Porthca Landing I: Memory of the Sea

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Benito wiped his face, it felt cold and clammy. "Sorry, it's just been a busy return. I guess I'm still processing some of last night's event. I don't know if it will help, but I grappled with the creature, grabbed it from behind. It's head turned back to face me, and I felt... Well, I felt immense dread, sorrow, and a sensation of drowning. I was momentarily paralyzed from the sensation and terrified of what it felt like. Until I shook it off. It felt so real, and I know it could have been worse had I not had the resolve to save Robern. It haunts me." Ben took a moment to straighten his tunic under his leather jacket. "I hope we've helped. We'll expand our search to include powerful magical creatures such as dragons, fiends, and celestials. Thank you for your time... and your patience, Master Accmour. Unless you or Lord Silverbane have anything else, I believe we're done for now. Best see the Tahyrsts next to discuss how someone or something might be getting around." Then mostly for the benefit of Tyrius, he added, "They've had a hand in nearly every building and city planning project since they came to Porthca."
 
"That's fine, take all the time you need." Frankly, Virra was just relieved to see Gileon making copies by himself; it would have been embarrassing to have talked a big game about taking everyone's names and then to ask Eliza if she'd brought paper and ink. "Actually... any chance that this'll take more than an hour?" she asked, doubting that it would even as she spoke. But again, there was no harm in asking. Newly fresh in her head, the mental tricks for locating specific minds were almost begging her to use them again.
 
Catelyn smiled excitedly and gave Father Uskough her bowing salute. “No... well I suppose they are helpers of a sort.” She took a deep breath to calm herself for a moment before looking back up to Father Uskough. “I believe they are the ones that the Lord on the Rack has sent me to find. Fate brought us together, and they have come seeking aid from me in regards to a crime that seems to match my visions. There is some sort of undead monstrosity drowning the nobility of this town in sea water in their own beds, and I had two things I wished to ask of you. First, I was wondering if you had knowledge of such a creature... I believe this to be an act of vengeance against the houses, but for what I know not. Second... I was hoping that you would grant me leave to assist in their investigation.” Catelyn looked to Father Uskough hopefully with a hint of shame in her eyes. “I am afraid that my motives are selfish... a friend of mine is involved.”
 
Ander, not ignoring what his new friend was saying, stepped behind the counter and began assisting as Father Uskough listened to Cate's plea. Providing for the poor brought a huge smile to his face as he handed people food and continued to pray for them, both to Lathander and his healing light and to the broken lord to show them his mercy. He was reminded of the works he had been able to do alongside the sisters of dawn, and that memory hit him like a ton of bricks. He continued to smile and hand out food, but as he did so, tears fell from his face.
 
As Cate began speaking to Father Uskough and Ander helped served the poor, Winston stood there off to the side just listening in to Cate’s conversation. He looked at the poor people that were collecting around the food and he realized that these people would be the perfect people to ask about secret goings-on of a town. They would often be ignored or underestimated, and it was possible they might have heard something. Following this idea, Winston began to wander around towards the back of the crowd and found someone who had already gotten some food. “Hey there friend, my name’s Winston. These people are incredibly kind and generous aren’t they? One of my friends, that woman right over there”. Winston points towards Cate. “Helps out here all the time. And you see, she’s got a problem that I’m trying to help her out with, would you mind trying to help her as well?”
 
Eliza looked at Gileon, “Do you have any idea how or who could have tampered with the registry for the Lestones? Does anyone else have access to the registry besides you?”

Getting a chill down her spine she anxiously asked the archivist, “Does the registry keep track of the nastier disciplines? Can you find out if someone had affinity with undead? There might be an connection there.”
 
Sensing that Ben was wrapping up the meeting, Tyrius was on the verge of saying there was nothing more that he could think of and thanking Master Enol for his time when something did occur to him.

'Benito mentioned the possibility that we weren't targeted because we weren't expected. Now if that's true, it could stand to reason that the same pattern could've occurred in the manor's of the other families.' thought the red head.

"Master Enol, forgive me for intruding but would you know if your family had an employee leave your service around the time of your sister's death?" asked Tyrius, with a quick glance to Benito.

'It's probably a long shot, but I can't help thinking of the possibility.'
 
Lasiris House | Enol's Office:

Enol smiled sadly, "Yes ... I imagine it's been quite a lot to deal with. Hopefully we'll have something on our end as well." He glanced to Tyrius at his question, "I assume you mean my daughter's death ... unlike the other families, we don't tend to keep servants as they might. Being both graduates of Azarad, I assume you're familiar with unseen servants and familiars themselves. Those are far more typical around our personal home, and far more trustworthy." With a small gesture of his fingers, a sound was heard behind Benito and Tyrius as along the far wall a doorway was visible.

