Aphonion Tales (New posts 6/13, 6/15, 6/19)

[Cerebral Paladin]

The Archduke’s Council gathered in the usual receiving room before the Minister of the Mind arrived for his appointment, but Kit sat in a straight back chair far from the lounge that she often shared with Alistair. They waited in chilly silence for the Minister to arrive. At precisely the appointed time, Abigail announced Petrov Gilligaff, Minister of the Mind.

“Your eminent grace,” said the Minister bowing deeply. He wore tasteful formal robes, adorned with several glowing bits of crystal that they all recognized as psionically active, including a heavy jeweled torc. The Minister was tall and thin, with a narrow face and bald head that produced a stereotypical large brained psion effect. “How may I be of service?”

“Thank you for coming, Minister. The primary reason for this meeting is simply to give us a chance to get to know you and to find out how things have been going from your perspective. I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to do so sooner, but…”

“I understand completely, your grace. We have been aware enough of the threats on your life. As for how matters stand with my people… I would say things are going fairly well of late, better than they were. We’ve rejected a number of probes in the last few months, doing what we can to protect the Archduchy.”

“Probes?” asked Dame Brionna. “Probes from whom?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? They have been coming for months, although fewer more recently. We have been shielding against them.”

“But you haven’t been able to trace them?” pressed Kit, suddenly alert and interested.

“Now, I’m a redactor, so I wouldn’t be able to trace them personally myself, but our farsensors have tried. They say that the probes come from the southeast, but have not been able to localize it more than that. You know that we have a circle, I should hope? It is not much, only six members, but it does allow us to form a minor psionic tower, and all that entails.”

Dame Brionna coughed. “Could you be a little more specific? I’m afraid that I’m not as aware of psionic matters as religious or arcane doings.”

“Of course, Dame Brionna. Forming a tower allows us to make some of the more useful psionic creations-- the making of skin and the construction of psionic golems, for example. It also allows us contact with the worldwide network. I would have said warding the palace, as well, but one of your guests has re-warded it at about eight times the power level we could manage.”

“Yes, the Eldar did that as a favor. I hope you’re not offended?”

“Oh, not at all, your grace, not at all. It is only sensible given his power. Humans simply cannot expect to match the ability of the Eldar. By the way, speaking of elves, you know that there are gray elves wandering the palace?”

Dame Brionna nodded. “Yes, we’re working with them to deal with some drowan assassins that have targeted his grace.”

“Let me ask you about another matter, Minister. Are you aware of the psionic effect on the Duke of Brightspan?”

“Oh, yes. You couldn’t be in the same room and not notice, your grace.”

“Could you unravel it?”

The Minister thought for a moment. “Yes, I should be able to. Would he cooperate?”

Kit leaned forward. “I think m’lord was wondering if you could undo it without the Duke being aware, while he is still here.”

“Ah. That would be more delicate… but yes, it would be within my power. I could complete the seeding before he leaves, since he will assuredly stay for the parties. It will then take time for the seed to grow, but it will break the compulsion.”

“About how long would the process take to finish?”

“The healing will take at least nine months, your grace. In all likelihood, it would be more like ten or eleven until he is completely free of the effects. The actual damage should be gone within seven, but some of the alterations will linger for a few months longer.”

 

[Ladybird]

Hey folks! CP's computer is acting up, so I'm posting on his behalf again. As before, the writing is all his - I'm just doing the posting

--
Alistair nodded. “Excellent. Please start at once, but be careful-- the Duke of Brightspan may react very badly if he learns that you are doing anything to affect his mind, even though it is just to heal it. On another topic, you may have heard about our plans to create a new school of magic?”

“Yes, your grace.”

“We would also like to endow a psionic academy.”

“Indeed, your grace? That could be a very good thing…”

“The other masters and grandmasters would support it? We could not make the academy without your backing.”

“Not all of them would. Some people would be upset-- traditionalists, and people with particularly close ties to the existing, unaligned training schools. But most of us would see the advantages.”

“We would need to recruit instructors from beyond the Archduchy, particularly because I would intend to both screen heavily within the population to find anyone with the Gift and encourage people from beyond the Archduchy to come to the academy. Would that create any additional problems?”

“I shouldn’t think so, your grace. The same group of traditionalists would grumble, but most of us would welcome a larger circle, and the increased power from the students and the new instructors would quickly outweigh the costs. Let me have some time to discuss it with my fellows. I should be able to make them more receptive to the idea.”

“Of course. We may well wait until well after the magic school is underway to begin work on the psionics academy.” Alistair waited a moment to see if there were any further questions or comments, and then gestured to the Minister, who bowed his way out.

