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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3324488" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The priestess of Yrraxea was beginning to feel the pressure of the situation at this point. She has not bargained for five. There might have been some kind of hope against three, even if they were masters. But there would be little she could do against all five. Reluctantly, she nodded in the affirmative as a response to the priest’s bid for cooperation.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre continued his explanation of the proceedings. <span style="color: Lime">“Excellent. You should know, then, that this room has been equipped with a certain magical trigger. As you no doubt already know, I am a defensive master. Yet, we cannot take any risks. The room has been equipped with a magical contingency. If I am required to cast any spell at any time, the contingency will be triggered. First of all, the room will be bathed in a magic that prevents you from lying to us. It will also prevent us from lying to you, but since we do not intend to lie we need not fear it. The next spell is already triggered onto you. The spell will blind you. The blindness is permanent without magical aid, although I control magic capable of reversing it. A third spell that has already been triggered upon you is one that will slow your movements. You will be slowed to a fraction of your speed and at the mercy of the rest of us who will be moving quite fast from your slowed perspective. Finally, you will be the victim of a simple hex. The hex will drain what little power remains after the other three spells have taken their effect. Do you understand what I am telling you?”</span></p><p></p><p>The priestess of Yrraxea nodded and Buschlerre turned towards his own personal acolyte. <span style="color: Lime">“Barra, I believe that our priestess here has agreed to play nice and talk. Would you be so kind as to remove her bindings? Once her hands are free, I will allow her to remove her own gag. She knows what will happen to her if she disobeys.”</span></p><p></p><p>Barra nodded in response. His eyes focused hard upon his master as if to draw the necessary strength from him. The acolyte knew that in undoing the woman’s bindings he would be closest to the priestess should she desire to rebel and lash out in any sort of attack. However, his long studies in the way of Reah under Master Buschlerre taught him that trust was important. He would need to trust his master’s contingent protection much in the same way that Master Brandt had trusted Master Buschlerre and Master Searthu to handle the interrogation.</p><p></p><p>Slowly Barra approached the priestess and undid her bindings. The priestess stretched her hands and winced as she brought her stiff arms forward. She looked to Buschlerre for approval and once the priest of Reah nodded his head in approval she lifted her hands and undid the gag.</p><p></p><p>Few but Buschlerre were prepared for the speed in what happened next. The woman lifted her hands in a movement that caused her tremendous pain. Her face winced as her lips formed the words. <span style="color: Red">“Par Ah…”</span> Fortunately for the interrogation squad, she was unable to complete her spell. </p><p></p><p>Master Buschlerre had been anticipating her deception. He knew that she would go back against her word. The temple’s master of the arts of the aegis cried out in an interruption to the priestess of Yrraxea’s spell. <span style="color: Lime">“Kashan!”</span> His voice blasted across the room and struck the priestess hard. She was unable to focus enough to complete her own magical spell and the yellow light that had been gathering around her body faded into nonexistence. </p><p></p><p>Buschlerre looked to the woman and could only smile as four distinct effects flashed into existence. First, a low resonating hum drummed faintly as background noise. The hum was not enough to drown out conversation, but it was enough to irritate the mind sue to its persistence.</p><p></p><p>The defensive master smiled. <span style="color: Lime">“That hum implies that we are all now incapable of lying, even myself.”</span></p><p></p><p>No sooner had Bruschlerre stopped talking than a brilliant light flashed directly above the priestess of Yrraxea. She cried out in pain as the room blackened from her perspective. She was no longer able to distinguish the walls from the ceiling. She was also unable to distinguish any of the people in the room, including her own hand in front of her face.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre continued the explanation as the second effect took hold. <span style="color: Lime">“You are now blind, but you know that. Believe me when I tell you that the room has not changed for any of us.”</span></p><p></p><p>The priestess’s shrill cry suddenly dropped in an octave. From the perspective of the followers of Reah, the priestess’ motions and voice slowed considerably. Until someone spoke, the priestess herself didn’t notice any difference since she was blind and unable to judge herself against the others in the room.