you'd like to talk about it with my friend and I? There are much more unpleasant places to do so than by a moonlit riverbank."
"Everyone's got to deal at times with people they'd rather not, Aza," Dolan adds, fixing the woman now with a harlequin gaze that is half considering, and half utterly expressionless, thanks to the scarring across his face. "But a man's got to do what a man's got to do when demons are threatening his family and he knows who's involved." Point blank, no preamble.
The woman's expression goes a touch flat. "Aza Derwes is my name. Lady Derwes." Her lips pinch and she looks between the two men. "That sounds like a threat on your lips ser Telamon. Nearly as much as the implications on yours Brydion. Or... you do prefer Dolan these days do you not?"
Her dark eyes seem to flicker with some small sense of satisfaction. "A man plagued by demons might be forgiven for not knowing the source of his woes, so I will let you both go." Aza's tone goes firm. "Good evening gentlemen. Any direction is yours to take, so long as it takes you away from me."
GAME: Dolan rolls sense motive: (6)+21: 27
Telamon shrugs lightly. "That's because it -is-, Aza Chidea. You stand accused of a veritable smorgasbord of crimes. A rather impressive list." His tone sharpens, takes on a layer of ice. "Which is why you're not getting what you want."
"Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I really don't care which, but my one eyed friend here is just -itching- to vent some pent up anger. You really shouldn't dally with fiends, Lady Chidea. It never ends well." His dark eyes flare with starlight. "No matter what they promise you, invariably you will come to a very bad end."
"I don't make threats." Dolan's add-on to Telamon's comment is accompanied by an open gaze that holds no guile at all. "I make promises, and I haven't promised anything." There's not a trace of smile, there, either, and the scarred half by Eluna's harsh light looks even nastier than it does in sunlight. "The question is, does she dally with fiends, or do they dally with her? Usually with fiends it's a little of both, isn't it." The words are not a question.
"I don't care what you call me. Let the fiend find me, if it likes," he goes on, his lips curving in a smile that holds nothing of warmth. That smile is short-lived, though. "Did you arrange for the demons that are possessing Lady Calogref's sons?"
"If I am accused, let you pull me before a magistrate if you dare." Aza's eyes grow dark with a touch of anger. "And that sounds like a distinct threat. Whatever nice words you place around it."
The woman looks flatly at Dolan and shakes her head slightly. "I think we are done here. I will not answer such accusations or inquiries." With that she turns her back on the two men and begins to walk away.
GAME: Telamon rolls detectBS: aliased to sense motive: (13)+25: 38 GAME: Dolan rolls wisdom: (13)+3: 16
Telamon just shakes his head. Then he moves, his feet leaving the ground, suddenly flying an inch or so off the path to suddenly be in the Lady Aza's path again. "You can't brazen it out that easily, Aza Chidea," he purrs, continuing to grind away at her name. "What did you promise the Lady Calogref in return for enthralling one son and stuffing a fiend in another? Is Rida even your daughter? Is she even -human-?"
The charm is gone from his face. "I also know money was funneled from a Selentian noble family for the werewolves here," he growls. "That has caused me no end of grief. Do not even -think- you are walking out of this."
Dolan, too, moves, with the speed of a seasoned warrior, lunging for the woman's clothed shoulders with both hands, one on each shoulder. It is neither a stranglehold, indeed from a distance nothing more than a grab on the shoulders from behind, but callused fingers dig hard into her muscles. "Remember what you were exiled for, Aza. You can talk to us now, or I can share my findings with the Alexandrian guard and with the Temple of Daeus in Selentia. Who is responsible for the demons in the Calogref household, and what was the trade?"
The woman glares at Telamon as he blocks her way. "She comes to me for potions! Tonics! Of course she's my daughter!" Her voice is agitated, irritated, but his words only serve to incite her to further anger. "She's not! I mean..."
She flushes as Dolan's hands touch her shoulders and she seems to realize what she's said. "I am! I traded that foolish woman a touch of youth for her eldest son, sent a fiend to nudge her, push her. She doesn't even realize that only half her choices are her own." Aza gives her shoulders a shake, trying to free herself of Dolan's grasp. "What are you doing? Unhand me!"
GAME: Telamon rolls detectBS: aliased to sense motive: (12)+25: 37 GAME: Telamon casts Suggestion/Persistent. Caster Level: 17 DC: 23 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+1: (14)+1: 15
Telamon actually rocks back on his heels a touch at what falls out of Lady Aza's mouth. Wait, did she just say... and then Dolan's touch yields up even MORE information and Telamon realizes what's happening. Thinking fast, he spits out a complex incantation. "Aza Chidea, you shouldn't excite yourself. In fact, *you should remain, and answer all of Dolan's questions*." His voice develops a slightly disturbing reverb, as his eyes flash. "I'm sure he's very interested in what you have to say."
"Very much so," Dolan's lone brown eye catches Telamon's at that reverb, and his tone gentles, only a little, and the fingers stop digging, but the hands remain firmly on her shoulders. "Rida is not human? What is she, and how did that happen? Are you yourself a fiend? It sure would explain how you've got fiends at your beck and call."
Aza relaxes, her eyes glazing over slightly. "I should stay here, and answer questions." She says a bit remotely. "Rida is not human."
It seems that the spell doesn't exactly compel terribly complex responses. Yet Dolan is prepared. "She is half-fiend. Born of a possessed human body and a fiend. I am not a fiend, but have been possessed by one."