--
End of Session 17

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Begin Session 18

Late that evening, about three hours after supper, a lieutenant in the Palace Guard approached Dame Brionna. “Knight Captain? There is a considerable amount of violence in the area near the kennels.”

Dame Brionna sighed, rubbed her eyes, and stood up from the reports she had been reviewing. “Have any of your people engaged?”

“No, Dame Brionna. We had strict orders from the Archducal Guard officer of the watch to not approach.” The lieutenant seemed slightly aggrieved about these orders; the Palace Guard had primary responsibility for protecting the palace and most of the palace’s occupants, but it was distinctly junior to the Archducal Guard that defended the Archduke, his family, and their immediate circle. When the Archducal Guard instructed the Palace Guard on how to carry out its duties, they would obey but not happily. “That was why I thought I should inform you personally.”

“Good. Well done. Keep your people clear, but if a figure in harlequin make-up leaves that area, stop him. I’ll be down to keep an eye on things as soon as I have my armor on.”

The lieutenant saluted and left. Dame Brionna quickly traded the light chain shirt she normally wore after hours for her full plate, snatched up her spear and sword, and rushed towards the kennels.

As she neared the kennels, she was very glad to have kept the guards clear. Enormous black marks disfigured the palace walls, and there were stranger things as well. One of the walls appeared to be dripping, not as if it wet, but as if it were melting. The sounds of battle echoed from further ahead, but she paused to look at the walls in more detail. The marks were primarily scorch marks, as if the wall had been exposed to a tremendously hot fire, and she realized on closer examination that the melting wall had been one of the walls sheathed in tin. Ordinarily, it produced a brilliant effect, with intricate decorations worked into the metal, but the decorations were long gone and the metal itself was pouring off. Dame Brionna grimaced, checked her grip on her spear, and headed down the hallway.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Something nearly tripped her, although she couldn’t see what, and then there was a shimmer on the ground directly in front of her. Dame Brionna stared at the shimmer, and an elven form emerged, still on the ground, as he brushed aside the cloak. The wood elf gestured emphatically for Dame Brionna to join him and quickly brushed the cloak over her as she dropped to the marble floor.

“It would not be safe for one such as you to be seen by the enemy.” The wood elf smiled wryly. “Or even one such as me.”

“Does combat continue?”

“Yes. He has brought a fair amount of alchemical compounds. But he also carries something that he is trying to protect, in a small box.”

“Warpstone, probably.”

The elf’s lips curled in disgust. “Perhaps. We have not been able to see. And while he still has the alchemical weapons, it is only safe for our captain to fight him directly.”

“Can we move closer?”

“Not without risk, but yes. You must move with me… and we must hope that your armor is not too noisy.” The elf lifted the cloak, and they inched forward. Dame Brionna did her best to stay silent, but even so, there was the occasional clank of her armor. Each sound elicited a wince from her elven escort, although the muffled booms from the combat were far louder. “There. They are just around that corner.”

Dame Brionna peered out from the cover. She could not see the battle, but she could hear it. A voice cried out in a strange tongue, and another voice answered a moment later. She could not understand the language, but Dame Brionna recognized a tone of command, demanding some answer or response, regardless of the linguistic differences. As she looked around at the damaged and burnt hallway, she saw several stable boys, their faces pale and trembling with terror, crouching behind crenellations and buttresses. She held up her sun disc and concentrated, confirming that none of them were evil, and then reached out from the cloak.

“Run! It’s safe this way!” she whispered urgently. The boys did not need to be told a second time; while the most level-headed waited for an opportune time and darted from cover to cover, the rest just bolted. Within a few seconds, they were gone, and none too soon, as a fresh explosion erupted near where they had been.

The hallways continued to ring with explosions, as the drow flung alchemical bombs and the gray elf defended himself and responded with magecraft and psionics. After a few moments, however, the explosions stopped, and the hallways were suddenly quiet. Mere seconds later, Dame Brionna heard a zipping sound that she recognized as a short-range psionic teleport followed by a clash of blades. All around her, a group of wood elves suddenly appeared and charged around the corner. Dame Brionna followed their advance, although more cautiously, emerging into the kennel proper.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

As she expected, one of the Drowan Harlequins was dueling the gray elf captain of the Eldar’s guard. The gray elf seemed more skilled, but he also had an advantage: the Harlequin was carefully holding an elaborately carved wooden box in his off-hand and kept on adjusting his position to protect the box. As the wood elves charged him, the Drow gave a short cry of despair. Before they could reach him, he cursed, flipped a latch on the box, and tossed it at a human cowering in the corner of the kennel-- the master of the hounds, and the traitor within the palace.

