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Message: <blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 414382" data-attributes="member: 96">Session Eight, Part Two: A Daring RescueDru's eyes narrowed, and she leaned across the pawnbroker's counter.  Her voice was quiet, but that did nothing to disguise the menace. "What do you mean, 'I already paid'?"The elf's eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step back. "Just like normal, I swear to the gods!  Ivellimor came and collected this morning...""Ivellimor's been missing for four days.""He...he came in and collected, just like usual..."Again with the damned shape-changing magic, Dru thought. "Until further notice, you are not to pay Ivellimor.  If he comes back, contact us immediately."  She looked at the sweat beading on the shopkeeper's brow, and added: "You made an honest attempt. I'll make sure Papa knows."  She gave the pawbroker time to relax, and then asked, "Was there anything unusual about Ivellimor's behavior?""Well, he seemed...distant. Like he had a lot on his mind.  He didn't ask about the wife or anything."It was the same story, all down the line.  Every one of the businesses on Ivellimor's route had already paid the impostor. That's one more, Ulric, she thought.  When the time comes to collect from your hide, I am going to enjoy it.<img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> A shadow fell across Di'Fier's desk, and he looked up to see the mountainous form of Quooral standing before him."s'noon, sir," the genasi told him. "Jemis isn't back yet."Di'Fier frowned, following the giant man out to where the rest of the Special Crimes Unit waited.  Glunnyn was trying to wipe a sooty residue from his face and hands, Ashrem perched in a window seat, studying the fletching on an arrow, and Katya paced nervously.  As Di'Fier entered, she turned to him."I think we should try to find him, sir," she said without preamble.  "Something must have gone wrong."Di'Fier considered. "I suppose there's no harm in taking a look, at any rate.  Glunnyn, did you happen to prepare your locating spell today?  If you were able to use that to find Captain Donnach, we might be able to use it for Jemis as well."The gnome's head bobbed once. "Yes, but I will have to get reasonably close to him.  Beyond a certain point the sub-etheric vibrational signature is obscured by the - yes, I know. 'Thank you, Glunnyn.'" <img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Glunnyn pointed.  "If my triangulation is correct, the clothing he was wearing is in that building."Ashrem smirked. "Hopefully he's still wearing them.  Otherwise, if we do find him, he's likely to be rather upset with us..."As they crept forward, Di'Fier poked his head around a corner.  A thuggish man leaned against the building - probably a guard. He never knew just what it was that drew the guard's attention, but the head swiveled and looked directly at him.  Even as the man's hand went to the sword hilt at his side, Di'Fier was in motion."Glunnyn! Find out what's inside!" The syllables of the haste spell tripped from his tongue, and he felt the world slow around him.  The guard's sword crept from its sheath, inch by inch, as Di'Fier launched himself across the intervening space, his own blade blurring from its scabbard - but before the guard could react, he was past, and flinging open the door.The enormous half-orc turned to face Di'Fier and gave him a toothy grin.  With a gutteral word, he summoned a disc of shimmering force to stand in front of him, then pulled his axes from his belt and advanced.Behind him, Di'Fier could hear his teammates rushing to support him. With a step back, he summoned a sphere of flames that settled behind the half-orc, scorching his clothes and flesh. He whirled his blade around, but between the shield and the cramped space of the doorway there was little he could do.  The axes met the same difficulty, slamming into the doorframe hard enough to make the building shudder.Glunnyn's voice whispered to him: There's two more in the inner room, and another doorway - that must be where Jemis is. Katya's going in through the window.Di'Fier stepped back, dodging a well-aimed axe blow, and flung one hand forward with an arcane shout.  The blast of force slammed into the half-orc, ignoring his shield and knocking him to the floor. Di'Fier reversed his blade and stepped forward, stabbing downward.<img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> The protections of Fate swirled about Katya as she smashed her fist through the boarded-over window and ripped the wood from the frame.  Diving through the gap, she found herself next to Jemis - bound and beaten, tied to a chair.  Across the room, by the door, stood a haughty woman with waves of midnight black hair, whose face twisted into a snarl as the priestess entered.  She raised a hand, spoke a word, and the room went black.Katya could hear the boards being ripped from another window, and Ashrem's startled curse as the blackness washed out over him - but her attention was on the woman. She murmured a prayer to her god: "May my blows find where she is fated to be" - and then let the magic take her where it would.She could hear the woman chanting the words to a spell - Good, keep it up...now I know where to find you.  Ste stepped forward, spun - her foot lashing out of its own volition, slamming into soft flesh and propelling it backwards to the sound of a stream of vitriolic curses in some unknown tongue.She heard the door to the room burst open.The sound of something metal rebounding from the wall.A muffled cry and the clatter of wood as Jemis' chair overturned.And then she was leaping for the window as unseen flames blossomed in the darkness.</blockquote>

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