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Completed Chapter VI: Eye of the Storm

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MaggiePriestess of the Maker


Maggie couldn't help but smile at Auri's chagrin, despite the demonstrated lack of cookies.  Her smile widened with each forlorn jar until she burst into giggles at his expression when he finally turned to face her.  "Oh, I'm sorry, Auri, but it's so silly!"  She clapped gleefully at his suggestion, then stared eagerly at the revealed baking goodies.  She stared for some time, actually, just absorbing all the many options, sometimes just looking at the pictures, sometimes reaching up to crack open a lid and sniff at the various scents inside.  By the time her big friend had finished the strawberry-lemonade, however, she'd made her choices.  "Dark chocolate, peanut butter chips, and walnuts, please!"  After a moment she added, "And some with just milk chocolate, for those who don't like nuts.  Once we've got them in your oven, I'll start with my day, and then you can tell me yours.  Sound good?"
 
Auri the Insatiable


[SIZE= 18px]Ambassador of the Drakkar Nation[/SIZE]


"A terrific plan!" He took down a glass meant for someone Maggie's size and filled with sweet and colorful strawberry-lemonade (packed with the super-secret ingredients of...  fresh strawberries, fresh lemons, and sugar!  Wooo!).  He scooted this glass along the table until it reached Maggie's hands, then he poured himself one (his size), took a big gulp from it, washed his claws, and then went to town working the varying types of cookie dough with an expertise and heartfelt care that could only belong to a snack-lover.  


Once finished there, he popped open his oven, and assured himself that there was plenty of quality firewood there.  [SIZE= 14px]"Stand back!" [/SIZE]he posed dramatically as if protecting Maggie from all of the terrible dangers brought about from the presence of a large, quiet, and dormant oven.  Then with great flair, he drew forth his steel-core cane with its fire rune.  With a twirl of the dragon-headed cane, he lit the fire from the rune and dropped the flaming hors d'oeuvre into his maw.  Swallowing, he swiftly withdrew the doused cane and loosed a single dazzling gout of orange flame that set the wood inside the oven to snapping and crackling brilliance.  


[SIZE= 14px]"Oh, that is fun to do, but twice so in the presence of good company!  In go the cookies!"  [/SIZE]Auri wasted no time getting the pans of cookies into the oven.


[SIZE= 14px]"So!" [/SIZE]he sat, grinned, grasped his glass, and gave Maggie his full attention. [SIZE= 14px] "How was your day?"[/SIZE]
 
MaggiePriestess of the Maker


Maggie watched Auri put the cookie dough together as if he were a magician on a stage.  And really, how could the magician's performance be any more wondrous than this?  Assembling so many disparate ingredients into one yummy whole, so much more than the sum of its parts - that was magic indeed!  And no less so for its being a "commonplace" activity.  She applauded when her big friend lit the oven's fires in his own unique way and set the cookies to baking, but her smile dimmed when he asked about her day.  "I've good news and bad news, which I suppose is better than bad news alone.  Which would you like first?"
 
Auri the Insatiable


[SIZE= 18px]Ambassador of the Drakkar Nation[/SIZE]


Auri scratched his chin and tapped his glass causing it to make a light chiming sound.  "Let us go with the bad first, little Maggie.  Best to end a good time together with the good news and a smile instead of the other way around, wouldn't you say?"
 
MaggiePriestess of the Maker


Maggie smiled and sipped her lemonade.  "Good idea!  Well... I suppose the worst of it, and what leads to the rest, is that it appears the Sorceress has supporters within the temple.  Even to the highest ranks, I'm told."  She sighed into her glass.  "We're only mortal, like anyone else, but it's so... disheartening to know that we can be infiltrated like that!  And it makes me feel less safe, even there, which is perhaps the worst part -- or maybe the worst part is that I don't know who to trust among my own people."  She took a long swallow of her lemonade and looked up at her old friend.  "Except one, of course; the Keeper who told me all this, and helped me with the 'good news' part of my day.  He was very kind."
 
Auri the Insatiable


[SIZE= 18px]Ambassador of the Drakkar Nation[/SIZE]


Auri waved his claw.  "That does not surprise me.  Her influence is possibly worse than her magic and in a way, I find them interwoven.  And at least you appear to have one ally in your own temple in the Keeper!  Is that the end of the bad news?"  
 