Telamon's eyes flick to Dolan's and he can't hide the shock. He takes a deep breath, though. Focusing. Centering. "That's very good, Aza. Dolan, I bet you have more questions, and I'm sure she'd be happy to answer them." He pauses. "Have been possessed. I think I see how that worked." Another deep breath. "You were possessed, the fiend... sired Rida with you, and then later your possessor left... presumably after you had given birth."
Dolan's expression shifts a little, a wince evident to Telamon behind her. "The demon that possessed you still around, or did it leave once it got the child?" Again, a little gentler, and he still doesn't let go of her shoulders. The grip doesn't hurt anymore, though. "It sounds like you're still friends with fiends, though. How do you get them to do stuff for you?"
The woman shudders slightly, but doesn't otherwise move. "Both." She responds to the initial question. "It is with me, but left for the birthing." A grimace here and a twist of hate.
"They obey me because of Rida, because I gave her to them. Because of my blood, and my connections to their masters and their desires." She manages to look proud somehow.
Telamon looks like a man who opened an unassuming box and found something horrific inside. It's taking a lot of focus to keep it from showing too much. "Lady Aza has been very busy, it seems," he remarks blandly. "And I bet a certain 'friend' of ours is tangled up with her as well. Marsward Seraquoix. I wonder if she's been getting direction from him as well?" All the threads coming together here.
"That's a great question," Dolan chimes in immediately. "Describe your connection to Marsward Seraquoix, milady. How is he using the funding coming from Lady Calogref?"
"Marsward serves V, whom I also serve. We are connected through V. He has been..." She curls her lip. "Far too careless with the funds funneled to him. Buying mostly gemstones to be used in various spells of late. Before that he was using it to lure in fools who he could turn into warriors for his armies, or gathering information on his foes. A better use of the money to be sure, but he spends it far faster than he should."
Telamon nods slowly. "I... have seen something of that." He flicks a glance at Dolan, a glance that says a single word: later. "Seraquoix is reckless and more than a little prone to anger when stymied. That makes him sloppy." He tsks. "So. V, Seraquoix, Jagoff -- excuse me, Jal'goroth -- and the Red Maw. A motley crew, to be sure. And of course, you, Lady Aza." He tilts his head. "I wonder if Rida can pass among mortals or if she needs to stay out of sight."
"Oh, I suspect she can pass among mortals, just fine," Dolan drawls. "Is Lady Calogref's eldest son possessed?" His hands still haven't moved, but something in his expression behind her should tell Telamon that he's feeling the strain of the spell, even as he nods. "And what manner of fiends are left in the house?"
Aza growls, but doesn't seem to be required to answer Telamon the way she has been answering Dolan, though he hadn't posed an actual question. "No." She replies to Dolan's first question. "There's the fiend that at times possesses Lady Calogref, and one in her head chef. Both are shadow demons."
"Probably isn't necessary, Dolan. From what you and Andie told me, he wasn't the brightest lamp in the house to start with, and he's probably under a heavy compulsion. Or maybe they spiked his drink with an elixir of love." Telamon looks faintly disgusted. "That's going to be a pain to fix. Still... where is Rida now, I wonder?"
From behind Aza, Dolan has been watching Telamon intently for cues and signals, although much of his attention is clearly on his effect. "Good question. Where is Rida now, milady?" He has throughout the questions, once the suggestion took hold, kept his tone congenial and friendly.
"Charn." It's a simple answer, but is clearly all she's compelled to give as one.
Telamon looks slightly sour at the prospect of -another- Charn trip. "Glory be," he says with an acidic tone. "Alright, so... I wonder what the best thing to spike the wheels of their plan might be? Aside from our current plans, anyways." He scratches his chin. "No, I'm not sharing that."
Dolan merely nods to the location of the child, accepting the answer and, from his indifferent expression, setting it aside for the moment. "Now there's a question, though. Does V have any interest in this plane aside from getting ahold of the Red Maw?"
He pauses then, a moment. "You've been a big help, my lady. Tell me honestly - do you want me to throw the fiend possessing you out?"
"The Red Maw is its main interest, but Rida is one smaller piece." The glaze in her eyes is fading somewhat, but yet remains. Dolan's next question gets a surprising response however, the woman speaks suddenly with two voices. Her own and another deeper but no less feminine. "No!"
"What is V's interest in Rida, milady?" The end of the spell is nearing, judging by the absolute focus written on the mobile half of Dolan's features.
Meanwhile, Telamon has casually drifted to the side, so that he's not really in Lady Aza's way. This has been surprisingly fruitful, all things considered. Looking past her to Dolan, he nods silently at the question, as he flexes his fingers a bit.
"A vessel. One more powerful than a purely mortal one. One that's ready for a fiendish host." Aza breathes out, her eyes narrow on Dolan.
Knowing that his spell is at an end, Dolan drops the hands from her shoulders, and offers her a small smile. "You've been a big help, milady. I just don't like liars. You said you ain't want your little problem dealt with, and I ain't gonna force ya. Scream for the guard, though, and I'll tell 'em who's responsible for the attack on the Daeusite temple." He levels a long stare at her. "That's a promise. Play nice, and I'll make sure you ain't jumped between here and your carriage. Do we have a deal?"
Telamon adds cheerfully, "Not to mention there's a fair number of people who don't like the Charnese anyways, and they're not going to be exactly sympathetic to you." He then fixes Aza with a mirthless, cold stare. "To say nothing of your friends when they realize you spilled the beans. You might consider a long vacation somewhere else. I hear Jammur is nice this time of year."
The woman glares at them both, backing away quickly. "A curse upon you both." If looks could kill... but this one can't. She turns and all but flees into the night.
-End