"I believe this conversation is practically finished however. That door will deposit you both back into the waiting area of Lasriris House."

Lasiris House | Registry Room:

Gileon took a moment before responding to Virra, "Uhm ... maybe another ten minutes at most?" His gaze wandered at Eliza's questions, "No one else has access besides me -- well I mean, Master Accmour of course can as well, this whole place belongs to his family, but generally only me. I've never really even considered the Registry could be tampered with to be honest. Not really something that comes up all that often ..."

He worked at copying more pages before answering her last question, "If someone practiced the school of Necromancy? A fair amount of the people I'm already listing out for you would be considered as such." Gileon looked between Virra and Eliza, "Necromancy has more uses than merely being 'nasty' or messing with the dead, but I doubt that's really the conversation you're looking to have."

Church of the Crying God:

Father Uskough looked over the pair that had followed her in -- one eagerly helping to serve the soup-line, while the other seemed to instead speak to those being served. He smiled as he went to respond to Cate, "Lass, if our Lord on the Rack has led you on a path, who am I to deny you?"

He gestured for Cate to follow him off to the side, "I'd prefer not to speak of the dead among the Sufferers, lest we upset them and spread more rumours. They have enough to deal with -- we lift Burdens, not add to them. If it's vengeance, the best ones to ask are those having such vengeance acted against them. Depending on what ya learn, it can narrow down the options more." He covered her hands with his worn calloused hands, "If it is vengeance, remember that even for those who strike out, we still attempt to take on their Suffering, to ease their Burdens so that they may finally rest. View whatever it is not as a monster, but one who was let down, and now can be aided."

At Winston's approach the older woman first huddled around her bowl, as if afraid he might try to take it from her, until she listened to him speak. "What'cha tryin' to 'elp her with then? Dunno what good 'kin be, givin' me own lacking."
 
Benito bowed politely, "Thank you again, Master Accmour. I appreciate your cooperation and patience, and I look forward to working with you in the future. Please accept my sincerest condolences for your loss." Ben knew it may have been in poor form to bring up his daughter again, but since Tyrius had brought it up again, he felt the need to express his sympathies. With their business concluded and appropriate acknowledgements made, Benito straightened up and headed out the door.
 
Following Ben's lead, Tyrius echoed his friend's bow to Master Enol, "Thank you, Master Accmour. My condolences." Tyrius said, 'Slipped my mind that Gilmaire was his daughter and not his sister. I hope I haven't just dropped Ben into something.'

As they left the office through the doorway and stood in the waiting area, Tyrius kept his voice down but said to Ben, "Sorry about that last question. It popped into my head in the spur of the moment. You mentioned that we weren't expected, and after you told Master Enol about checking beds I got the idea that if someone was planting enchanted items in beds, servants would have the most access." Tyrius glanced around before adding, "I'm not sure anyone would be so brazen as to just hop from one household to the next planting enchantments but at the same time it wasn't a remote possibility either."

'Not to mention getting distracted by Master Enol's pin and robes so much I forgot all about watching his face and body language.' thought Tyrius, 'Going to have to watch out for that if we question any more of the relatives today.'
 
Benito waved it off with a smile, "Why be sorry? It was a good question. Maybe it was a bit insensitive to misplace his relationship. Enol's loss is likely the greatest of the deaths so far, but time is more important than being gentle." Ben shook his head, "I've never been one for the formal chatter and proper ways, I'm sure I stepped on toes and ruffled feathers, but for now our goals and interests align. Once we find the killer and bring him to justice we can mend fences and make good impressions." Ben paused and turned to face Tyrius, "Ty, I don't want to be the Lazy Lord or the Slippery One or whatever other stupid name they come up with next or have been using behind my back for years. I want to be the one who acted when it mattered and got shit done. There's no room for second guessing, no second chances for me. This is it. I find this killer and stop him or I die the disgrace of not just my family but the Sinking Plains." He shrugged, "If that means asking the hard questions and making people face harsh realities, so be it. They can't really think less of me."
 
Virra gave Eliza an appreciative nod for asking questions she hadn't thought to raise, though she grimaced when the topic changed to the ethics of necromancy. "Yeah, it's really not. Though you could say it's accurate in this case, since making undead hitmen is definitely a nasty thing to do, and these people you're copying out for us might be capable of that, so..." She shrugged, growing bored with her argument in record time. "Thanks for the assistance," she finished, then sat down on the floor and crossed her legs to wait the process out.

