Of Vile Darkness

[linnorm]

Ralam Human Rogue 5 / Assassin 7

*Ralam thanks Pellek and leaves the guildhall to sup at King's Head before returning home to study his spells and plan for the "hunting trip".*

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"No, I think I have to go in and find this girl. Do I go in as Lady Felsadora stopping by to say hi? The woman isn't exactly the warm type, Larissa might not buy it. Perhaps I attempt to get on as a serving girl of some type. I think that might take too long, plus you know how I hate to clean. Perhaps lay in wait outside the temple until she takes another stroll. Though it's likely she'll be with Orshallon in that event, so I better leave that alone. Lady Felsadora seems to be my best bet. I'll just have to come up with a good excuse for being there. What say you, my pet?"

*Devon considers for a moment, his hands playing through his mistresses' hair.* "If you go as Felsadora, you could say that you've come to tender the well-wishes of all those at Honor's Shield. But say it with a sour little scowl, the woman seemed to resent nearly everything. Or perhaps you could go as Lady Janel, and simply go in as a parishioner. If she's staying at the temple, surely she must be going to at least one of the services, it would look a bit odd otherwise. You could speak to her afterward. The aftermass of services in churches like that are nothing but big gossip-fests, as I have reason to know," Devon says, leaning down to kiss Eradiel on the brow lingeringly.

*After the evening's plotting Devon will send out the response, requesting that the guildmember meet them in a private room of the Wizard's Sanctum, an Inn that caters to arcanists and is well-known to be protected against scrying magic.*

~~~

Her fair face carrying none of her dark desires as she giggles lightly while breaking into a nervous look that could best be described as that off a school girl, “Ahh… Arnold? How long until I need to be at evening services?”

"I believe it's about a half-hour m'lady," he says, "and I'm afraid I have to go, I'm attending at this evening's services. Go ahead and keep that book for a while, I can get it later when you're done with it. You know how to get to the main sanctuary right?"

*Once he's assure of that, Arnold will leave.*

~~~

*Gwyn will go out about the town, and see what he can learn about the Phoenix Knight. An interesting match, the man who hunts demons against the demon who preys on men; still, not one Gwyn wants to walk into unprepared, if that is what Wode plans. He listens in particular for tales of his battles, or anything he can learn about the Phoenix Knight's family or loved ones.*

*Gwyn is able to hear plenty about the Myleron family. They were a famous demon-hunting noble family for well over a century. But their centuries of slaying demons had its price. Ten years ago demon assassins were sent to the Myleron manor and slew nearly everyone inside. The only ones that survived were Staeven and his mother. His mother died shortly after, after leading a small army into the Abyss in retaliation for the attack. None of them ever returned.*

*Staeven himself took up with a wizard and died fighting demons outside the city, but was resurrected by Orshallan and given the title of the Phoenix Knight. He apparently lives in a modest house outside the city with just a servent or two to tend to the menial chores. He has neither wife nor children, nor any siblings, and all of his immediate family is dead.*

~~~

*Ralam, Kaj Mok has a response to your request late in the evening.*

"The lady says she'll meet you in a private room in the Wizard's Sanctum Inn tomorrow evening at sundown. Come alone, she says," Kaj tells you, passing over a written invitation that contains virtually the same words.

~~~

*Torr, when you return home and go to your room, Rosalyn is there, dressed in a very fine gown... that is missing a few key pieces. She lies on your bed a tray next to her holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.*

