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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3705527" data-attributes="member: 35788">Ischarus turned to Charis and gave her a slight smile.  It was good to know that their efforts were being underestimated.  Of course, even so what Tindrahk had said was true.  They couldn’t have defeated the wizard or Ankh-Bahl on their own.  Without the help of Masters Brandt and Searthu or even the Wizard’s College guards the party would not have been successful.  Fortunately, it seemed as though the followers of Yrraxea were unaware of the party’s connections to the temple of Reah.Gallahn turned the conversation within the room away from the youngest of the followers of Yrraxea.  “We are ready with the Ephistaemi deception?”Neither Ischarus nor Charis could see it, but Allyssa smiled.  There was a certain level of enjoyment in her response.  “Yes, and that is my favorite part.  The deception is absolutely perfect, and it has been the best part of my master’s plan.  I suspect that the plan was actually derived from Ankh-Bahl within him, but either way it is largely brilliant.  Each of the assassins in the seven towns will be equipped with daggers inscribed with the secret Ephistaemi insignia.”Barrie grinned as she reached across the table.  “May I see it?”A serious tone overcame Allyssa’s speech.  “Most certainly not.  My master went through a good bit of trouble to discover that insignia.  The fewer people that know about it, the better off the deception will be.”Tindrahk knew the plan, but he wanted Allyssa to bring his companions into the well crafted plan.  “And the party?  You’re not worried about the fact that they were not destroyed?”  Allyssa grinned.  “The party?  At first I was dismayed at their ability to show up outside my apartment.  And as I said before, it is a disgrace to Ankh-Bahl that they remained alive.  By now, their presence should be removed in any regard.  But even if they are not, they will only help the deception.  My master and I spoke on this possibility when he was unable to find any remains after Opheiluka was supposed to have destroyed the party.  As far as they know, their villa was destroyed by the Ephistaemi.  Even if they are alive, they will be pulled into the deception.  In my greatest hope, they may even add to the belief of the deception.”Barrie completed the logic of the plan.  “If they are alive, when they hear of the Ephistaemi dagger found in the murder of Lord Ironblood, they will bring their own evidence to bear.  Again, that is assuming that they somehow survived your surprise at the beginning of the dock.”Allyssa confirmed the conclusion.  “Actually, if Iasho is as smart as my master assumed him to be, the status of the party is actually irrelevant.”This information was new to Tindrahk, and he questioned Allyssa on the name.  “Iasho?”Allyssa grinned at just how detailed the wizard of Eberdeen had been in explaining the plan to her.  “Iasho.  He is Rhema’s father and owner of the villa in Huetown.  In the original plan, he was supposed to be so distraught about his daughter’s death that his inner turmoil would drive him to seeking justice upon discovery of the Ephistaemi plot to kill Lord Ironblood.  If the party is alive, then they play his part in our modified plan.  But if the party was handled by your servants as we approached the dock, his inner angst will be all the more raw and tender.  Either way, the earlier deception in the destruction of Iasho’s villa in Huetown continues to serve our purpose.”Tahnet was impressed.  “So, the Ephistaemi deception has already given us the Arum Dracunculus for free.  Now, the past deception will only serve to make this deception more realistic.”Allyssa was pleased.  “Exactly.  When the Ephistaemi daggers show up all over Tongra and the connection is made to the villa in Huetown, the people will have their villainous organization.  The hunt for the mysterious Ephistaemi will be on.  Of course, a leader for that hunt will step forward.  Ankh-Bahl, using the knowledge within my master, will step forward and lead the hunt for the Ephistaemi.  Once Ankh-Bahl obtains her first bits of success, she will have the toehold that she needs.  She can bring Yrraxea to Tongra either subtly or dramatically.”Outside the room, Ischarus shook his head.  This had been the second time through the explanation of the Yrraxean deception and he still couldn’t believe the incredible chance that it had for success.  Had the assassins not already been intercepted, the Confederacy of Tongra would be on the verge of losing seven of the ten most significant leaders of Tongra.  The three that would remain were hardly powerful enough to stabilize the country.  The areas they governed were already wracked by the battles along the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains.Tahnet grinned as he allowed his nature to take him down the path of dreaming.  “Once Tongra, then where will our Queen want to master?  Fenneress?  The holy territory of Barghost?  