She watched Gileon at work with interest, though her gaze kept slipping back towards Eliza. Would now be a good time to let her in on the 'psionic' business? Have a telepathic chat about it? Heck, she would rather talk about it with Eliza than anyone else currently in Porthca. The only thing that was really stopping her was a small worry about how the half-orc might immediately react to having an intruder in her mind — well, that and the idea that Gileon or someone else in the building might have magic to somehow sense what was going on.

With an audible sigh every other minute, Virra idly studied her new map and waited for the Registry Keeper to finish.
 
Eliza marveled at Gileon shaping and forming the magic around them to his command. She felt strangely at peace. Perhaps leaving Azarad didn’t Mean saying goodbye to magic forever. She could still grow and learn on her time, she didn’t need Azarad for that.

She glanced at Virra sitting criss-cross on the floor and smiled. Virra hadn’t gone to Azarad either and yet she was able to use magic, enough to hold her own during battle using magic. It could be of help asking her about her powers. Maybe she could help her somehow.
 
Catelyn frowned and followed after the older dwarf. “My apologies, Father, I am not thinking clearly. I should mind my words before the flock. You’re right, I have allowed my own prejudice to cloud my judgement. I swear to do my best to bring solace to all who have been wronged. It is not our place to be the serve as judge or jury.” Catelyn looked back at her two new companions, watching them interact with the poor people of this city. “I am not certain of what may happen on this quest... but these seem like a good group of samaritans.” Catelyn looked down at her hand, wrapped in her holy symbol. “I only pray that I am able to serve our Lord in whatever trials may be in my path.”
 
Winston smiles warmly at the elderly woman, “Well I don’t need anything physical from you miss, don’t you worry. I’m simply looking for information, and the...more unfortunate members of society often hear loads of gossip and rumors. What I’m looking for is information on the assassinations of some of the members of Porthca Landings' leading families. I’ve heard tell of a horrific beast drawn from the sea to strike down these innocent people, and I — no, we”. And Winston nods towards Cate and father Uskough, reminding the lady of all the help they’ve given people like her. “Need more information to help stop these attacks, and get to the bottom of this.”
 
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Lasiris House:

Finally Gileon finished copying out the pages, with a few more gestures and commands they were bound together in a decently thick tome that was then held out for one of the pair to take. "Hopefully you find whoever's doing this ... the undead should be left to rest."

He turned back to the room with a wave and the pages began to float casually around the room before disappearing off to whereever they rested. Leading them to the door he ushered them back to the main waiting room where Tyrius and Benito stood discussing. Gileon bowed to them both, "I believe I've done all I can to help with the Registry, if there's anything else please let me know." Gesturing to the tome he continued, "Those pages list the names, schools of magic each person is considered specialized in, and where they might be found."

Church of the Crying God:

Smiling Father Uskough spoke, "As you have faith in Him, He has faith in you, young Cate. I was led to carry your Suffering and gotten the pleasure of watching you grow up into a generous, kind young woman, guided by the Crying God." He patted her hand before looking back at the others, finally starting to reach the end of the daily soup-line, thanks to Ander's help at handing out food. "I can't move as easily as I used to, but I think we can manage if you need to be elsewhere for a few days."

As the line finishes out, one of the acolytes, an older human woman hands a bowl and bread to Ander as two younger male acolytes crowd around him, admiring his armor and weapons. She sighs at the two of them, "Rerehi, Haeden, you know better than to stare so openly, especially at someone who aided us in offering food to Sufferers."

The two men look sheepish for a moment before one speaks up, "But Toala, he's got true armor! Not the old chainmail Cate's got, and that sword -- it's definitely impressive."

Toala shook her head, "I doubt he's keen to be gawked at." She held the bowl and bread out towards Ander, "Apologies ... they're quite young and still ever so exciteable. Our Lord on the Rack is very grateful for your help this morning, follower of the Morninglord. May I learn your name?"

The older woman squinted at Winston, "Ya sayin' I jus' gossip all day, yeah? Assassinate'n sounds pretty high up, far from m'ears. But ah ... the sea..." she nods for a moment. "Lots o'things in th' sea, beasties and the dead," her gaze seems to wander, "the dead ... like m'husband. Lost at sea they tol' me. The sea takes as much as it gives, they say." She looked away down towards the shore with a saddened expression.
 