Dame Brionna flung her spear forward-- it was too heavy to be an effective missile, but if she could just deflect the box… But while the spear was close, it clattered ineffectually to the ground as the box tumbled towards its target. The master of the hounds held up his hands but a lump of ugly, angry mineral bounced free from the box and struck him in the chest. He clutched at the mineral in horror while the Harlequin cried out in the same tongue he had used before and redoubled his attack on the gray elf captain.

Even as Dame Brionna watched, the dog trainer began to change, convulsing and twitching as the warpstone took effect. She knew that she could not make a difference in the battle between the elves, but perhaps she could do something about this. She pulled out the piece of orichalcum that she carried to protect herself and flung it at the man, if he could still be considered human. As it struck him, the orichalcum disappeared in a brilliant flash of energy, leaving a gaping hole in his chest where about eight times as much volume as the orichalcum had been blasted away. The transformation stopped, and the kennel master collapsed in a pool of blood and strange ichor, with tentacles and other appendages scattered about him.

The Harlequin glanced at this, then looked around at the elves surrounding him, and murmured something. He then ground his sword edge against the floor and bowed his head. The gray elf checked his attack midswing, sheathed his own sword, and took the Harlequin’s weapon from his unresisting hands. In one sharp motion, he brought the sword down on his knee, shattering its blade, before giving a short instruction in Elven to his troops. They stepped forward and placed rope of the finest, golden-hued filaments against the Harlequin’s arms. The rope then tied itself, binding him tightly.

The gray elf gave a short bow to Dame Brionna. “Knight Captain. Would you care to take him to your holding cells? You may be able to get some information from him. Since he has surrendered, he is likely to be cooperative.”

“Thank you. And thank you for your assistance. We would have been hard-pressed to stop him ourselves.”

The gray elf bowed his head, acknowledging the praise. “It was our pleasure.”

“Can you tell me what he said? I am afraid that I do not speak your language.”

“Ah. He cursed his associate for being discovered, and then cursed me for clinging to Eiru-- this was after the initial exchange of alchemical flame and force bolts. Then he swore that he would kill me for Morgrath, and I swore in response that I would not be slain, but would redeem him for the Light. Once it was clear that he would lose, he said ‘Join with that you worship,’ and threw the rock at the human traitor. And then he surrendered.”

“Thank you again for your assistance. You have done our realm a great service.”

 

[Orichalcum]

4/9/07

This is Orichalcum, posting for CP, who had to leave for a business trip at 5 AM. As usual, these are his words.
***

Dame Brionna rapped on Kit’s door. “Dame Katherine? Are you awake?”


“Yes.”


“And are you,um…”


“Yes, I’m alone,” responded Kit a tad testily. What, did Dame Brionna think Alistair would be here, after what he had done that afternoon? “Come in.”


Dame Brionna entered and noted that Kit was still in her leathers and sitting at her desk. It looked like she had been reading over some of the reports to the Mouth again-- a laborious task for Kit. “You’re up late.”


“There’s too much to be done, and we have to make sure he doesn’t get killed… Besides, how much sleep are you getting these days?” Kit asked in concern, noting the dark circles under Dame Brionna’s eyes.


“I can usually get two or three hours. Glor’diadel helps me stay alert, and there will be time to sleep after the coronation.”


Kit looked at her skeptically. She wasn’t getting much sleep either, but Dame Brionna looked like she was approaching the verge of collapse. Still, not much to be done… “Anyway… what did you want to see me about?”


“The elves captured the Harlequin. He was bringing warpstone into the Palace.”


“Ugh. Still, if they captured him, that means we get to interrogate him.”


“Yes. And there are some things we need to discuss with the Archduke as well.”


“Alright. Let’s go get him then.” Kit walked passed the secret door that led directly to Alistair’s private chambers and out into the hallways. She might have to see Alistair tonight, but she’d be damned if she was going to go through that door.


Dame Brionna knocked politely on the main door to Alistair’s private suite. “Your grace?” No answer. She knocked again, more loudly this time. “Your grace?”


“Mrm… can’t this wait till morning?”


“I’m afraid not, your grace. We need to speak to you about a dire matter of national security.”


“Oh, very well.” Alistair came out of his private chambers wearing a silk dressing gown. “What is it?”


“The elves were able to capture the Harlequin who sought to infiltrate the palace, your grace. But the Harlequin was able to expose the master of the hounds to warpstone before his defeat. I had to use my orichalcum piece to destroy him when the transformation began. The orichalcum was destroyed in the process.”