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre spoke intentionally slow so as to still be able to make sense to the priestess. His voice still sounded higher in pitch than normal to the priestess’ ears. <span style="color: Lime">“Now you have been brought to a more manageable speed. Trust me when I tell you that it causes me great strain to talk slow enough for you to understand me.”</span></p><p></p><p>Finally, the priestess felt her strength drain from her body. Her breathing became significantly labored. Her appendages grew heavy as if encumbered by great weights. Her shoulders sagged and her back began to hunch over as if her body was overcome by some genetic deformity which had crippled her muscles.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre smiled, although it was clear that he no longer enjoyed watching the effects of his magic upon the woman. Once more he spoke slowly so that the priestess of Yrraxea would be able to understand him. <span style="color: Lime">“Now, you have been hexed. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to choose this path.”</span></p><p></p><p>The elf priest turned to Searthu and spoke at his regular speed. With respect to the priestess of Yrraxea, she could not make out Buschlerre’s words as they were spoken too fast for her slow ears to distinguish words. Buschlerre nodded to Searthu and gave the order to commence as he let out a significant sigh. <span style="color: Lime">“She is yours to command, Searthu. She is greatly weakened, of course. Get the information we need, but do not abuse her position.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Ehrmanae priest nodded and turned his attention to the blind priestess. He spoke slowly, but it was obvious that he was not as skilled as Master Buschlerre at the slowed speech. <span style="color: Lime">“I will finish your spell for you. Par Ah-thaal.”</span> Instantly his body was coated in a brilliant yellow aura, although the effect was lost on the blind priestess.</p><p></p><p>However, despite being unable to see the light the true effect of the spell was not lost upon the follower of Yrraxea. Her head immediately snapped to the direction of Master Searthu as he slowly spoke to her. <span style="color: Lime">“You are incapable of lying. Tell me, who has brought you here.”</span></p><p></p><p>The priestess now spoke without hesitation. The Ehrmanae priest of Reah had all but charmed her into telling him the truth. Her voice was almost painfully slow to listen, but the interrogation team could make out the words if they concentrated intently. <span style="color: Red">“I was contacted by another member of the Ephistaemi. His organizational name is Bloodseeker.”</span></p><p></p><p>Searthu continued the interrogation. <span style="color: Lime">“And what is your organizational name?”</span></p><p></p><p>The priestess replied, again without hesitation. <span style="color: Red">“I am called Darkbringer.”</span></p><p></p><p>Searthu nodded to his fellow priests. He was pleased that his spell was working so well in conjunction with the other spells from Buschlerre. <span style="color: Lime">“And Bloodseeker funds your efforts?”</span></p><p></p><p>The priestess shook her head. <span style="color: Red">“No. Bloodseeker works for Lord Ironblood as our spy. I was paid independently from Lord Ironblood’s sources and independently from Bloodseeker. Our pay was not connected to each other.”</span></p><p></p><p>Searthu wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. <span style="color: Lime">“Then who paid you?”</span></p><p></p><p>Darkbringer shrugged her shoulders. The motion was painfully slow to watch for the priests and acolytes of Reah, although eventually the priestess spoke again. <span style="color: Red">“I do not know. I never met my financier.”</span></p><p></p><p>Searthu spoke once more. <span style="color: Lime">“And what were you paid to accomplish without meeting your financier?”</span></p><p></p><p>Darkbringer smiled as if she recalled a pleasant memory. <span style="color: Red">“I was paid to destroy the villa in Huetown while the residents were away. I was told that I was allowed to kill the few workers who remained behind while the rest went to Barghost to be married. It was imperative that the four and the father were not harmed or present to watch the villa burn.”</span></p><p></p><p>Searthu and Buschlerre both looked to Brandt. They didn’t need to speak. Brandt told them all they needed to know with a nod of approval. Darkbringer was still telling the truth. The interrogation would need to continue for some time, but their information was reliable. Yet if the early indications were worth using to make any predictions, they would not find many answers in the priestess of Yrraxea. They would only find more questions.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The priestess of Yrraxea was beginning to feel the pressure of the situation at this point. She has not bargained for five. There might have been some kind of hope against three, even if they were masters. But there would be little she could do against all five. Reluctantly, she nodded in the affirmative as a response to the priest’s bid for cooperation.