Benito turned hearing Gileon speak behind him. "Thank you for assistance." He nodded slightly before addressing the ladies, "Virra, Lizy." He smiled, "I hope your search was fruitful. Master Accmour mentioned that while it's possible a wizard or sorcerer might have a hand in this, we should also consider magical beasts - dragons, celestials, fiends." Ben sighed, "Mostly we have a lot more questions than answers but we ensured the aid of an ally. Master Accmour is going to invest time and resources into protection from drowning as well as from the enchantments." Ben wanted to believe Virra wasn't the killer, but studied her reaction to the news that the current method of attack may be ineffective very soon. After a brief pause he continued, "We confirmed the existence of the Lestones, and their place as a family before the Accmours came to Porthca. Master Accmour mentioned that my father may know more, but that will have to wait for tonight. I recommend we travel to the Tahyrst Manor and seek an audience there. We might be able to get a more detailed map of the town and possibly the manors as well as theirs being the first death, perhaps it will shine some light on things. Shall we?" Benito seemed to be finished before he added, "Oh, Virra, there's something we should discuss on the way. Please don't let me forget." With that, the young lord gestured for them to make their way out of the waiting area so they could continue their search. All the while he hoped that things were going well for Ander and Winston and that they were able to find Cate.
 
Dwelling on what Benito had said, Tyrius didn't notice the fact that Virra and Eliza were back until Ben addressed them. 'Ben's right, we need to be the nobles who acted rather than the nobles who sat around minding our manners and did nothing.' thought Tyrius.

Listening to Ben's plans, Tyrius nodded his head in agreement. It made sense to Tyrius. 'And this time I should try and remember the relationship between who we're speaking to and the deceased.' he chided himself.

"I agree with Ben's plan," said Tyrius with a smile, trying to concentrate on the task at hand as opposed to his slight mistake. "So, what did you find?" asked the sorcerer, hoping that Virra and Eliza had found something helpful.
 
Having grown tired of scanning the map long ago, Virra leapt to her feet the moment Gileon finished copying the pages. "Thanks again," she chirped, taking the offered book and starting to skim through it as the Registry Keeper led them back to the main waiting room, though she paused to flash a proud smile at Ben and Tyrius while she turned a page. Then, hearing that the real culprit might be a magical beast, her contented expression changed. "Seriously?" She looked up from the tome with excitement in her eyes. "Well... I've never seen one of those before," she mused, suddenly no longer interested in the book she was holding. "Shame there's no registry for local dragons, huh?"

Virra gave Gileon a wave as they turned to leave, barely hearing Tyrius's question over her own thoughts. "Oh, just the identities of every magic-user who might be the culprit. Take a look." She tossed him the book, wondering what Ben could want to talk about. 'Don't let me forget', he'd said. Was he trying to prompt something?

"Hey, Ben, would you rather talk like this? I'm fine with whatever," she told him cheerily, establishing the telepathic link the moment they crossed the threshold.
 
Benito's voice was not nearly as peppy or cheerful, "Yeah. This will be fine. I need to know when you got to Porthca and what you're doing here. Enol... Master Accmour said that these crimes were likely perpetrated by someone or something with magic we don't yet fully understand. This is all a big coincidence... right? If not, then whatever the debt... just let me pay it. Leave my family be, take my life or my money, whatever it takes to leave Joane and Robern alone." Ben released a breath that he'd been holding. His shoulders tensed and his fists clenched as he thought on happy thoughts of love and family and friendship as he prepared for the end. His head filled with thoughts and images of his mother in his youth, and breaks from Azarad with Joane, Anthol's marriage to Sidwae and long talks with Cate over ale at the Tuckered Kraken. Tears welled in his eyes as he led the others toward the Tahyrst Manor, he tried hard not to look back at Virra and the others; he refused to show weakness in the face of death.
 
Virra stopped in her tracks, simply staring at the back of Benito's head. For the life of her, she couldn't tell why he was saying any of this. Was he trying to get a response out of her to prove her innocence? Was this his way of trying to throw her off before disposing of her, then Eliza and Tyrius? Or, worse, could it be a tactic to provoke her, to make her do something rash so he could pin the crime on her while he and his collaborators got away free? She'd only spoken telepathically with two people before meeting Ben; she couldn't tell from his tone. Her eyes flicked over his hunched shoulders, his clenched fists, and slowly led the investigator to make her first real deduction. Despite all the aggressive tendencies he'd shown since they met on the street, the way he'd kept her close at hand despite his supposed mistrust of her, and the bitterness he'd shown towards his mother and late brother, everything about his manner now seemed so... sincere.

"Wait," she said, deliberately cutting off the telepathic link. For once, her voice was helpless with confusion. "So... you're not the killer? For sure?"
 