Perhaps she will want a conquest into Quehalost to liberate our trapped brethren?”Tindrahk chuckled as his younger servant added to the conversation.  “Putting the cart before the horse a bit, aren’t we?  The control for Tongra will take time to evolve.  And once the truth about Yrraxean control does eventually leak out into the public, there will no doubt be an offensive from Barghost, if not Fenneress as well.  To speak of control of Tongra as if it is a foregone conclusion is a bit premature.”Barrie added an additional opinion to the conversation.  “Of course, that doesn’t even bring to light the additional hidden gatherings of opposing deities brought to power in the land of Quehalost.”Gallahn jumped onto what he thought was Allyssa’s conclusion.  “Yes.  Once they see the power of Yrraxea, they’ll be forced to capitulate with our greatness and join our cause.”Allyssa chuckled in obvious amusement.  “Yes, you might think that.  But we are not in league with the followers of other deities from Quehalost except in the rare instance where we are called to defeat those who are strong in Barghost.  The truth is that if we are found out to be in power over Tongra, the hidden followers of other gods and goddesses of Quehalost will no doubt react in anger and jealousy.  They will come against us to take what is ours.”Tahnet decided to allow his youth to show through and question the older and wiser Yrraxean leaders.  “So even when we control Tongra, we will still have to be wary of a civil war?”Tindrahk explained even further.  “Of course.  Many will be persuaded to join our ranks when we deliver them from the Ephistaemi threat.  But many will not.  Many will oppose our Queen in spite of the order that we will bring to Tongra.  We will unify the confederacy, but there will be people inside the boundaries of Tongra that simply do not ever accept what we bring to this world.”Allyssa allowed a tone of sarcasm to be present as she spoke.  “You mean, of course, people like us who have a better plan for Tongra than its current existence?”Tindrahk chuckled with Allyssa’s assertion.  “Of course.  But few are as driven as we are.”Allyssa thumped the table hard as she rose up from her chair.  “Of course!  But I feel like we have spoken enough for the night.  Tomorrow I’ll show you that I’m good for my word.  Lord Ironblood will be dead by noon.  And, unless you have anything else for me, I think it’s time for me to be heading towards my apartment.”Ischarus’ eyes widened with the realization that the meeting was ending rather suddenly.  He turned to look to Charis, but she was already backing away from the door.  With a nod he directed her to head to the top deck.Before Ischarus had an opportunity to follow, he heard Allyssa stride to the door while Tindrahk officially concluded the meeting.  He didn’t have time to follow Charis up the stairs.  Instead, his head turned to the archway across the hall from the closed door.  It was a fair way down the steps, but there was a chance it might work.  It might be his only chance to avoid detection.Charis easily reached the top deck and burst out of the staircase and into the moonlight.  She saw that both of the guards were still tied up, and only one of them had regained consciousness.  At this point, she no longer cared much about noise.  She ran across the deck and stopped for a moment beside the guard who was not conscious.The other guard tried to cry out through his muffled gag, but Charis was in little danger of the gagged guard raising an alarm.  She knelt to the deck and could see that the unconscious guard was in little danger of dying.  She also knew that it didn’t matter.  “Bondras-tol Egro.”The now conscious man breathed in deeply through his nose as he woke up.  It was then that Charis turned around to look for Ischarus.  She didn’t see him, but she did hear Allyssa’s footsteps at the base of the staircase.  She didn’t have a choice and couldn’t wait any longer. She stood up and dove over the rail of the ship.  She entered the water with a loud splash and tried to swim as far under water as possible before coming to the surface for air.Rhema knew what the splash meant.  Something had gone wrong aboard the ship and either Charis or Ischarus needed to leave in a hurry.  The dock guard immediately turned towards the splash and began searching the dark water.  Rhema stood up so quickly she almost legitimately fell into the water.  Had the guard not grabbed hold of her once more, Rhema would have entered into the water for sure.Rhema turned to him and allowed her mental power to flow through her voice once more.  He was already under her influence, so adding to the effect would be rather easy.  “I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for a swim.  I don’t see anyone from the prior splash coming to the surface.  They might need our help.  We’ve got to get in there!”She turned and jumped head first into the water without waiting for a response.  