[SIZE= 36px]Maggie[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 18px]Priestess of the Maker[/SIZE]


Maggie nodded.  "Yes, I think so.  Which means I can tell you the good news!"  She clapped her hands together joyfully.  "Auri, I learned four new Miracles today!  I'd hoped only for one, and wasn't expecting that if I didn't make a good enough case for it."  She beamed happily at her big friend. "Sunlit Blade, Lightning Spear, Piercing Light, and Guidance -- which last will be of use if we lose anything, and the rest will be of so much help if we have to fight demons again!"  She shuddered at that memory.  "Or anything else, but I particularly wanted Sunlit Blade after that battle.  I think the Keeper agreed, after I explained.  He was so kind... I wish I'd thought to ask his name before I left."
 
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Around 09:45 h


Dungeons, 4th City Watch Barracks


The specter stood before them, a mere shadow of the man that he used to be... A few hours ago. He acknowledged Valtieri's presence with an angry stare, bucking against the invisible restraints that confined him to a single spot on the floor. "I know this one." he said, glancing at captain Greywall with disgust. "He watched me die. Dead I am now, and torn between hells. And that must be your doing!" he snarled, focused on the necromancer. "Release me from this trickery before I find a way to drag you in with me!" The ghost pulsed with violent energy, but Valtieri knew that regardless of his efforts he could not break free of his bonds. This was not a very powerful spirit, even if he had been a formidable opponent in life.


"Your wounds were your own fault and beyond our help." Greywall said. "Not that I'd rouse a priest from slumber for your sake, scum. But a necromancer, on the other hand... Not only can we continue our little conversation now, but I suspect you'll be a lot more talkative."


"Go plough yourself."


"Where is the body?"


A wicked flicker of a grin crossed the dead man's face. "Ah, the little miss. Interesting that I haven't seen her on the other side. Think she went to Heaven? I'll be sure to look for her, just in case. Maybe then we can continue our little... something that we'd been having before you churls interrupted us."


"Sick bastard!" Greywall moved as if to strike him, then remembered that he couldn't. The look he gave to Valtieri was full of unvented frustration. "No mercy, Vittorio. If you could arrange for him to die a second time, it would not be undeserved."
 








Should have just killed them.


Asher raised his crossbow and fired at the leader's head before any could react, then slipped into the shadowrealm, reloading his crossbow for the next attack.
 
Vittorio Valtieri


The Gentleman Necromancer


Vittorio Valtieri watches the exchange carefully, at first concerned - Greywall could bungle the whole interrogation over a grudge - until the edges of the full story become apparent. His expression darkens. He has not, for a long time, considered himself to be a good man. But he will be a just one, if he can.


"Ka, Kju," he whispers, invoking an old rite of compulsion as the stones fall to ash in his fingers and tendrils of dark power coalesce and slither from the the shadows, to bind the specter like thorny shackles. Valtieri would normally reassure a spirit that they're only painful if you think they're painful, but he's content to let this one work that on his own.

Ritual of Examination, Ka and Kju Glyphs consumed. 
 
Asher

Aidan, the spokesman of the thieves fell on the ground within moments, dead, his face frozen in an expression of surprise. It seems he did not expect such an action from Asher at all. Nor his comrades, which quickly dispersed while mouthing the foulest curses imaginable upon the now invisible master thief. For the moment they are waiting and surveying the room, whispering in confusion and anger among themselves.



Valtieri

Given the specter's bound state, there was nothing to oppose the successful casting of the Ritual of Examination. The proper glyphs crumbled, their energies harnessed by Valtieri. Within seconds the necromancer got the first flash behind his eyes.


A house, old and rickety, well past the city limits.


A young girl, all blurry, dragged over its front steps.


She stumbles and an iron-clad hand hits her.


Her desperate cry is silenced even before the darkness


of the house swallows her alive.


Captain Greywall still stood there, restraining his impatience. The specter still wore the same smug.
 
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[COLOR= rgb(128, 0, 128)]Auri the Insatiable[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 18px]Ambassador of the Drakkar Nation[/SIZE]


Auri lit a small candle and with a keen eye, he made a tiny mark with his claw in the wax.  This was how he would know when to check on the cookies if his nose failed to tell him.  He had lost more than one tasty snack to the evil creature known as Distraction and he had resolved long ago to battle against this snack-destroying devil with every last bit of preparation and wisdom his centuries of life could muster.  Besides, Maggie's Cookies were on the line this time!! 