Benito stopped when Virra said, "Wait," like a dog trained on command. Here it comes, he thought and he winced. He lifted an arm to wipe his eyes, Show no weakness, you're better than that. He turned to face her as she asked her question. Ben was baffled and outraged, "What?! How could I... why would I... I couldn't even... My own brother... A thirteen year old girl... What kind of monster...!?" He didn't realize he was crying, but it was happening. Here, in the streets of Porthca, Lord Weaver Benito Encogerse De'Porthca had lost all control and there was little he could do about it as his vision went fuzzy, Oh gods, she's blinding me, this is the end. "Tell me why! Tell me why! What's the debt?! What do you want?! Blood?!" He reached for a scimitar, exposing the blade but not removing it from the sheath and running his forearm along it. Blood trickled from the wound as he held his arm out for her, "Is this what you want? Hmm?! Take it! Take all of it! Gods know I've never done right with it by my family or anyone else! But you... you stay away from my sister! Promise me... promise me she'll live..." His voice grew weak as he feel to his knees, he couldn't see through the tears as he sobbed. Fitting, this is how I die, weak and afraid, just like I've always been. His hands hit the ground as he leaned forward, psychic power or physical blade, it made no difference, he had no will to put of a defense.
 
Ander smiles at the woman and sets his bowl down. He pulls the scabbard over his shoulder and shows the two men Dawnbreaker. “My name’s Ander, ma’am, and I am happy to help out those in need.” he turned to Rerehi and Haeden, “This sword is called Dawnbreaker. It belonged to the champion of the Morning Lord, my friend Roland.” he pulled the blade out slowly, allowing the men to admire the blade. “And honestly, this armor is only this nice because I clean it as part of my rituals before sleeping every night.” He smiled at the group around him, sitting and eating a bit of the food he was given before quietly handing what was left to an emaciated man who had finished his portion nearby.

He looked over to Cate, hoping that he might be able to continue this crazy journey with someone who understands where he’s coming from.
 
Virra took a step back as Ben began to shout, then grabbed for her shortbow as she saw the blade of a scimitar. Then she just stared in shock and fascination as he cut his own arm and fell to his knees. Was this the next stage of the set-up, where he was going to convince Eliza and Tyrius to turn against her? It didn't feel like it, but what else could he be trying to achieve? There was no way he could think that Virra, of all people...

She laughed out loud, high and disbelieving. "That's... you really think I'm the one behind all of this? That's stupid. You're so stupid." She laughed until she was half bent over, gasping for breath with her hands on her knees. But then the laughter died almost as quickly as it had come, and her smile and cheery tone went with it. "Ben, you're bleeding. What did you do that for? This is so..." She reached out for the noosphere almost by instinct, snatching knowledge from dozens of better-informed minds and directing it towards her own ends. Acting on her mind's new instructions, Virra ran to Ben's side, grabbing his wounded arm and lifting it up, keeping it elevated while she pressed her own forearm against the cut. Then she glanced towards their companions. "Could one of you two get some cloth? I'll need some to bind this up when the bleeding slows down. There might be some in my bag, or you can cut it out of my cloak. Hands are full."
 
Catelyn listened to Father Uskough, choking up a bit as she recalled the first time that they had met.”I... thank you, Father. Your words mean so much to me, given all that you have done for me... Forgive me, I should be preparing. I will return shortly.” Catelyn bows once more to the man who had raised her before walking back up the stairs and to her room, reflecting on the terror she had felt before Father Uskough stepped in to protect her from her assailants with his own body. She could still picture his face as they struck at him, still focused on her with a strained yet compassionate look. From that day, I knew that Ilmater had a plan for me... to join the order and to care for His children like I had been cared for. Now I can see that he has a true path set out for me... I will not fail him.

She entered her small bed chamber, walking over to close the window that she had forgotten to in the morning prior, and began to collect her meager possessions. She collected several robes, tunics, and leggings, smiling slightly to herself as she packed away the ridiculous hairy vest that Rerehi and Haeden were so fond of. Unfortunately I doubt it will see any use... I prefer to take a more active role whenever possible, but running out into combat dressed in little more than my underthings would result in certain death in the challenges I may face.

Catelyn reached under her bed and grabbed a small pack which she had filled with all sorts of supplies. She hadn’t known what purpose she had for preparing the bag at the time, but now the reason was clear to her. She slung her things over her shoulder, grunting slightly at the added weight before heading back downstairs. She approached Father Uskough again, bowing and smiling to him. “I am ready to leave whenever my companions have finished with whatever it is they aim to accomplish here. Any final words of wisdom on how I may best serve our Lord?”:
 
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