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre continued his explanation of the proceedings. “Excellent. You should know, then, that this room has been equipped with a certain magical trigger. As you no doubt already know, I am a defensive master. Yet, we cannot take any risks. The room has been equipped with a magical contingency. If I am required to cast any spell at any time, the contingency will be triggered. First of all, the room will be bathed in a magic that prevents you from lying to us. It will also prevent us from lying to you, but since we do not intend to lie we need not fear it. The next spell is already triggered onto you. The spell will blind you. The blindness is permanent without magical aid, although I control magic capable of reversing it. A third spell that has already been triggered upon you is one that will slow your movements. You will be slowed to a fraction of your speed and at the mercy of the rest of us who will be moving quite fast from your slowed perspective. Finally, you will be the victim of a simple hex. The hex will drain what little power remains after the other three spells have taken their effect. Do you understand what I am telling you?”</p><p></p><p>The priestess of Yrraxea nodded and Buschlerre turned towards his own personal acolyte. “Barra, I believe that our priestess here has agreed to play nice and talk. Would you be so kind as to remove her bindings? Once her hands are free, I will allow her to remove her own gag. She knows what will happen to her if she disobeys.”</p><p></p><p>Barra nodded in response. His eyes focused hard upon his master as if to draw the necessary strength from him. The acolyte knew that in undoing the woman’s bindings he would be closest to the priestess should she desire to rebel and lash out in any sort of attack. However, his long studies in the way of Reah under Master Buschlerre taught him that trust was important. He would need to trust his master’s contingent protection much in the same way that Master Brandt had trusted Master Buschlerre and Master Searthu to handle the interrogation.</p><p></p><p>Slowly Barra approached the priestess and undid her bindings. The priestess stretched her hands and winced as she brought her stiff arms forward. She looked to Buschlerre for approval and once the priest of Reah nodded his head in approval she lifted her hands and undid the gag.</p><p></p><p>Few but Buschlerre were prepared for the speed in what happened next. The woman lifted her hands in a movement that caused her tremendous pain. Her face winced as her lips formed the words. “Par Ah…” Fortunately for the interrogation squad, she was unable to complete her spell. </p><p></p><p>Master Buschlerre had been anticipating her deception. He knew that she would go back against her word. The temple’s master of the arts of the aegis cried out in an interruption to the priestess of Yrraxea’s spell. “Kashan!” His voice blasted across the room and struck the priestess hard. She was unable to focus enough to complete her own magical spell and the yellow light that had been gathering around her body faded into nonexistence. </p><p></p><p>Buschlerre looked to the woman and could only smile as four distinct effects flashed into existence. First, a low resonating hum drummed faintly as background noise. The hum was not enough to drown out conversation, but it was enough to irritate the mind sue to its persistence.</p><p></p><p>The defensive master smiled. “That hum implies that we are all now incapable of lying, even myself.”</p><p></p><p>No sooner had Bruschlerre stopped talking than a brilliant light flashed directly above the priestess of Yrraxea. She cried out in pain as the room blackened from her perspective. She was no longer able to distinguish the walls from the ceiling. She was also unable to distinguish any of the people in the room, including her own hand in front of her face.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre continued the explanation as the second effect took hold. “You are now blind, but you know that. Believe me when I tell you that the room has not changed for any of us.”</p><p></p><p>The priestess’s shrill cry suddenly dropped in an octave. From the perspective of the followers of Reah, the priestess’ motions and voice slowed considerably. Until someone spoke, the priestess herself didn’t notice any difference since she was blind and unable to judge herself against the others in the room.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre spoke intentionally slow so as to still be able to make sense to the priestess. His voice still sounded higher in pitch than normal to the priestess’ ears. “Now you have been brought to a more manageable speed. Trust me when I tell you that it causes me great strain to talk slow enough for you to understand me.”</p><p></p><p>Finally, the priestess felt her strength drain from her body. Her breathing became significantly labored. Her appendages grew heavy as if encumbered by great weights. Her shoulders sagged and her back began to hunch over as if her body was overcome by some genetic deformity which had crippled her muscles.</p><p></p><p>Buschlerre smiled, although it was clear that he no longer enjoyed watching the effects of his magic upon the woman. Once more he spoke slowly so that the priestess of Yrraxea would be able to understand him. “Now, you have been hexed. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to choose this path.”