The Dark Truth - IC [Full]

[RaynieTaco]

Arching her brow, Tatyan paused to take in Dalith's proposal. It wasn't often she saw the Dragonborn so serious. But her request was completely ridiculous. She shook her head no as if to convince herself that it was a stupid idea.

"What are you on about, Dalith? I will not be removing my dress. I am positive it would not fit you. If you are cold, I can get you some clothing that would fit better and cover much more than your furs there."

 

[Ilikepie]

Hmm based on that outburst she seems to honest about what she believes but still is holding back information. The perks for this job seem pretty good but that just shows how great the danger is if I decide to accept it. She then stares in confusion when the other dragonborn asked for the client's dress. She looks down towards Dust in her lap for a moment and then looks back towards the other women.

"So is there any reason why you needed an all female group to handle this mission? Besides females being the much more attractive gender."

 

[welian]

“Because I can fill it better, duh! What kind of question is that?” Dalith tilted her head, gesturing toward her bosom. Well, SHE thought she was hilarious at least. Maybe now wasn’t the best time to lighten the mood of the room.

"Yes, what an odd group. All these young women... perhaps we can take the men by surprise? They might not expect such... waifs."

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian lets out a wry smile. "I have been underestimated by men for decades, usually to their folly. I am hardly a 'waif', but I understand your comment. If being a woman can give us an edge in unraveling the twists of this, so be it. I'll take that as a gift and run, thankful to Corellon that I have been so blessed."

She looks over at Tatyan and says, "It is my vow to my priesthood elders to look after the spiritual well-being of its followers, and if there is some sort of corruption in the church in this city, I am honor-bound to look into it and try to rectify it. I will help in whatever way that I can." Turning to the rest of the ladies in the room, Dorian says, "If we are to be doing this together, we should know one another. I am Dorian Raloquinal of Woodhelven, and as you can see, I am a priestess of Corellon Larethian, and it is my pleasure to meet you all."

 

[Psychie]

Riku watches the two Dragonborn go back and forth with one another, sitting with her legs crossed at the ankles. With a bit of a shrug, she says, "Well, I haven't walked all this way for me just to turn back without at least taking a better look around to see what's going on here. I'll stay, and see what I can do to help out." She looks at the elf woman and gives her a smile. Seemingly as an afterthought, she adds, "I'm Riku, by the way."

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian feels a bit of relief at Riku's words. "Well met, Riku." She looks up at the tall figure of Tatyan and says, "One way or another, I'll have some answers as to all of this. You have my word."

 

[Ilikepie]

After a few moments of Tatyan the client not responding to that question Ashe decides that maybe it's just luck that an all woman team was created. "Guess it was just luck then. I am Ashe and the cat is my familiar Dust." The cat familiar lets out a small meow. "I some skill in the blade, the bow, some sneaky skills, and the kissing of women and that's all you need to know about me for now".

 

[Felix]

Seeing the shift in ambiance to a more humorous and easygoing one, Odette decided to shift as well. She had to keep up her promise to V, or face whatever consequences they had in mind. "Oh, who am I kidding? I am also in of course. Such a rare opportunity to get close to the counsel and have an impact must not be squandered. My name is Lady Odette Cygnus, I have a way with words and can stand my ground in debates and interrogation."

 

[BracedJupiter72]

"I'm Betha by the way" She laughs uncomfortably and starts playing with the ends of her hair. "But enough about me, I am absolutely in"

 

[Psychie]

Riku gives the other women in the group a friendly smile, then turns her attention back to Tatyan. "Well, it seems that we are all on board with this. What information can you give us about what's going on here that you have been waiting on?"

 

[welian]

Dalith nods solemnly at Dorian, and smiles. Around the room the introductions go… And in a mildly long pause, just as the dragonborn is about to say her name, Riku begins to ask Tatyan questions.

Incensed, Dalith jumps to her feet. Not because she was interrupted, but because the answer was just so simple and straightforward!

“Can’t you all see? It’s the city leadership! It’s always been them! They are roaches - no, worse than roaches! Roaches are edible! Well, I suppose people are too, but that's beside the point!"

She crosses the room to Tatyan, taking her hands. “I will not apologize for twenty years ago. But I will say I told you so. This city is rotten. We should burn it to the ground, with all the politicians inside. It has already tried to kill you once, and it will kill you again, like wasps protecting their hive.”

Dalith drops to one knee, still holding Tatyan’s hand.