Alistair winced. “How much orichalcum do we have left?”


“The piece you carry, and one other piece, about an ounce in weight, in the vault. I’m sorry, your grace, I tried to stop the warpstone without using the orichalcum, but…”


“It wasn’t criticism, Dame Brionna. I’m confident that you made the right choice under the circumstances. I just needed to know how much we have left.” Alistair reached into a pouch and checked that his piece was still on his person. “I think we need to get the last piece from the Treasury. During the coronation, we’ll want one of you to have a piece that can be thrown if someone or something attacks us, either with warpstone or a chaos-affected creature. That way, I can keep my piece on my person as a last defense. I wish I didn’t need to plan as if my life was more important…”


“But you do, your grace. It’s our duty to protect you.” Kit nodded agreement with Dame Brionna’s statement, despite her anger. “I’ll take care of getting it, your grace.”


Alistair thought for a moment. “I think Kit is probably the better person to carry it. She doesn’t have the protections you have from the blessings of Glor’diadel-- although I suppose the Gift gives her some additional protection against mind-control-- and she also has better aim.”


“Right-- if it has to be thrown, we don’t want to risk it missing,” said Dame Brionna. “That does raise a problem, though. It will be difficult to keep Kit near you during the coronation procession. Dame Katherine does not have the sort of official position that would make that acceptable.”


“No matter. We’ll give her a ring of invisibility, and she can stay right near me that way. No one who can see invisibility will be surprised by invisible guards, or, if they recognize her, that I would want her with me.”


“That should work, your grace.”


“And then we really do need to work on getting a new supply. Now, is that all?”


“Not quite, your grace. We also have the captured Harlequin to interrogate. We could take care of that without you…”


“No, no… let’s go find out what he knows. If he can get us leads on the last two, …”


They made their way to the palace dungeons. Following their usual pattern, Kit and Dame Brionna prepared to go in, while Alistair monitored the conversation through a mindlink from Kit. The warden and a priest of Glor’diadel hurried to their feet and began bowing when they saw who had come to the dungeon, but they were quickly put at their ease and ordered to open the cell.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

<<The mindlink is up,>> sent Kit to Alistair.

Alistair moped against the wall outside the actual cellblock and grumbled back. <<I wish I could actually participate in the interrogation. I don’t get to actually do anything anymore…>>

<<Oh, it’s so tough being Archduke.>>

Dame Brionna nodded to the captured Harlequin, who nodded, looking back and forth between Dame Brionna and Kit. Unlike the officer, he did not appear to recognize Kit at all. Dame Brionna began, “We need to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course. I am your prisoner, and it is my duty to answer.”

“Now that you have been captured, how many Harlequins are left in the City?”

“Just the masters.”

“And how many of them are there?”

“Two.”

“Do you know where they are?”

“I don’t even know what quarter they are in. It was rather a shock when you raided the place of the pleasure women.”

Kit smiled. “Happy to oblige.”

“Do you know what they will do now?” asked Dame Brionna.

“Unless there has been a change in orders, they will try to find a time to strike at your lord. They are greater than I, greater warriors… they may succeed where I failed.”

“Greater warriors? Or are they mages as well?”

“They are trained in the great techniques-- the sword techniques, the dance of swords. They are not without magic, but that is not where their mastery lies.”

“What about bows or thrown weapons?” asked Kit. “Do they have skills to attack from a distance?”

“It is not their specialty, but they are competent with missiles, preferring the small crossbow. It has a limited range-- it cannot reach more than 90 yards, and is only truly accurate to 30. But it can be effective with poison.”

<<Oh, not far,>> thought Kit to Alistair. <<Not more than ninety yards!>>

<<Yes, I’m so reassured.>>

<<At least we know some type of protection to load up on for the procession.>>

 

[Ladybird]

Once again, CP's words, my computer. Alas, for CP's computer woes! But yay for his Story Hour!

---
"Is there any way we could deter them from attacking?" asked Dame Brionna.

"Impossible, even though they know that the mission carries dishonor with it. They know that if they fail, they dishonor the Society in one way, and if they succeed, they dishonor it in a different way."

"But would they be honorable if we captured them?"

"I do not think you would succeed in capturing them. They would not surrender. The honor of the Masters is different from the honor of one such as me."

Dame Brionna frowned. "They would not give their parole and speak honorably?"

"Oh, they would speak honorably. But they would not give their parole-- for as long as they lived, they would strive to accomplish their mission. But of course they would speak honorably-- to not speak honorably would be to lack law!" The Harlequin seemed shocked and appalled by even the notion of lacking law.