</p><p></p><p>The elf priest turned to Searthu and spoke at his regular speed. With respect to the priestess of Yrraxea, she could not make out Buschlerre’s words as they were spoken too fast for her slow ears to distinguish words. Buschlerre nodded to Searthu and gave the order to commence as he let out a significant sigh. “She is yours to command, Searthu. She is greatly weakened, of course. Get the information we need, but do not abuse her position.”</p><p></p><p>The Ehrmanae priest nodded and turned his attention to the blind priestess. He spoke slowly, but it was obvious that he was not as skilled as Master Buschlerre at the slowed speech. “I will finish your spell for you. Par Ah-thaal.” Instantly his body was coated in a brilliant yellow aura, although the effect was lost on the blind priestess.</p><p></p><p>However, despite being unable to see the light the true effect of the spell was not lost upon the follower of Yrraxea. Her head immediately snapped to the direction of Master Searthu as he slowly spoke to her. “You are incapable of lying. Tell me, who has brought you here.”</p><p></p><p>The priestess now spoke without hesitation. The Ehrmanae priest of Reah had all but charmed her into telling him the truth. Her voice was almost painfully slow to listen, but the interrogation team could make out the words if they concentrated intently. “I was contacted by another member of the Ephistaemi. His organizational name is Bloodseeker.”</p><p></p><p>Searthu continued the interrogation. “And what is your organizational name?”</p><p></p><p>The priestess replied, again without hesitation. “I am called Darkbringer.”</p><p></p><p>Searthu nodded to his fellow priests. He was pleased that his spell was working so well in conjunction with the other spells from Buschlerre. “And Bloodseeker funds your efforts?”</p><p></p><p>The priestess shook her head. “No. Bloodseeker works for Lord Ironblood as our spy. I was paid independently from Lord Ironblood’s sources and independently from Bloodseeker. Our pay was not connected to each other.”</p><p></p><p>Searthu wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “Then who paid you?”</p><p></p><p>Darkbringer shrugged her shoulders. The motion was painfully slow to watch for the priests and acolytes of Reah, although eventually the priestess spoke again. “I do not know. I never met my financier.”</p><p></p><p>Searthu spoke once more. “And what were you paid to accomplish without meeting your financier?”</p><p></p><p>Darkbringer smiled as if she recalled a pleasant memory. “I was paid to destroy the villa in Huetown while the residents were away. I was told that I was allowed to kill the few workers who remained behind while the rest went to Barghost to be married. It was imperative that the four and the father were not harmed or present to watch the villa burn.”</p><p></p><p>Searthu and Buschlerre both looked to Brandt. They didn’t need to speak. Brandt told them all they needed to know with a nod of approval. Darkbringer was still telling the truth. The interrogation would need to continue for some time, but their information was reliable. Yet if the early indications were worth using to make any predictions, they would not find many answers in the priestess of Yrraxea. They would only find more questions.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3324488, member: 35788"] The priestess of Yrraxea was beginning to feel the pressure of the situation at this point. She has not bargained for five. There might have been some kind of hope against three, even if they were masters. But there would be little she could do against all five. Reluctantly, she nodded in the affirmative as a response to the priest’s bid for cooperation. Buschlerre continued his explanation of the proceedings. [Color=Lime]“Excellent. You should know, then, that this room has been equipped with a certain magical trigger. As you no doubt already know, I am a defensive master. Yet, we cannot take any risks. The room has been equipped with a magical contingency. If I am required to cast any spell at any time, the contingency will be triggered. First of all, the room will be bathed in a magic that prevents you from lying to us. It will also prevent us from lying to you, but since we do not intend to lie we need not fear it. The next spell is already triggered onto you. The spell will blind you. The blindness is permanent without magical aid, although I control magic capable of reversing it. A third spell that has already been triggered upon you is one that will slow your movements. You will be slowed to a fraction of your speed and at the mercy of the rest of us who will be moving quite fast from your slowed perspective. Finally, you will be the victim of a simple hex. The hex will drain what little power remains after the other three spells have taken their effect. Do you understand what I am telling you?”[/Color] The priestess of Yrraxea nodded and Buschlerre turned towards his own personal acolyte. [Color=Lime]“Barra, I believe that our priestess here has agreed to play nice and talk. Would you be so kind as to remove her bindings? Once her hands are free, I will allow her to remove her own gag. She knows what will happen to her if she disobeys.”