She had done all that she could to get the guard into the water. If the dock guard stayed, he would likely feel the wrath of Allyssa and the Yrraxeans once they discovered that the ship had been boarded.  If the dock guard followed her, they could at least protect him from their wrath.  She hoped her urgency would help compel the dock guard into action.The guard did jump head first in order to follow Rhema into the water.  It wasn’t the logical choice, but his brain was no longer working in a logical manner.  He had been sucked into Rhema’s control, and he now acted out of instinct.  Fortunately for him, Rhema was ultimately protecting him.  She was responsible for his safety since her ability to deceive him had put him in jeopardy.  He couldn’t have known what heinous villains were gathering and planning on that ship.Under the main deck, Allyssa had opened the door only moments after Charis climbed the stairs.  Ischarus had taken two quick steps down into the storage hold when he spotted several ropes tied to the supports that held up the floor from the level that he was just on.  He leapt off of the staircase and grabbed one of the ropes.  As he swung, he reached out and grabbed a second rope in order to reduce as much momentum as he could.  Luck was on his side.  Before Allyssa could enter the hallway, he hung silently from the ropes.  He listened as Allyssa walked down the hallway.  Her footsteps were the only ones that he heard.  She climbed the stairs, and he slowly let himself down to the floor using both ropes.  He quickly hid once again as he made out Allyssa’s hurried footsteps returning down from the top deck.She called out and raised the alarm.  “We’ve been boarded!  Two individuals came on board and fled into the water!  The dock guard went with them.  Come, we’ve got to search the water before they escape.”Tindrahk and his followers quickly moved above deck and searched the water from the ship’s rail.  When they didn’t find anything, Tahnet was left to guard the staircase while the rest moved up the dock to search among the other moored vessels.  They were not successful.Ischarus couldn’t understand how lucky he was.  He knew that the deck guards were aware that two people had boarded the ship.  He also knew that at most the deck guards could have seen Charis go overboard.  He couldn’t know that Rhema’s quick thinking to enter the water and take the dock guard with her had allowed the deck guards to count the proper number of splashes.  He couldn’t know that from their perspective, three people had entered the water.  He couldn’t know that from the perspective of the deck guards everyone was accounted for.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Ischarus turned to Charis and gave her a slight smile. It was good to know that their efforts were being underestimated. Of course, even so what Tindrahk had said was true. They couldn’t have defeated the wizard or Ankh-Bahl on their own. Without the help of Masters Brandt and Searthu or even the Wizard’s College guards the party would not have been successful. Fortunately, it seemed as though the followers of Yrraxea were unaware of the party’s connections to the temple of Reah.Gallahn turned the conversation within the room away from the youngest of the followers of Yrraxea. “We are ready with the Ephistaemi deception?”Neither Ischarus nor Charis could see it, but Allyssa smiled. There was a certain level of enjoyment in her response. “Yes, and that is my favorite part. The deception is absolutely perfect, and it has been the best part of my master’s plan. I suspect that the plan was actually derived from Ankh-Bahl within him, but either way it is largely brilliant. Each of the assassins in the seven towns will be equipped with daggers inscribed with the secret Ephistaemi insignia.”Barrie grinned as she reached across the table. “May I see it?”A serious tone overcame Allyssa’s speech. “Most certainly not. My master went through a good bit of trouble to discover that insignia. The fewer people that know about it, the better off the deception will be.”Tindrahk knew the plan, but he wanted Allyssa to bring his companions into the well crafted plan. “And the party? You’re not worried about the fact that they were not destroyed?” Allyssa grinned. “The party? At first I was dismayed at their ability to show up outside my apartment. And as I said before, it is a disgrace to Ankh-Bahl that they remained alive. By now, their presence should be removed in any regard. But even if they are not, they will only help the deception. My master and I spoke on this possibility when he was unable to find any remains after Opheiluka was supposed to have destroyed the party. As far as they know, their villa was destroyed by the Ephistaemi. Even if they are alive, they will be pulled into the deception. In my greatest hope, they may even add to the belief of the deception.”Barrie completed the logic of the plan. “If they are alive, when they hear of the Ephistaemi dagger found in the murder of Lord Ironblood, they will bring their own evidence to bear. Again, that is assuming that they somehow