"My lord, I... I love you! I love only you, and I can be so much more to you than those other girls can be. Let me prove it to you!" she says, her voice both sincere and desparate.

~~~

*Aekir, you believe you recogize the ritual as a binding ritual, most likely binding some kind of celestial. Of the participants in the ritual, there were five. On was an older half-elf woman with black hair and green eyes, tall and thin, wearing robes of blue and silver, runes in Celestial embroidered on her gown. Another was a middle-aged human man, short and plump with dark hair and eyes. He wore thin leather gloves and robes of sable-black with his hood up. The third was an aged human man with white hair and a long white beard. He had sharp, angular features, pale blue watery eyes, and wore gray robes embroidered in flowing red designs. He was was of middling height and weight and walked with a tall staff made of silvery metal with a red, star-shaped gem on top. The fourth was a man who was of the northern barbarian stock. His skin was white and covered with intricate, flowing black tattoos on all his exposed skin, including his face. His eyes were entirely black, and he seemed to be fairly young and strong, with a stocky build. His head was shaved and he bore a tall staff with a large clear gem in the center socket and four, smaller gems arranged around it. The fifth person was clearly a Positai, a genasi touched by the plane of positive energy. His slightly glowing yellow-white skin, wild white hair, and golden eyes were unmistakable signs of the breed. He wore yellow robes and heavy golden jewelry. Though he seemed not much older than the barbarian, the others treated him with deference.*

*During the ceremony there was no idle chatter. The only words spoken in the ceremonial room were the words of the ceremony. Fatigue and the intricacies of the language made it hard to remember it all, but you believe you got as many of the words as you could.*

*Waiting for a second ritual you have to wait three days, sipping the water from tops of the graves, eating the bodies of your rat victims to stay alive. Occasionally you have spells of dizziness from being down here, or is it hunger? Lack of sleep? It's hard to tell. Finally the second ritual starts. The people seem to arrive in random order, their faces grave and focused. Again they perform the ritual, passing around a dagger made of crystal, the hilt in the shape of a tower, the guard that of a circling dragon with a man on its back.*

*The ritual seems the same, but you can feel the words seeming to hum in your bones, racing over your brain. The lights seem to hurt your eyes, and for a moment you thought you saw the summoned knight turn and look at you. You blink, and he's looking at the queen, as he was before. Your mission completed, you scurry back to the daylight.*

*Taking your rest, your dreams are odd. You relive seeing the ritual again and again. In some of the dreams you are one of the magicians, in others you are the knight, and once you are the queen. Rising later in the day, you take both a large meal and a hot bath, lost in your thoughts.*

*Slinking into the Hollow to satisfy your hunger, you wait by one of the stinking trash piles. Rats swarm on it, indifferent to your presence, even after you kill one of their number. And when a sturdy dog shows up to feast on the rats, you grab it, dash it agains the wall and dismember the creature, throwing the limbs to the rats. Gasping as you drink in its spirit, you hardly notice the pain at first. Your eyes flutter open as see the pitiful dog has a death-grip on your left hand with its jaws. You have to break its jaws to release your hand, and can see the wounds from its teeth very clearly. The wound throbs slightly.*

*Going back to your home, you make a rough sketch of the diagram and dagger. Bandaging your hand, you make your way to the Hydra's Glass after nightfall. Wode's guard usher you over to its court immeditaely. Wode has none of its usual companions here tonight and holds a glass filled with a potent drink of some sort in its hand.*

"You've been gone long enough. What did you find?" it asks, its voice carrying an unusual acerbic bite.

[Here is what the dagger and diagram looked like.]

 

[Wrahn]

*He looks at Wode, as always, appraising for weakness. For a long moment silence fills the room.*

There must be a price. It is a weakness they can exploit, a motivation they can understand.

“I have the information you seek,” his deep gravelly voice speaks in near monotone, “but we have not yet talked of price. I seek a weapon, magical in nature, powerful against undead.” He watches Wode, waiting for a reaction.

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

"Curious weapon for you," Wode says, its eyes showing a flash of anger. "But one that can be obtained. Let me see what you have, and we'll see the value of what you brought us."

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Loviama: Half-Nymph/Female (Rogue/Corruptor/Bondblade)

Loviana nods her head as she replies with a smile, “Yes, Arnold, I know my way there.”

* Her smile despairs when alone, replaced with mixed look of nervousness and concentration as she sits upon her bed and begins to page through the small book.*

* After ten minutes of study Loviana leaves the book on the bed and moves of to the mirror, after some primping and the possible change in wardrobe, Loviana leaves the room, grabbing the book as she leaves for the main sanctuary.*

* Once in the main sanctuary she’ll look over the audience, but her blue eyes mainly look for Orshallan as she hopes for the chance to make eye contact. *

 

[Wrahn]

Aekir, Ranger 1/Fighter 4/Soul Eater 6

“In the hours of the night, five came secretly to the royal catacombs. Through an illusionary wall, they descended to a chamber below the river. From person to person they passed a crystal dagger, anointing a crystal and gold circle with their blood. They chanted in what I presume to be celestial causing the circle to emmit a bright flash of light from which one of the knights appeared. A wall at this point disappeared, revealing a woman on a throne, who appeared to be unconscious, behind a crystal wall. The knight entered the room and knelt before the wall and the woman.”

“Of the summoners there were five, The first was an older half-elf woman with black hair and green eyes, tall and thin, wearing robes of blue and silver, with runes in embroidered on her gown.. The second was a middle-aged human man, short and plump with dark hair and eyes. He wore thin leather gloves and black hooded robe which he wore up. The third was an old human man with white hair and a long white beard. He had sharp, angular features, pale blue watery eyes, and wore gray robes embroidered in flowing red designs. He was of middling height and weight and walked with a tall staff made of silvery metal with a red, star-shaped gem on top. The fourth was a man who was of the northern barbarian stock. His skin was white and covered with intricate, flowing black tattoos on all his exposed skin, including his face. His eyes were entirely black, and he seemed to be fairly young and strong, with a stocky build. His head was shaved and he bore a tall staff with a large clear gem in the center socket and four, smaller gems arranged around it. The fifth person was clearly a Positai. He wore yellow robes and heavy golden jewelry. He seemed young, but the others treated him with deference.”

“I watched two rituals, to insure compare them. They both happened nearly the same, they arrived in a different order and they stood around the circle in a different order, but followed the same ritual with the same result.”