[/Color] Barra nodded in response. His eyes focused hard upon his master as if to draw the necessary strength from him. The acolyte knew that in undoing the woman’s bindings he would be closest to the priestess should she desire to rebel and lash out in any sort of attack. However, his long studies in the way of Reah under Master Buschlerre taught him that trust was important. He would need to trust his master’s contingent protection much in the same way that Master Brandt had trusted Master Buschlerre and Master Searthu to handle the interrogation. Slowly Barra approached the priestess and undid her bindings. The priestess stretched her hands and winced as she brought her stiff arms forward. She looked to Buschlerre for approval and once the priest of Reah nodded his head in approval she lifted her hands and undid the gag. Few but Buschlerre were prepared for the speed in what happened next. The woman lifted her hands in a movement that caused her tremendous pain. Her face winced as her lips formed the words. [Color=Red]“Par Ah…”[/Color] Fortunately for the interrogation squad, she was unable to complete her spell. Master Buschlerre had been anticipating her deception. He knew that she would go back against her word. The temple’s master of the arts of the aegis cried out in an interruption to the priestess of Yrraxea’s spell. [Color=Lime]“Kashan!”[/Color] His voice blasted across the room and struck the priestess hard. She was unable to focus enough to complete her own magical spell and the yellow light that had been gathering around her body faded into nonexistence. Buschlerre looked to the woman and could only smile as four distinct effects flashed into existence. First, a low resonating hum drummed faintly as background noise. The hum was not enough to drown out conversation, but it was enough to irritate the mind sue to its persistence. The defensive master smiled. [Color=Lime]“That hum implies that we are all now incapable of lying, even myself.”[/Color] No sooner had Bruschlerre stopped talking than a brilliant light flashed directly above the priestess of Yrraxea. She cried out in pain as the room blackened from her perspective. She was no longer able to distinguish the walls from the ceiling. She was also unable to distinguish any of the people in the room, including her own hand in front of her face. Buschlerre continued the explanation as the second effect took hold. [Color=Lime]“You are now blind, but you know that. Believe me when I tell you that the room has not changed for any of us.”[/Color] The priestess’s shrill cry suddenly dropped in an octave. From the perspective of the followers of Reah, the priestess’ motions and voice slowed considerably. Until someone spoke, the priestess herself didn’t notice any difference since she was blind and unable to judge herself against the others in the room. Buschlerre spoke intentionally slow so as to still be able to make sense to the priestess. His voice still sounded higher in pitch than normal to the priestess’ ears. [Color=Lime]“Now you have been brought to a more manageable speed. Trust me when I tell you that it causes me great strain to talk slow enough for you to understand me.”[/Color] Finally, the priestess felt her strength drain from her body. Her breathing became significantly labored. Her appendages grew heavy as if encumbered by great weights. Her shoulders sagged and her back began to hunch over as if her body was overcome by some genetic deformity which had crippled her muscles. Buschlerre smiled, although it was clear that he no longer enjoyed watching the effects of his magic upon the woman. Once more he spoke slowly so that the priestess of Yrraxea would be able to understand him. [Color=Lime]“Now, you have been hexed. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to choose this path.”[/Color] The elf priest turned to Searthu and spoke at his regular speed. With respect to the priestess of Yrraxea, she could not make out Buschlerre’s words as they were spoken too fast for her slow ears to distinguish words. Buschlerre nodded to Searthu and gave the order to commence as he let out a significant sigh. [Color=Lime]“She is yours to command, Searthu. She is greatly weakened, of course. Get the information we need, but do not abuse her position.”[/Color] The Ehrmanae priest nodded and turned his attention to the blind priestess. He spoke slowly, but it was obvious that he was not as skilled as Master Buschlerre at the slowed speech. [Color=Lime]“I will finish your spell for you. Par Ah-thaal.”[/Color] Instantly his body was coated in a brilliant yellow aura, although the effect was lost on the blind priestess. However, despite being unable to see the light the true effect of the spell was not lost upon the follower of Yrraxea. Her head immediately snapped to the direction of Master Searthu as he slowly spoke to her. [Color=Lime]“You are incapable of lying. Tell me, who has brought you here.”[/Color] The priestess now spoke without hesitation. The Ehrmanae priest of Reah had all but charmed her into telling him the truth. Her voice was almost painfully slow to listen, but the interrogation team could make out the words if they concentrated intently. [Color=Red]“I was contacted by another member of the Ephistaemi. His organizational name is Bloodseeker.”[/Color] Searthu continued the interrogation. [Color=Lime]“And what is your organizational name?”