survived your surprise at the beginning of the dock.”Allyssa confirmed the conclusion. “Actually, if Iasho is as smart as my master assumed him to be, the status of the party is actually irrelevant.”This information was new to Tindrahk, and he questioned Allyssa on the name. “Iasho?”Allyssa grinned at just how detailed the wizard of Eberdeen had been in explaining the plan to her. “Iasho. He is Rhema’s father and owner of the villa in Huetown. In the original plan, he was supposed to be so distraught about his daughter’s death that his inner turmoil would drive him to seeking justice upon discovery of the Ephistaemi plot to kill Lord Ironblood. If the party is alive, then they play his part in our modified plan. But if the party was handled by your servants as we approached the dock, his inner angst will be all the more raw and tender. Either way, the earlier deception in the destruction of Iasho’s villa in Huetown continues to serve our purpose.”Tahnet was impressed. “So, the Ephistaemi deception has already given us the Arum Dracunculus for free. Now, the past deception will only serve to make this deception more realistic.”Allyssa was pleased. “Exactly. When the Ephistaemi daggers show up all over Tongra and the connection is made to the villa in Huetown, the people will have their villainous organization. The hunt for the mysterious Ephistaemi will be on. Of course, a leader for that hunt will step forward. Ankh-Bahl, using the knowledge within my master, will step forward and lead the hunt for the Ephistaemi. Once Ankh-Bahl obtains her first bits of success, she will have the toehold that she needs. She can bring Yrraxea to Tongra either subtly or dramatically.”Outside the room, Ischarus shook his head. This had been the second time through the explanation of the Yrraxean deception and he still couldn’t believe the incredible chance that it had for success. Had the assassins not already been intercepted, the Confederacy of Tongra would be on the verge of losing seven of the ten most significant leaders of Tongra. The three that would remain were hardly powerful enough to stabilize the country. The areas they governed were already wracked by the battles along the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains.Tahnet grinned as he allowed his nature to take him down the path of dreaming. “Once Tongra, then where will our Queen want to master? Fenneress? The holy territory of Barghost? Perhaps she will want a conquest into Quehalost to liberate our trapped brethren?”Tindrahk chuckled as his younger servant added to the conversation. “Putting the cart before the horse a bit, aren’t we? The control for Tongra will take time to evolve. And once the truth about Yrraxean control does eventually leak out into the public, there will no doubt be an offensive from Barghost, if not Fenneress as well. To speak of control of Tongra as if it is a foregone conclusion is a bit premature.”Barrie added an additional opinion to the conversation. “Of course, that doesn’t even bring to light the additional hidden gatherings of opposing deities brought to power in the land of Quehalost.”Gallahn jumped onto what he thought was Allyssa’s conclusion. “Yes. Once they see the power of Yrraxea, they’ll be forced to capitulate with our greatness and join our cause.”Allyssa chuckled in obvious amusement. “Yes, you might think that. But we are not in league with the followers of other deities from Quehalost except in the rare instance where we are called to defeat those who are strong in Barghost. The truth is that if we are found out to be in power over Tongra, the hidden followers of other gods and goddesses of Quehalost will no doubt react in anger and jealousy. They will come against us to take what is ours.”Tahnet decided to allow his youth to show through and question the older and wiser Yrraxean leaders. “So even when we control Tongra, we will still have to be wary of a civil war?”Tindrahk explained even further. “Of course. Many will be persuaded to join our ranks when we deliver them from the Ephistaemi threat. But many will not. Many will oppose our Queen in spite of the order that we will bring to Tongra. We will unify the confederacy, but there will be people inside the boundaries of Tongra that simply do not ever accept what we bring to this world.”Allyssa allowed a tone of sarcasm to be present as she spoke. “You mean, of course, people like us who have a better plan for Tongra than its current existence?”Tindrahk chuckled with Allyssa’s assertion. “Of course. But few are as driven as we are.”Allyssa thumped the table hard as she rose up from her chair. “Of course! But I feel like we have spoken enough for the night. Tomorrow I’ll show you that I’m good for my word. Lord Ironblood will be dead by noon. And, unless you have anything else for me, I think it’s time for me to be heading towards my apartment.”Ischarus’ eyes widened with the realization that the meeting was ending rather suddenly. He turned to look to Charis, but she was already backing away from the door. With