“Let me pretend to be you. I will be the bait. When they come for me, I will butcher them like the pigs they are. I will crush their skulls for you, torch their bones down to ash, I throw so many rotten potatoes at them that the slime will NEVER come out of their clothes and they shall smell for all eternity. Please, Tatyan! It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do!"

Her eyes glimmer with mischievous, murderous glee.

“All I need is your dress.”

 

[RaynieTaco]

Tatyan was distracted. Questions, confirmations, and the introductions of a team flew from the women quickly. She was happy to see the group working somewhat copacetic with very little aggravation. The Dragonborn remained quiet through the session to allow the people to get acquainted and settled. That was until Dalith jumped from her seat in a grand fanfare to garner attention. Not that- that was what she was doing by hopping out of her seat this whole time. The parallels were uncanny.

Through narrow eyes, Tatyan finally spoke up with ice in her tone. "Get up right this instance and return to your seat. I will not hear of these ridiculous plans of yours. Disguising yourself as me will not save you from poison or an ax through the back. I didn't call you back to this place for you to murder the people of my city like a bull in a shop of... breakable things!"

"Not all the people of power here are evil and you will treat them with some respect for not running away from their problems like a scared cub with its tail between its legs." The implication was clear. Neither side of the argument of what happened 20 years ago had forgiven or forgotten.

"I am not asking you all to run headfirst into battle. I am asking you to investigate and report back. The evils of these rituals are far too powerful to take lightly. You will all be stronger together if you can find a way to do just that. Work together. And I will simply have to trust you all to not bring harm unto yourselves. I am running out of options. If you all decide to go after these monstrosities, I will not stop you. But be warned, I will not have the power to save you from my place here."

"I will tell you what I want to know and all the leads I have. If you can return to me in about 3 week's time, I will be able to introduce you all to most of the parliament members under the guise of my bodyguards. Most are out on diplomatic endeavors and are not slotted to return until then. However, you can stay here and speak to me freely about such matters in the dead of night only in this office at any time during those weeks. No one is to be trusted outside this room."

"I need to find sources of these crimes. Who is paying who to get these jobs done? There has to be someone controlling these criminals and they are using money or magic to do so. I am hoping that the information you all can gather will bring us closer to our target. The freshest lead I can give you is at a tavern named the Jade Cat's Eye here close to the parliament building. It has a large sign and the only establishment in this area to provide alcoholic beverages. It is- uh was ran by a man named Milo Sundry. He was a human that was murdered and robbed only a few nights ago."

"If you go there, you will speak to Eve, his wife. She should be able to tell you more information- sadly I do not know much else except that the crime took place. Henrick Gear is the head of the Co're guards and was present- but at a distance when the assassin attacked me. He may be able to help you with information on which guards are not reporting to duty. The last thing I can provide you is the Corellon temple. I cannot get you access by any means. The church runs by a different set of rules- but there is clearly something wrong happening within those walls. I would wait to follow those leads- if you are caught there... I am not sure how much sway I will have in protecting you."

She reached into her cloak to retrieve golden pins with the half-moon crest in the center. "These will give people the heads up that you are working for the Parliament. I would give you all uniforms- but these pins will be more discreet when the occasion calls for it. And Dalith, I have some items for you."

Under her seat, she pulls up a black sack that was made of fine leather. She opened the satchel and began to pull out a set of half-plate armor. This looked far too large to fit in the bag itself. "This will keep you safer and warmer than those furs. And here, a cloak"

She hands over a cloak but doesn't stop there. She gives Betha components from her spells as well as a spell to add to her spellbook that may come in handy.

Cloak of displacement-
While you wear this cloak, it projects an Illusion that makes you appear to be standing in a place near your actual location, causing any creature to have a disadvantage on Attack rolls against you. If you take damage, the property ceases to function until the start of your next turn. This property is suppressed while you are Incapacitated, Restrained, or otherwise unable to move. This is only attuned to you- if you loan it, they must get attuned.

The spell: Mage Armor: You touch a willing creature who isn't wearing armor, and a protective magical force surrounds it until the spell ends. The target's base AC becomes 13 + its Dexterity modifier. The spell ends it if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell as an action.

 

[BracedJupiter72]

Betha smiles at her then stands up "Thank you Tatyan, after this whole mess is done we need to get back to training together. I have missed you far too much this past year, and I thank you for giving me a chance to earn for myself," Bethas voice begins to tremble. "I will forever be grateful."