[/Color] The priestess replied, again without hesitation. [Color=Red]“I am called Darkbringer.”[/Color] Searthu nodded to his fellow priests. He was pleased that his spell was working so well in conjunction with the other spells from Buschlerre. [Color=Lime]“And Bloodseeker funds your efforts?”[/Color] The priestess shook her head. [Color=Red]“No. Bloodseeker works for Lord Ironblood as our spy. I was paid independently from Lord Ironblood’s sources and independently from Bloodseeker. Our pay was not connected to each other.”[/Color] Searthu wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. [Color=Lime]“Then who paid you?”[/Color] Darkbringer shrugged her shoulders. The motion was painfully slow to watch for the priests and acolytes of Reah, although eventually the priestess spoke again. [Color=Red]“I do not know. I never met my financier.”[/Color] Searthu spoke once more. [Color=Lime]“And what were you paid to accomplish without meeting your financier?”[/Color] Darkbringer smiled as if she recalled a pleasant memory. [Color=Red]“I was paid to destroy the villa in Huetown while the residents were away. I was told that I was allowed to kill the few workers who remained behind while the rest went to Barghost to be married. It was imperative that the four and the father were not harmed or present to watch the villa burn.”[/Color] Searthu and Buschlerre both looked to Brandt. They didn’t need to speak. Brandt told them all they needed to know with a nod of approval. Darkbringer was still telling the truth. The interrogation would need to continue for some time, but their information was reliable. Yet if the early indications were worth using to make any predictions, they would not find many answers in the priestess of Yrraxea. They would only find more questions. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The priestess of Yrraxea was beginning to feel the pressure of the situation at this point. She has not bargained for five. There might have been some kind of hope against three, even if they were masters. But there would be little she could do against all five. Reluctantly, she nodded in the affirmative as a response to the priest’s bid for cooperation. Buschlerre continued his explanation of the proceedings. “Excellent. You should know, then, that this room has been equipped with a certain magical trigger. As you no doubt already know, I am a defensive master. Yet, we cannot take any risks. The room has been equipped with a magical contingency. If I am required to cast any spell at any time, the contingency will be triggered. First of all, the room will be bathed in a magic that prevents you from lying to us. It will also prevent us from lying to you, but since we do not intend to lie we need not fear it. The next spell is already triggered onto you. The spell will blind you. The blindness is permanent without magical aid, although I control magic capable of reversing it. A third spell that has already been triggered upon you is one that will slow your movements. You will be slowed to a fraction of your speed and at the mercy of the rest of us who will be moving quite fast from your slowed perspective. Finally, you will be the victim of a simple hex. The hex will drain what little power remains after the other three spells have taken their effect. Do you understand what I am telling you?” The priestess of Yrraxea nodded and Buschlerre turned towards his own personal acolyte. “Barra, I believe that our priestess here has agreed to play nice and talk. Would you be so kind as to remove her bindings? Once her hands are free, I will allow her to remove her own gag. She knows what will happen to her if she disobeys.” Barra nodded in response. His eyes focused hard upon his master as if to draw the necessary strength from him. The acolyte knew that in undoing the woman’s bindings he would be closest to the priestess should she desire to rebel and lash out in any sort of attack. However, his long studies in the way of Reah under Master Buschlerre taught him that trust was important. He would need to trust his master’s contingent protection much in the same way that Master Brandt had trusted Master Buschlerre and Master Searthu to handle the interrogation. Slowly Barra approached the priestess and undid her bindings. The priestess stretched her hands and winced as she brought her stiff arms forward. She looked to Buschlerre for approval and once the priest of Reah nodded his head in approval she lifted her hands and undid the gag. Few but Buschlerre were prepared for the speed in what happened next. The woman lifted her hands in a movement that caused her tremendous pain. Her face winced as her lips formed the words. “Par Ah…” Fortunately for the interrogation squad, she was unable to complete her spell. Master Buschlerre had been anticipating her deception. He knew that she would go back against her word. The temple’s master of the arts of the aegis cried out in an interruption to the priestess of Yrraxea’s spell. “Kashan!” His voice blasted across the room and struck the priestess hard. She was unable to focus enough to complete her own magical spell and the yellow light that had been gathering around her body faded into nonexistence. Buschlerre looked to the woman and could only smile as four distinct effects