"Hmmm," he cradled his chin into his palm in thought.  "I take it this Keeper provided you your four new Miracles?  You made no mention of any other possible source just now.  Hmmm twice...  A seemingly well-connected and well-informed Keeper at the one temple of the Maker you know best and his name is not known to you?  Is that unusual amongst your faith?  Would his identity be hard to find?"  While The Snack-lover in Auri was ever present, so too was The Diplomat, and he desired treats of a different kind.
 
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Asher reloaded his crossbow as quickly as possible, hoping for no spirits to show up. Whilst doing so, he quickly dashed to behind the right-most thief, and readied his dagger. To deal with this situation as quickly as possible, he had to take out at least two persons before melding back into the shadow realm, so along with placing the daggers tip on the thief's neck, he took aim with his crossbow towards another thief's back.
 
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[SIZE= 36px]Maggie[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 18px]Priestess of the Maker[/SIZE]


Maggie nodded.  "Yes, he was the Keeper on duty when I got to the Mirakul -- that's where the miracles are kept until needed.  It's a part of the library in each of the major temples."  She sat at Auri's table, her elbows on the table and her chin resting on her hands, a posture not unlike Auri's but somehow more childlike.  "The Keepers are in charge of the Archives and of the Mirakul; there's generally several, depending on the size of the temple.  I think Alicante has a dozen or so, but I'm not sure.  They aren't much for socializing outside of their duties, and I didn't spend much time in the temple once my training was finished.  I was too eager to get on the road and start seeing things!"  She smiled.  "I can always go back and find him, I just wish I'd gotten his name earlier."
 
Vittorio Valtieri


The Gentleman Necromancer


Valtieri blinked away the vision, curious, calm, the influence of deathly energies dulling his own emotions and quelling the growing loathing he felt for this specter.


"Where is the body?" he asked softly. "Where is the house? Who are you? For whom do you work? Were you ordered to do as you have done? What was your last crime? What had you intended to be your next?"
 
Asher

Asher's sudden reapparance took his target by surprise and the man was dead within seconds. The bolt loosened at the other thief hit its mark as well, the man felled but presumably still alive.


The two thieves who were still in the supervision room used the chance to jump out and charge at Asher, one of them actually getting close enough to attack him while the other one hung back, poised to move in any time. The last one of the up-and-running thieves attempted to close the distance to aid his mates as well, but they told him off: "No! Warn the others!" He hesitated for the moment but stopped advancing, eyeing the fighters and the exit door as if trying to make a decision.


The one thief who got close enough to Asher to attack him looked furious. "I told Aidan you'd be nothing but trouble. Should've shot you off that wall and let the Watch puzzle over your broken remains." He raised his shortsword and attacked aggressively, forcing Asher to defend himself before he had a chance to slip away into Shadows again.



Valtieri

The specter's smirk laste for a moment longer as he was about to laugh at the necromancer - and then his mouth twitched, brows frowned, body clenched. He was struggling, both surprised and outraged, but there was no resisting the Dark Art. He was compelled to answer, truthfully at that.*


"Buried... under the great oak... Half a mile north into the woods, leading... away from the house! You sods!" He still looked frustrated, but resisted a lot less once it fully dawned on him that he was unable to lie. "The house lies to the east of town... near the first crossroads of the main road. Besides, Captain here knows already. Been there himself. I am... I am Oscar Murnholt, a brigand. Like you had to ask, ha! I'm with Peyton's band, and all my orders came from Peyton himself. Or at least so it was until this churl let his butchers bleed me to death. My last crime was ressisting arrest, ha ha ha!" he wailed into laughter that was ended only by the last question. "Or putting the young miss into the dirt, regrettably."


"Oh and, when I say regrettably, I mean I regret that it was my last crime. Unless I figure out a way out of here, in which case I already know my next one." he grinned evilly at both the captain and necromancer at the same time.


Captain Greywall was visibly upset, but had managed to restrain himself. He turned away from the blasphemous specter and focused on Valtieri. "I'm sorry, Vittorio. I should have told you the story first. It's true what he said. I've been to the house, with a company of men, as part of our task to bring Peyton's band of cutthroats to justice. They've been around for a while, killing and stealing round the outskirts of the city, but they brought more attention to themselves when they abducted the daughter of a certain noble from the Northwest Quarter. They demanded ransom, which the nobleman paid - but instead of releasing the girl they changed their minds and decided they wanted more. The nobleman refused, demanding that they release his daughter as promised - they sent back a finger." Greywall grew quiet there for a moment, glancing back at the deceased with disgust.