Tears begin to build up below her eyes. she looks around at everyone then sits back down, wiping the tears away. "Uh, sorry...I don't know what came over me." She sniffles to herself, bowing her head.

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian smiles at the sight of the gifts being given, and the reaction from Bethas. It was enough to make her heart feel good.

 

[Ilikepie]

So she is testing our loyalty before giving us the rest of the information. Ashe takes the gold pin and starting payment officially accepting this quest and places the gold pin on her armor in a spot that is hidden under her new cape but also easy to reveal when it's necessary for it to be seen. Ashe blushes slightly at the slight of Betha's reaction. So cute! but she also seems to have trained by the client so I still need to careful with her and Dalith.

"If that's all the information you have for us at this time I guess we should get going. I believe it would be best for to gather some supplies before we start investigating the murder of the tavern owner. Would anyone happen to know a place where we could buy healing potions in this city? Healing potions go a long way at keeping one alive when dealing with unknown dangers." Dust jumps out off Ashe's lap and then Ashe stands up preparing herself to leave as she awaits an answer to the question.

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian looks over at Ashe and replies, "It may be possible for me to acquire healing potions from the temple, especially as a fellow member of the priesthood. If not, I'm sure that there is a potion shop or two here in the city, since the city is so large. I would believe that Dalith will be a good guide to where these shops are, considering you are from here, even if it was a long time ago."

 

[RaynieTaco]

(on mobile and at work- sorry about quality)

Tatyan contemplates for a moment. It has been a while since she herself went out for such things. Her gaze moved to Dorian. She shook her head softly.

"The temple can be dangerous. Be careful if you go there. There is an alchemist in the marketplace named Eisik. If you do go- do not mention Corellon or any followers. It was his friend who was murdered- the orc I mentioned earlier. He has taken it hard. But I believe people in town recommends his potions."

"Betha is also familiar with this space and has more current information on many locations surely. I will count on you all. You will hear from me randomly I am sure."

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian nods, feeling dismay at the thought that the temple would be dangerous to anyone. "I understand, but I have been seen entering the city with my holy symbol visible, and it would be a natural thing for me to go to the temple to introduce myself. I think that it would be considered out of place if I don't do that sometime during my stay here in the city." She then reassures Tatyan, "I will be careful, however. I have no desire to end my life at such a young age."

 

[Psychie]

Riku looks over at Dorian and says, "I would be willing to go with you. While I am not a devotee of Corellon, Ehlonna is a god of nature, and would not be a bad fit for me to join you. It could also be that you are trying to share the wisdom of Corellon with other friendly races."

 

[RaynieTaco]

"Of course. I am not here to stop you from doing as you please. I simply will remind you for every action- there is consequences. I am happy that you will not be alone and you will be careful, dear Dorian."

 

[Sherwood]

Nodding, Dorian says, "I would be thankful for the company, and I may be able to learn something valuable to our search."

 

[Psychie]

Riku smiles. "Of course. And a second set of eyes might see something that you miss. When do we set out?"

 

[Sherwood]

Dorian shrugs. "I suppose we can go after this meeting here is complete. Unless there is any reason for us to wait?" She looks to the others to give them a chance to speak up.

 

[welian]

Meanwhile, Dalith is silent. She stands up to accept Tatyan’s gifts, the armor and cloak, and as the other women talk amongst themselves, she examines the cloak in utter bafflement, even going so far as to furtively sniff it when she thinks all eyes are turned away. There has to be a catch, Dalith thinks to herself. Tati is one of those smartypants spellcasters. Will it turn my scales blue? Does it have Kick Me embroidered on the back? Dalith was seven when she pulled that prank, surely Tati had forgiven her by now.

“Tati… Tatyan. May I, uh, speak to you privately?”

 

[RaynieTaco]

A sigh escaped the Dragonborn. She knew this was coming. She was strong. She can handle a private conversation.

She nodded but spoke to the group before getting up. "Please, discuss your plans further here just a bit longer. I will return to give you the money when I am finished speaking with Dalith."

She got up and gestured for the other woman to follow her. They stepped into another, smaller room. In there, there were books locked by magical chains that filled the walls. A clouded crystal sat in a tripod-like holder in the center. With a flick of her wrist, a safe slowly opened from a secret panel in the the room. The energy popped with arcane protection spells and other arcane secrets. She looked to Dalith slowly. "Hello sister."