*Aekir will produce his maps and sketches.*

“This is the layout of the underground,” he says indicating his map, “And these are sketches of the dagger they passed and the circle. Note, I am not a cartographer or an artist.”

“The chant was difficult, it was in a language I did not understand, I can only tell it to you partially.”

 

[Rhia]

Eradiel, Drow Wizard 5/Mindbender 5

"Mmm. I love your crafty mind. I think going in as a parishiner sounds the simplest, so probably the best bet to try first." She absently drags handfuls of water up his chest, letting the water trickle back down, "Find out first thing in the morning the times of each of the services. It's about time I become a faithful worshipper of Heironeous, may Lolth forgive me." Smiling wickedly, she braces her hand against his chest and wraps her fingers around a short horn nestled in his black hair. "Perhaps you can show me the ways of the innocent and devout women of prayer. Or rather, how you would break them."

[ooc: Once I know the scheduled service times, I'll post again having Eradiel show up to a morning and/or daytime service on the morrow. Meeting the guildmember in the evening precludes evening services for a couple of days. I changed spells after last post on character sheet.]

 

[Rybaer]

Lord Torr Stormrider - human weretiger/rogue/fighter

*Torr, when you return home and go to your room, Rosalyn is there, dressed in a very fine gown... that is missing a few key pieces. She lies on your bed a tray next to her holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.*

"My lord, I... I love you! I love only you, and I can be so much more to you than those other girls can be. Let me prove it to you!" she says, her voice both sincere and desparate.

*Torr grins in appreciation for her efforts. Next to Madam's girls, Rosalyn is painfully, deliciously innocent.*

Guess we'll have to build her up just a bit more before our final betrayal, Torr thinks at Stormrider. She remains quiet, but Torr senses her amusement.

"My dear Rosalyn," Torr says as he takes in her beautiful body. "You look ravishing...I would need the King's bard's way with word to do you justice."

*Torr gently sits on the edge of the bed beside her. He gazes deeply into her eyes, softening in response to her need. His hand brushes back stray locks from her temple. Fingertips slide down to her neck, then down across the sheer fabric of her gown. Lightly, he explores her every feminine curve - those covered by fabric and those more scandalously exposed.*

"My needs are great and complicated," he says in a throaty whisper. "I know you love me deeply, but are you certain you are strong enough to be my emotional anchor all alone? I would leave the responsibilty in your hands solely, such is my desire. But I must be certain that the challenge won't hurt you. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting one I care for so dearly."

*He smiles warmly and leans over to kiss her on the lips.*

"Dearest Rosalyn, you say you can be more to me than the other girls...and are ready to prove it. Prove it."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

* After ten minutes of study Loviana leaves the book on the bed and moves of to the mirror, after some primping and the possible change in wardrobe, Loviana leaves the room, grabbing the book as she leaves for the main sanctuary.*

* Once in the main sanctuary she’ll look over the audience, but her blue eyes mainly look for Orshallan as she hopes for the chance to make eye contact. *

*Orshallan is an excellent speaker and a skilled orator, and he makes what might be a rather confusing ceremony for you rather interesting. There's a great deal of pagentry in Heironeous' faith, with careful processions, use of various relics and artifacts, and very specific rites.*

*But what catches your attention is when Orshallan goes to the pulpit to deliver his sermon. The subject today is on evil and redemption.*

"The sins of the evil, the vile, the wicked, the most heinous crimes against the heavens can be cleansed and washed away if someone truly wants to change. For those that cannot even see the reasons, they can be made to see the light with care and persistance. Demons can even be redeemed, though one must always do this with great care. And protective magics," he says the last with a hint of humor, and a faint chuckle ripples through the crowd.

"One must show those who are wicked the benefits of the light. A relationship built on kindness will last longer, be stronger, and have far more benefits than those based on power, manipulation, and dominance. One that you love will do things for you simply because they wish do. One who is enslaved will only do what they are forced to. A slave would never praise, only simper. One you love, and who loves you, will show you respect, kindness, and devotion.

"To help redeem the wicked, one much be patient and persistant, and never give up, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. Never doubt yourself, or the innate goodness of all living things. Good will indeed triumph in the end, for all the good things of the world will be stronger and last for much longer than any evil thing. Hate is not boundless, for it will burn itself up. But love, kindess, virtue, these things live forever."

*Loviana is rather sure that Orshallan caught her eyes a couple times at least. His gaze was piercing, like a sharp ray of sunlight. If she wants, Loviana can return to her room until her midnight stroll. As the moon rises and the air fades to black and blue, Orshallan arrives at Larissa's room to escort her to the gardens. He wears only a simple cream-colored linen robe along with an ornate golden holy symbol. He smiles and hand her a yellow rose to twine in her hair. Holding his arm out for her to take as if they were at a noble's party, he leads her to the gardens, and within them to a secluded arbor.*

"Larissa... I greatly desired to talk to you today, but it took me until now to find the words," he began gently, holding both of her hands. "I believe truth is very important in all things, and yet it is not a luxury that a man born into my strata of society can always afford. But I must be truthful to you, whatever the cost. I have not known you long Larissa... but I do like you a great deal. When I first saw you in the Honor's Shield, I will admit I was startled. Several years ago there was a woman I loved that had raven hair and blue eyes, and for a moment you reminded me of her.

"But you were very different from that lady. She died unexpetedly of an illness when she went to visit her parents, and did not wish to return to the land of the living when she was quite happy in the heavens. I had seen myself as alone in the world again until I met you. When you nearly died, I was stricken, and took it upon myself to see you would not suffer your terrible fate. I was haunted, wondering if I was trying to save my departed by saving you. But as I have talked and traveled with you these past few days I have seen that I have not. I like you for whom you are, not what my departed was.

Orshallan sighs. "I am a cautious man Larissa, though a man who cares for a woman is supposed to throw caution to the wind. I have tried to discern your heart so that I would not be intruding on something on which I was not welcome. Larissa, I see a shadow on your heart, your soul, your very name. What should be clear to me is obstructed, veiled, laced with confusion. Please, what is it that places this on you?"