a nod he directed her to head to the top deck.Before Ischarus had an opportunity to follow, he heard Allyssa stride to the door while Tindrahk officially concluded the meeting. He didn’t have time to follow Charis up the stairs. Instead, his head turned to the archway across the hall from the closed door. It was a fair way down the steps, but there was a chance it might work. It might be his only chance to avoid detection.Charis easily reached the top deck and burst out of the staircase and into the moonlight. She saw that both of the guards were still tied up, and only one of them had regained consciousness. At this point, she no longer cared much about noise. She ran across the deck and stopped for a moment beside the guard who was not conscious.The other guard tried to cry out through his muffled gag, but Charis was in little danger of the gagged guard raising an alarm. She knelt to the deck and could see that the unconscious guard was in little danger of dying. She also knew that it didn’t matter. “Bondras-tol Egro.”The now conscious man breathed in deeply through his nose as he woke up. It was then that Charis turned around to look for Ischarus. She didn’t see him, but she did hear Allyssa’s footsteps at the base of the staircase. She didn’t have a choice and couldn’t wait any longer. She stood up and dove over the rail of the ship. She entered the water with a loud splash and tried to swim as far under water as possible before coming to the surface for air.Rhema knew what the splash meant. Something had gone wrong aboard the ship and either Charis or Ischarus needed to leave in a hurry. The dock guard immediately turned towards the splash and began searching the dark water. Rhema stood up so quickly she almost legitimately fell into the water. Had the guard not grabbed hold of her once more, Rhema would have entered into the water for sure.Rhema turned to him and allowed her mental power to flow through her voice once more. He was already under her influence, so adding to the effect would be rather easy. “I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for a swim. I don’t see anyone from the prior splash coming to the surface. They might need our help. We’ve got to get in there!”She turned and jumped head first into the water without waiting for a response. She had done all that she could to get the guard into the water. If the dock guard stayed, he would likely feel the wrath of Allyssa and the Yrraxeans once they discovered that the ship had been boarded. If the dock guard followed her, they could at least protect him from their wrath. She hoped her urgency would help compel the dock guard into action.The guard did jump head first in order to follow Rhema into the water. It wasn’t the logical choice, but his brain was no longer working in a logical manner. He had been sucked into Rhema’s control, and he now acted out of instinct. Fortunately for him, Rhema was ultimately protecting him. She was responsible for his safety since her ability to deceive him had put him in jeopardy. He couldn’t have known what heinous villains were gathering and planning on that ship.Under the main deck, Allyssa had opened the door only moments after Charis climbed the stairs. Ischarus had taken two quick steps down into the storage hold when he spotted several ropes tied to the supports that held up the floor from the level that he was just on. He leapt off of the staircase and grabbed one of the ropes. As he swung, he reached out and grabbed a second rope in order to reduce as much momentum as he could. Luck was on his side. Before Allyssa could enter the hallway, he hung silently from the ropes. He listened as Allyssa walked down the hallway. Her footsteps were the only ones that he heard. She climbed the stairs, and he slowly let himself down to the floor using both ropes. He quickly hid once again as he made out Allyssa’s hurried footsteps returning down from the top deck.She called out and raised the alarm. “We’ve been boarded! Two individuals came on board and fled into the water! The dock guard went with them. Come, we’ve got to search the water before they escape.”Tindrahk and his followers quickly moved above deck and searched the water from the ship’s rail. When they didn’t find anything, Tahnet was left to guard the staircase while the rest moved up the dock to search among the other moored vessels. They were not successful.Ischarus couldn’t understand how lucky he was. He knew that the deck guards were aware that two people had boarded the ship. He also knew that at most the deck guards could have seen Charis go overboard. He couldn’t know that Rhema’s quick thinking to enter the water and take the dock guard with her had allowed the deck guards to count the proper number of splashes. He couldn’t know that from their perspective, three people had entered the water. He couldn’t know that from the perspective of the deck guards everyone was accounted for.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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