flashed into existence. First, a low resonating hum drummed faintly as background noise. The hum was not enough to drown out conversation, but it was enough to irritate the mind sue to its persistence. The defensive master smiled. “That hum implies that we are all now incapable of lying, even myself.” No sooner had Bruschlerre stopped talking than a brilliant light flashed directly above the priestess of Yrraxea. She cried out in pain as the room blackened from her perspective. She was no longer able to distinguish the walls from the ceiling. She was also unable to distinguish any of the people in the room, including her own hand in front of her face. Buschlerre continued the explanation as the second effect took hold. “You are now blind, but you know that. Believe me when I tell you that the room has not changed for any of us.” The priestess’s shrill cry suddenly dropped in an octave. From the perspective of the followers of Reah, the priestess’ motions and voice slowed considerably. Until someone spoke, the priestess herself didn’t notice any difference since she was blind and unable to judge herself against the others in the room. Buschlerre spoke intentionally slow so as to still be able to make sense to the priestess. His voice still sounded higher in pitch than normal to the priestess’ ears. “Now you have been brought to a more manageable speed. Trust me when I tell you that it causes me great strain to talk slow enough for you to understand me.” Finally, the priestess felt her strength drain from her body. Her breathing became significantly labored. Her appendages grew heavy as if encumbered by great weights. Her shoulders sagged and her back began to hunch over as if her body was overcome by some genetic deformity which had crippled her muscles. Buschlerre smiled, although it was clear that he no longer enjoyed watching the effects of his magic upon the woman. Once more he spoke slowly so that the priestess of Yrraxea would be able to understand him. “Now, you have been hexed. I am sorry that you felt it necessary to choose this path.” The elf priest turned to Searthu and spoke at his regular speed. With respect to the priestess of Yrraxea, she could not make out Buschlerre’s words as they were spoken too fast for her slow ears to distinguish words. Buschlerre nodded to Searthu and gave the order to commence as he let out a significant sigh. “She is yours to command, Searthu. She is greatly weakened, of course. Get the information we need, but do not abuse her position.” The Ehrmanae priest nodded and turned his attention to the blind priestess. He spoke slowly, but it was obvious that he was not as skilled as Master Buschlerre at the slowed speech. “I will finish your spell for you. Par Ah-thaal.” Instantly his body was coated in a brilliant yellow aura, although the effect was lost on the blind priestess. However, despite being unable to see the light the true effect of the spell was not lost upon the follower of Yrraxea. Her head immediately snapped to the direction of Master Searthu as he slowly spoke to her. “You are incapable of lying. Tell me, who has brought you here.” The priestess now spoke without hesitation. The Ehrmanae priest of Reah had all but charmed her into telling him the truth. Her voice was almost painfully slow to listen, but the interrogation team could make out the words if they concentrated intently. “I was contacted by another member of the Ephistaemi. His organizational name is Bloodseeker.” Searthu continued the interrogation. “And what is your organizational name?” The priestess replied, again without hesitation. “I am called Darkbringer.” Searthu nodded to his fellow priests. He was pleased that his spell was working so well in conjunction with the other spells from Buschlerre. “And Bloodseeker funds your efforts?” The priestess shook her head. “No. Bloodseeker works for Lord Ironblood as our spy. I was paid independently from Lord Ironblood’s sources and independently from Bloodseeker. Our pay was not connected to each other.” Searthu wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. “Then who paid you?” Darkbringer shrugged her shoulders. The motion was painfully slow to watch for the priests and acolytes of Reah, although eventually the priestess spoke again. “I do not know. I never met my financier.” Searthu spoke once more. “And what were you paid to accomplish without meeting your financier?” Darkbringer smiled as if she recalled a pleasant memory. “I was paid to destroy the villa in Huetown while the residents were away. I was told that I was allowed to kill the few workers who remained behind while the rest went to Barghost to be married. It was imperative that the four and the father were not harmed or present to watch the villa burn.” Searthu and Buschlerre both looked to Brandt. They didn’t need to speak. Brandt told them all they needed to know with a nod of approval. Darkbringer was still telling the truth. The interrogation would need to continue for some time, but their information was reliable. Yet if the early indications were worth using to make any predictions, they would not find many answers in the priestess of Yrraxea. They would only find more questions. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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