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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grendel_Khan" data-source="post: 9416757" data-attributes="member: 7028554">LIEF crouches on the roof of the temple, absent-mindedly touching the charm around his neck, a small wicker paw adorned with real wolf's claws and a slitted eye chalked in white in the center. A symbol of luck for the Mogul. He took it from one of the Elect under the mausoleum. [Level 4 neck item: Lucky Charm]He was watching Ressilmae go about his work, trying to get a measure of the man, and screw up the courage to speak to him. His simple tasks, something an apprentice or servant should do, are ridiculous. Perhaps he's an idiot, after all? Or is there something more—Lief sees the shadow on the cobblestones. An omen? Of course not. The Elect taught him that omens are the flailing of a weak mind, searching for comfort and meaning in a world of cruel absolutes. Why would something move in the open like that?Intent: Determine what the purpose or reason might be for the moving shadow.Primary Skill: Insight. r(10)+6 = 16 vs. Medium DC (13). Success.It's a distraction! A chill grips his scalp like a hand. They're here!Lief climbs down the rear of the temple and enters through an open side door. The shifter's feet glide across the polished floors, his body so low his fingers trace the wood as he moves. They know Ressilmae is formidable—that he's rarely out of the temple, and that he's more predator than prey. They're in here. Lief is sure of it. He'll need to figure out why without alerting them.Intent: Sneak up on the Elect inside the temple.Primary Skill: Stealth. r(7)+12 = 19 vs. Medium DC (13). Success.Birdsong fills the temple, carried in through open windows, open doors, everything open in here, the priest letting the cold clean of outside inside. Lief looks into rooms as he prowls, until he comes to doorway with the distinct sound of scraping within. Like a rat scratching a nest. He lays flat to the floor and peaks into Ressilmae's bedroom. Simple: neatly piled books, a chest of black wood, a mattress on the floor. But someone's lifted the mattress and is working underneath, etching symbols into the wood and spitting something into the grooves. Lief only gets a quick glance before puling back. It's an Elect ritualist, and two fighters stand nearby, their shifter eyes catching the morning light. Can I kill them before they kill me? Lief thinks as the sound of children comes to him like distant wind chimes. There's no time! He needs to know what ritual they're trying to work, and whether it needs to be stopped now, even if the ensuing fight spills into the approaching innocents.Intent: Decipher the Elect's ritual.Secondary Skill: Religion. r(15)+1 = 16 vs. Easy DC (9). Success.Primary Skill: Arcana. r(11)+1+2 = 14 vs. Medium DC (13). Success.Lief's mind tumbles through his time as a Chosen of the Elect, separate from the rest of the host, but on festival days they all ate together. He remembers a ritualist in his cups, carving a symbol in the air while boasting at how he once made a noblewoman prance and bray like a donkey. The shifter had laughed with the rest of them.They mean to briefly puppet this holy man. Degrade him somehow. Shatter the faith of any who witness it.There are too many Elect here to kill, even if he could—at least one will escape. Lief thinks: What would Starn do? What would Vorn do?They'd sheath their claws. They would be patient. They would be smart!Lief draws away from the bedroom, back out through the side door, and sprints around to the front of the temple where the elf is waiting for the children. The shifter holds out his hands as he approaches Ressilmae. He remembers his lessons about the Mogul's enemies—He has no allies in any pantheon, only rivals—including Sehanine."As one thief to another," he whispers, "As the Moonbow watches us both, I ask that you hear me out and believe me. Someone means to make you do something terrible."Intent: Gain Ressilmae's trust, at least for the moment.Secondary Skill: Religion. r(15)+1 = 16 vs. Easy DC (9). Success.Primary Skill: Diplomacy. r(9)-1+2 = 10 vs. Medium DC (13). Fail.[HR][/HR]Complexity 2 SC, Level 3 (DCs 9/13/21)Goal (staged): Assess the elven priest of Sehanine, Ressilmae Starlight, and convince him to take on the burden of the merchants' testimony of Kamroth and The Elect affairs.3/6 Successes/1 Failures/1 Hard DC Available/0 Secondary Skills Available/0 Advantages available/Primary Skill Training exhausted; Insight, Stealth, Arcana, Diplomacy</blockquote>

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