"At that point he realized they were nothing but scum, and couldn't be expected to honor any kind of agreement. He came to the Watch; to my barracks to be exact, since it was closest. I decided to act while we still had someone to save. We tracked them down and assaulted their hideout, killing most of them, but... By then they had already disposed of their hostage. Bastards wouldn't even surrender her body for a proper burial. Her father was devastated. All we could do is bring back one of them alive enough to be interrogated, but as you could attest yourself, the interrogations did not go well. Until you came, that is. All we really needed was information that would help us retrieve the poor girl's body. I'll dispatch a team to the location as soon as possible."


The malevolent spirict chuckled, idling striking against his invisible restraints. "And tell them to give her a kiss from me, will you? We were only just getting to the best part when fate did us part."


*dice results



Spoiler



1 roll per question, 80% chance for success


1d100 = 80


1d100 = 26


1d100 = 73


1d100 = 9


1d100 = 41


1d100 = 32


1d100 = 35
 
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Vittorio Valtieri


The Gentleman Necromancer


Valtieri remained silent as his inquiries were answered, knuckles whitening around his staff. A body recovered for burial, yes, and specter revealed as the vile remnant of a vile man. 


If his compatriots yet lived, I'd place him back into his corpse to kill them off. 


"I am pleased to have assisted, Cern," he said, a weary formality. Can this one be made to atone? 
 
Captain Greywall nodded. "You'll be even more pleased when you receive your payment. And I don't mean just the Watch's gold. Let us be rid of this wretch and return upstairs, shall we?"


The specter frowned upon the way Greywall looked at him. "You know, I'd rather stay." He gave Valtieri a sly smile. "You there, necromancer! Surely there's some service I can perform for you in exchange for some leeway?"
 








The feeling of the steel penetrating the man's neck reverberated through the dagger and into Asher's closed palm. It made him wince, but only for a moment, as he had no time to reflect on it.


Asher blocked the shortsword with his dagger, dropped the crossbow and used his now free hand to pull out a dart filled with a sleeping solution, then stabbed the thief with it. Without the momentum of being fired from a crossbow, only a bit of the solution would get into the thief's bloodstream, hopefully enough to make him stumble for a moment, giving Asher enough chance for a counter attack.


Asher decided to stab the thief in the neck with the dagger, then merge into the Shadowrealm again, after picking up his crossbow. He would use the brief respite to reload his crossbow, and go for the thief that was planning on escaping. Depending on what the thief's actions would be, Asher could either stab him or shoot him.
 
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It all indeed played out as Asher had envisioned, owing much to his unexpected tactic using the dart and the fact that the other thief hadn't yet moved close enough to cover his ally. Asher's target fell down gurgling blood, soon to be dead. The nearby thief looked equally intimidated and enraged, finally sweeping in to attack Asher with an accompanying growl - only to slice through thin air. The master thief had just enough time to shadowmeld again to recuperate and ponder his next action.


However that was about as much time as the runner needed to reach the warehouse exit, pull the door open and disappear into the rectangle of daylight beyond. Asher had only the one remaining man to deal with, not including the knocked out mage and the other thief who had been presumably mortally wounded over by one of the crates.


Or he could leave and hurry after the runaway, who stood more than a decent chance of running away. But by the time Asher caught up and killed him, and if, the warehouse survivors could be gone before he made it back to them.
 








Asher positioned himself quickly behind the two thieves and readied a bolt in one hand, his dagger in the other, exited the shadow realm and stabbed them.


With the thieves inside the warehouse incapacitated, he would quickly finish off the unconscious mage with the previously readied bolt and run outside after the fleeing thief. If lucky, the thief would lead Asher to the rest of their organization and to others that might know who he was or what he was doing.


ST Note: Post corrected in OOC [link]
 
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[COLOR= rgb(128, 0, 128)]Auri the Insatiable[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 18px]Ambassador of the Drakkar Nation[/SIZE]


"Well, my day was equally strange, but in a different, far more boring manner."  Auri did not desire for Maggie to learn about the "Rekt" incident, for in matters like these, he felt the less she knew in this delicate matter of multi-racial diplomacy, the better, if only for her protection.  And besides, her learning miracles was definitely more exciting than what he had learned at Fort Artan!


"Well again.  I have come to realize that now is an excellent opportunity to ask you about this 'Dina' person and why she is so important from your perspective.  And what say you about our newest ally, this Asher, and your gentlemanly fellow, Valer--, Valer--, Valt--.  Oh, drat and confound it!"  The round drakkar snapped his fingers.  "I have forgotten his name!"
 