"Do you know anything about the strategy they will employ, or when they will attack?"

"I do not know for certain. I suspect that one will wait to the last minute to strike, though perhaps that would be foolish. Our strategist was taken early."

"Not very good at strategy, then, was he?" jabbed Kit.

The Harlequin's face took on a sour look. "Perhaps you have reason."

Dame Brionna continued pressing on the tactical questions. "Would they act alone, or get henchmen?"

"Henchmen are difficult to come by here. There are plenty who will take your platinum, but few who will then act with honor. Have you not found this?"

"Not when 'acting with honor' means killing the Archduke. Our people are loyal to their liege," said Dame Brionna, a tad sanctimoniously.

"Our people also have a strong sense of self-preservation," added Kit.

 

[Ladybird]

CP's still having computer problems, alas! You know the routine - my post, but his words Enjoy!

--
"Can they summon any extra-planar allies?"

The Harlequin nodded. "The Fist of the North can."

"The Fist of the North?" asked Kit. "What does that mean?"

"He is one of the four great masters of the directions in our order. He is a master of the Air."

"So he can summon air creatures?" asked Dame Brionna.

"Creatures from the Plane of Air and from the Third Gloom of Hades. You know what yugoloths are? He can summon yugoloths of the air."

Kit sent a message to Alistair. <<Something to set Stythus on.>>

<<Definitely.>>

<<Perhaps Stythus's people could embargo him? No summoning for you!">>

<<Perhaps. It's certainly worth a try, although we know that there have been some problems with demons on the Plane of Air. I suspect he may summon corrupted air creatures, and those may be beyond the power of Stythus's allies to affect.>>

<<Probably, yeah. But it would still be better to fight them on the Plane of Air than here.>> Kit paused for a moment. <<Heh. Dame Brionna just sent me a message on my other mindlink: maybe we can have Stythus block his summoning abilities.>>

<<At least we're all on the same page…>>

"What of the other master? What can he summon?"

"The other grand master acts without finesse. He will do no summoning."

"What are his powers?"

"Lord Algaroth does not grant the same abilities to every elf. Some are born with great breadth of mind, some with great breadth of movement; some … are born with great determination. He was born with great determination. But it has taken him far, to the title of master and beyond the title of master."

<<I think we have our candidate for a last second suicide attack,>> sent Alistair.

<<Yeah. Foolish frontal charge-- no brains, lots of determination.>>

"So you would expect him to simply attack directly?"

"That is what I would expect. But he has surprised me before."

"How?" asked Kit, mostly out of curiosity.

"He seduced a woman to accomplish a goal. We did not know that he knew that many words. We asked him what words he had used, and he just smiled."

"Never underestimate the importance of body language."

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

The Harlequin ignored this comment and shook his head, as if in a reverie. “Eighteen out of twenty… I never could have imagined that a mission among humans could cost so much.”

<<Hmmm,>> thought Alistair. <<Ask him if his order would take a contract on Quinliart. I’m sick and tired of him.>>

<<Oh, nice… Let’s see.>>

“Would your Society be willing to accept a commission against Quinliart?” asked Kit, drawing a startled and dismayed look from Dame Brionna.

“After this debacle? Certainly. The Order would entertain it. But even if you did hire the order, the two who are not bested would still try to accomplish their mission. They will keep trying until they are dead.”

<<Interesting. Get a price quote.>>

“About how much would it cost? We are not negotiating for the contract now but simply want more information to consider the matter.”

“Quinliart has embarrassed the Order and tainted the Threefold Path. The masters who negotiate our prices would take that into account and reduce our requirements accordingly. I suspect not more than a million gold.”

<<A million gold?>> boggled Alistair. <<At a reduced price?>>

<<Yeah.>> Kit thought about it, trying to even imagine what a million gold meant. She knew that the Archduchy’s finances involved vastly more money than she had ever thought about before leaving Enclaves-- probably more money than she had imagined existed in the whole world. But even trying to get used to that new scale, a million gold, for a single assassination, was simply beyond comprehension.

Dame Brionna asked a question to make sure they did not inadvertently mistreat one of their prisoners. “Do we need to worry about a drug you have taken corrupting you?”

“No. I have taken no such drugs.”

On Alistair’s prompting, Kit followed up. “What about the Masters?”

“The Master Unbidden may have. There was enough for all of us, but few would take it, since it ends the life. The Master Unbidden may have, for he believed this would lead to the fall of an elven kingdom. He may have viewed the glory of accomplishing that goal as sufficient to justify his death.”