~~~

"Dearest Rosalyn, you say you can be more to me than the other girls...and are ready to prove it. Prove it."

*Rosalyn dives in with a will, her lips hungry and searching, her hands caressing almost frantically. It soon becomes obvious that she was watching Scarlet, Pearl, and Chastity's performance very carefully, even through her emotional anguish. She cries out Torr's name and professes her love over and over again as the night goes on. She is quite willing to do anything you ask of her, anything at all.*

~~~

Smiling wickedly, she braces her hand against his chest and wraps her fingers around a short horn nestled in his black hair. "Perhaps you can show me the ways of the innocent and devout women of prayer. Or rather, how you would break them."

*Devon moans in his throat at his mistress' caress, but then pulls himself back slightly.*

"Innocent and devout are always the most repressed, and often the most willing once they're broken. Illusions often work, illusions showing yourself as a loved one and speaking harsh words. Meddling with their mines, adding a memory or two of weakness that you can exploit are always fun. And simply learning their secret fantasies and making them see how truly wicked they are, or think they are... it will bring them down quickly enough," Devon says with a toothy smile.

~~~

*Aekir will produce his maps and sketches.*

“This is the layout of the underground,” he says indicating his map, “And these are sketches of the dagger they passed and the circle. Note, I am not a cartographer or an artist.”

“The chant was difficult, it was in a language I did not understand, I can only tell it to you partially.”

*Wode listens to everything Aekir has to say, a faint expression of alarm on its face. Looking at the sketches, its face loses some of its color.*

"I'll need you in two day's time for a mission outside of Andeluvay, assassination mission. We'll have a weapon for you by then," it says tersely, looking at Aekir with eyes far too bright.

 

[Brother Shatterstone]

Loviana: Half-Nymph/Female (Rogue/Corruptor/Bondblade)

* As they walked into the secluded garden Loviana wraps her arms around Orshallan’s arm, hugging it and him affectionately in the process. She had been on the verge of telling him what a wonderful, not to mention, and inspiring sermon he had given but the look on his face, the tone of his voice, and the words he spoke made her forget all about the complement. *

Loviana does little to hid the emotions that his words cause and after sighing she smiles meekly and wishfully as she replies softly, “No my dear Orshallan I guess you could not leave well enough alone, I take it there’s no chance of us ignoring this small detail is there?” She looks hopefully at him but her blue eyes quickly sink towards the ground as her elegant face turns to sadness, “I’m sorry Orshallan, I would tell you that it was accidentally, that the heartache to come was unintentional, but that would simply be another lie…”

* As her eyes teared up, something she could do on command but wasn’t doing here, Loviana warps her arms tightly around Orshallan hoping that he would do the same to her. *

Her tender lips now next to his ear she whispers into his pleading into his ear, “I have no desire to hurt you now, you’ve done more for me than any person ever has, but I can’t change what I have done, and I suspect you lack that power also.”

Pulling back, the tears unstoppable now, Loviana wraps her arms protectively around her chest as she self-conscious notes her own continuing desires for the man before her. Forcing herself to look upon Orshallan, her face is a continued mixture of sadness, desire, embarrassment, and seriousness she utters a plea, “Orshallan, my dear, would you throw caution into the wind tonight and love me like the women you think I am? If you bid this request I will answer your questions in the morning.”