[SIZE= 36px]Maggie[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 18px]Priestess of the Maker[/SIZE]


Maggie grinned.  "Valtieri!  Vittorio Valtieri.  It's an odd thing; our abilities are so opposed to each other, but I rather like him.  I don't know about Asher, much.  He seems very secretive, doesn't he?  Even from people he wants to ally with, like us."  She sniffs the air testingly, wondering how much longer the cookies would need.  "Dina... do you know, so much has happened after I met these people that I forget I actually haven't known them very long!"  She smiles.  "But Dina is a sweet girl.  I like her very much, even on such short acquaintance as we've had.  You know me, she's important to me because she's my friend.  Unfortunately, she is or could be important to other people because of what she is rather than who.  Did I tell you?  She's the old king's daughter.  I hope the sorceress doesn't know that, but I fear she does."
 
Vittorio Valtieri


The Gentleman Necromancer


"Leeway?" Vittorio replied, icily, and then barked a laugh. "Do you think there is anything better than this for you, now?"


With a contemptuous gesture, he banished the spirit and turned away, following Greywall as bidden without a further word.
 
Asher

Around 13:00 h


Warehouse C8, South Harbor


Asher's actions were executed with the precision and skill attained through a lifetime of practice, though they could not override the other elements of the situation; such as that it took brief yet precious time to shift back and forth between dimensions, to recover from an attack and mount his own. Or that the unsportsmanlike yet effective way to end the unconscious mage's life with a crossbow bolt still required Asher to come to nearly point blank range, since the mage in question was lying prone behind the low barrier separating the small office room from the rest of the warehouse. Or finally, the fact that the runaway thief was practically on the doorstep when Asher had just begun the aforementioned chain of actions...


So it was that when Asher emerged back into the light of day, having cut the life out of the last possible survivor by the crates on his way out, the runner was not among the couple souls in plain sight. There weren't many people in the industrial alley, mostly the same groups from before - sweaty dockworkers loading or unloading goods, completely oblivious to the slaughter that just transpired next door. But no runaway thief. If the man really was among the more refined, better skilled thieves of the guild that called Alicante its home, even though he couldn't have gotten very far, there was a multiple of directions and paths he might have taken to hide and get away - likely even had taken before. Unlike Asher, who had arrived to Asgard's great capital only recently, and whose short stay never extended as far as the docks, which were on the exact opposite side of the city. In short, he'd lost him.


Perhaps it didn't really matter. After all, the one person who had been able to recognize Asher as Raven in the first place was not among the group he had just killed. And the guild already knew that Aidan and the others had gone off to meet with him, so even had there been no survivor to report on Asher's presumed treachery, simply them all gone missing would have been ample warning. Asher could still spend the rest of the day and part of tomorrow searching for clues as to the guild's whereabouts, but it would be considerably harder now that they knew to be on the lookout for him.


In either case, tomorrow night he would have to go into the Royal Quarter, and for the last time most likely - regardless of the outcome. The operation planned by the Chosen and the Resistance was too good of an excuse to pass up.


ST Note: Scene ended for now. Consult OOC before posting next.



Valtieri

Around 10:00 h


Dungeons, 4th City Watch Barracks


Valtieri and Greywall thus left the cold dungeon behind and retreated back to the captain's office where they continued their conversation, discussing the necromancer's next possible moves in the city.


ST Note: Scene ended for now. Consult OOC before posting next.



Auri/Maggie

Around 14:00 h


Auri's Residence, Southeast Alicante


The next to make a return to the residence was as likely a couple as any - Meric and Violet. The two Shadow Elves burst into the kitchen still laughing about something and paying each other mirthful looks even after they already confirmed that Auri and Maggie were there as well. At first thought one would almost think they were drunk, but as it turned out they were simply high spirited though the reason behind it was unknown. Though they haven't exactly been embraced as they moved into the room, they were right next to each to other; as in, closer than two people walking side by side normally do.


"Auri and Maggie!" Violet called out, slipping away from Meric to greet them. "What a wonderful surprise!"


Meric put on a frown alongside his smile. "You remember that Auri lives here, right?" He looked as if he was going to say something else when he interrupted himself and deliberately sniffed the air, his eyes wandering across the kitchen elements. "Huh, it smells like cookies in here..."
 
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